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For everyone we have opened not the gates of truth, but the doors of slander and insolence against each other. With us, he is not more perfect who, out of fear of God, does not utter an idle word, but the one who slanders his neighbor as much as possible, either directly or by hints, carrying torment and malice on his tongue (see Ps. 9:28), or, more precisely, the poison of asps (Ps. 139:3). We catch each other’s sins not in order to mourn them, but in order to judge them, not in order to heal, but in order to further wound, so that the wounds of our neighbor are an excuse for our own shortcomings (1). You say a lot of bad things about me, my dear. If you speak fairly, then I am guilty, who gave rise to your tongue. And if it is unfair and false, what do I care about your speeches? Even tell everyone: for this, without a doubt, you will receive greater punishment from God (2). A slanderer tries to disgrace. Reproaching a friend without punishing him is a reproach. An accusation of something deserving punishment is a complaint. If the complaint is unfair, it becomes slander. And if it was brought secretly, then I will call it a sneak. Any unaccountable reproach is blasphemy. And the evil-tongued is the one who arms his mouth against everyone (2). You might be interested in: