Слово 10. О злословии и клевете

1. None of those who are wise in God, I think, will contradict the fact that slander is born from hatred and memory of malice. And so, after its ancestors in order, I propose it. 2. Backbiting is the offspring of hatred, a subtle illness; a large secret and hidden leech that sucks and destroys the blood of love; hypocrisy of love; the cause of desecration and burdening of the heart; destruction of purity 3. Some young women sin shamelessly; and others secretly, and with bashfulness, but indulge in even more cruel vices than the first. The same can be seen in the passions of dishonor. There are many secretly crafty young women; what hypocrisy, deceit, sadness, maliciousness and heartfelt slander are, which apparently represent one thing, but inwardly look at another. 4. Having heard that some were slandering their neighbors, I rebuked them; the perpetrators of this evil responded in apology that they were doing it out of love and concern for the slandered. But I told them: “Leave such love,” so that what was said would not turn out to be false: “Whoever slanders his sincere secret, he will drive out” (Ps. 100:5). If you truly love your neighbor, as you say, then do not ridicule him, but pray for him in secret; for this form of love is pleasing to God. You will beware of condemning those who sin if you always remember that Judas was in the council of Christ’s disciples, and the robber was among the murderers; but in an instant a wonderful change happened to them. 5. Whoever wants to defeat the spirit of slander should attribute the guilt not to the sinner, but to the demon who encourages him. For no one wants to sin against God, although each of us does not sin under compulsion. 6. I saw someone who had sinned openly, but repented in secret; and the one whom I condemned as a fornicator was already chaste with God, having propitiated God with a sincere conversion. 7. Never be ashamed of someone who speaks evil of your neighbor in front of you; but it’s better to tell him: “Stop it, brother, I fall into the worst sins every day, and how can I condemn him?” In this way you will do two good things, and with one plaster you will heal both yourself and your neighbor. This is one of the shortest ways to receive forgiveness of sins, that is, not to condemn anyone. For it is said: “Judge not, and you will not be judged” (Luke 6:37). 8. Just as fire is contrary to water, so it is not natural for a repentant person to judge. If you saw someone sinning even at the very departure of the soul from the body, then do not condemn him; for the judgment of God is unknown to men. Some openly fell into great sins, but performed great virtues in secret; and those who loved to ridicule them were deceived, chasing the smoke and not seeing the sun. 9. Listen to me, listen, you evil judges of the actions of others: if it is true, as indeed it is true that “with the judgment you judge, they will judge you” (Matthew 7:2); then, of course, whatever sins we condemn our neighbor for, physical or mental, we ourselves will fall into; and it cannot be otherwise. 10. Quick and strict judges of the sins of their neighbors suffer from this passion because they do not have perfect and constant memory and care for their sins. For if a person saw exactly his evil deeds, without the veil of self-love, then he would no longer care about anything else related to earthly life, thinking that he would not have enough time to mourn himself, even if he lived a hundred years, and even if he saw a whole Jordan of tears flowing from his eyes. I observed the cry of true repentance, and did not find in it a trace of slander or condemnation. 11. Murderous demons encourage us either to sin, or, when we do not sin, to condemn those who sin, in order to defile the first with the second. 12. Know that this is also a sign of a malicious and envious person if he easily and with pleasure condemns the teaching, deeds and virtues of his neighbor, being possessed by the spirit of hatred. 13. I have seen people who secretly and secretly committed serious sins, and meanwhile, considering themselves better than others, mercilessly attacked those who were carried away into light but obvious offenses. 14. To judge means to shamelessly steal the dignity of God; and to condemn means to destroy your soul. 15. Just as exaltation can greatly destroy a person without another passion, so condemnation, alone, can completely destroy us, for the Pharisee was condemned for this. 16. Just as a good winegrower eats only ripe berries and leaves the sour ones, so a prudent and prudent mind carefully notices the virtues that it sees in someone; a mad person looks for vices and shortcomings. It is said about him: “Having tried iniquity, those who tried trials have disappeared” (Ps. 63:7). 17. Even if you saw someone sinning with your own eyes, do not judge, for they are often deceived. Tenth degree. He who has ascended to it becomes a worker of love, or of weeping. You might be interested in: