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I advise you to block your ears to those who speak of others, and to imitate the prophet who says: The one who slanders his neighbor in secret, him I drove out. Say to your neighbor: Do you have someone to praise and commend? I open my ears, that I may receive the perfumes; but if you wish to speak evil, I block the entrance to the words; for I cannot bear to receive dung and filth. What is the profit for me from learning that so-and-so is wicked? Indeed, from this comes the greatest harm and the ultimate loss. Say to him: Let us be concerned with our own affairs, how we might give an account for our own transgressions, and let us turn this curiosity and meddlesomeness toward our own life. What defense shall we have, what excuse, when we do not even take our own affairs to mind, but are so meddlesome in the affairs of others? And just as to peep into a house, and to spy on what is inside while passing by, is shameful and full of much disgrace; so too to be meddlesome in another's life is of the utmost vulgarity. And what is more ridiculous than this, is that having such a life, and neglecting their own affairs, whenever they say something secret, they exhort the one who heard, and put them under oath to tell no one else from then on, thereby showing that they have done something worthy of condemnation. For if you exhort him to tell no one else, much more so you in the first place ought not to have said these things to this person. You were holding the word in safety; when you betrayed it, then you care about its safety? if you wish it not to be carried out to another, do not you yourself say it; but when you have handed over the keeping of the word to another, you do superfluous and useless things by giving instructions and exacting an oath for the keeping of what has been said. But is it pleasant to speak evil? Indeed, it is pleasant not to speak evil. For the one who has spoken evil, is henceforth in agony, and is suspicious and afraid, and repents, and bites his own tongue, fearing and trembling, lest the word, having been carried out to others, might bring great danger, and create a superfluous and useless enmity for those who spoke; but the one who keeps it to 49.55 himself, will live in great safety with great pleasure. Have you heard a word, it says? Let it die in you; take courage, it will not burst you. What is, Let it die in you? Extinguish it, bury it, do not allow it to come out, nor to be moved at all; but rather, above all, be eager not even to tolerate those who speak evil of others. But if you ever do receive it, bury it, kill what was said, hand it over to oblivion, so that you may become like those who have not heard, and may live the present life with much peace and safety. If the slanderers learn that we turn away from them more than from those who are slandered, they themselves will also at some point cease from this wicked habit, and will correct their sin, and after this they will give praise, and will proclaim us as having become their saviors and benefactors. For just as speaking well and commending is the beginning of friendship, so speaking evil and slandering has become the beginning and cause of enmity, hatred, and countless wars. For our own affairs are neglected for no other reason than from meddling and being inquisitive in the affairs of others; for it is not possible for a person who slanders and is meddlesome in the lives of others ever to take care of his own life. For since all his energy is spent on meddling in others' affairs, it is necessary that all his own affairs simply lie neglected. For it is desirable for one who spends all his leisure on the care and judgment of his own sins, to be able to do something more; but when you are always concerned with the affairs of others, when will you take care of your own evils? Let us flee, therefore, beloved, let us flee from slander, having learned that the whole abyss is diabolical, and that this is the snare of his plot. For so that we might both neglect our own affairs and make the accounts we must give more difficult for ourselves, the devil led us into this habit; or rather, not only is this the difficult thing, that we will give an account for what we have said then, but that also the

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λεγομένους ἑτέρους παραινῶ τὰς ἀκοὰς ἀποφράττειν, καὶ τὸν προφήτην μιμεῖσθαι τὸν λέγοντα· Τὸν καταλαλοῦντα λάθρα τὸν πλησίον αὐτοῦ, τοῦτον ἐξεδίωκον. Εἰπὲ πρὸς τὸν πλησίον· Ἔχεις ἐπαινέσαι τινὰ καὶ ἐγκωμιάσαι; ἀνοίγω τὰς ἀκοὰς, ἵνα δέξωμαι τὰ μύρα· ἂν δὲ κακῶς ἐθέλῃς εἰπεῖν, ἀποφράττω τὴν εἴσοδον τοῖς ῥήμασιν· οὐ γὰρ ἀνέχομαι κόπρον καὶ βόρβορον δέχεσθαι. Τί μοι τὸ κέρδος ἐκ τοῦ μαθεῖν ὅτι πονηρὸς ὁ δεῖνα; μέγιστον μὲν οὖν ἀπὸ τούτου βλάβος καὶ ἐσχάτη ζημία. Εἰπὲ πρὸς αὐτόν· Μεριμνήσωμεν τὰ ἡμέτερα, πῶς τῶν πεπλημμελημένων ἡμῖν εὐθύνας δῶμεν, καὶ τὴν περιεργίαν ταύτην καὶ τὴν πολυπραγμοσύνην εἰς τὴν ζωὴν τὴν ἡμετέραν ἐπιδειξώμεθα. Ποίαν ἕξομεν ἀπολογίαν, τίνα συγγνώμην, ὅταν τὰ ἡμέτερα μὲν μηδὲ εἰς νοῦν λαμβάνωμεν, τὰ δὲ ἀλλότρια οὕτω πολυπραγμονῶμεν; Καὶ ὥσπερ εἰς οἰκίαν παρακύψαι, καὶ τὰ ἔνδον κατασκοπῆσαι παριόντα, αἰσχρὸν καὶ πολλῆς αἰσχύνης γέμον· οὕτω καὶ βίον ἀλλότριον περιεργάζεσθαι, ἀνελευθερίας ἐσχάτης. Τὸ δὲ τούτου καταγελαστότερον, ὅτι τοιοῦτον ἔχοντες βίον, καὶ τῶν οἰκείων ἀμελοῦντες, ἐπειδὰν εἴπωσί τι τῶν ἀποῤῥήτων, παρακαλοῦσι τὸν ἀκούσαντα, καὶ ὁρκοῦσι μηδενὶ λοιπὸν εἰπεῖν ἑτέρῳ, αὐτόθεν δηλοῦντες ὅτι πρᾶγμα ἄξιον κατηγορίας ἐποίησαν. Εἰ γὰρ ἐκεῖνον μηδενὶ εἰπεῖν ἑτέρῳ παρακαλεῖς, πολλῷ μᾶλλον σὲ πρότερον τούτῳ ταῦτα εἰπεῖν οὐκ ἐχρῆν. Κατεῖχες ἐν ἀσφαλείᾳ τὸν λόγον· ὅτε αὐτὸν προέδωκας, τότε τῆς σωτηρίας αὐτοῦ φροντίζεις; εἰ βούλῃ μὴ ἐξενεχθῆναι εἰς ἕτερον, μηδὲ αὐτὸς εἴπῃς· ὅτε δὲ ἑτέρῳ προέδωκας τοῦ λόγου τὴν φυλακὴν, περιττὰ ποιεῖς καὶ ἀνόνητα παραγγέλλων, καὶ ὁρκῶν ὑπὲρ τῆς τῶν εἰρημένων φυλακῆς. Ἀλλ' ἡδὺ τὸ κακηγορεῖν; ἡδὺ μὲν οὖν τὸ μὴ λέγειν κακῶς. Ὁ μὲν γὰρ εἰπὼν κακῶς, ἐναγώνιος λοιπόν ἐστιν, ὑποπτεύει τε καὶ δέδοικε, καὶ μετανοεῖ, καὶ κατεσθίει τὴν ἑαυτοῦ γλῶτταν. δεδοικὼς καὶ τρέμων, μή ποτε εἰς ἑτέρους ἐξενεχθὲν τὸ ῥῆμα μέγαν ἐπαγάγῃ τὸν κίνδυνον, καὶ περιττὴν ἔχθραν καὶ ἀνόνητον ἐργάσηται τοῖς εἰρηκόσιν· ὁ δὲ παρ' ἑαυτῷ κατ 49.55 έχων, ἐν ἀσφαλείᾳ πολλῇ μετὰ πολλῆς βιώσεται τῆς ἡδονῆς. Ἤκουσας λόγον, φησίν; ἐναποθανέτω σοι· θάρσει, οὐ μή σε ῥήξει. Τί ἐστιν, Ἐναποθανέτω σοι; Σβέσον αὐτὸν, κατάχωσον, μὴ συγχωρήσῃς ἐξελθεῖν, μηδὲ κινηθῆναι τὸ παράπαν· ἀλλὰ μάλιστα μὲν οὖν σπούδαζε μηδὲ ἀνέχεσθαι τῶν λεγόντων ἑτέρους κακῶς. Ἂν δ' ἄρα ποτε καὶ δέξῃ, κατάχωσον, ἀπόκτεινον τὸ λεχθὲν, λήθῃ παράδος, ἵνα τοῖς μὴ ἀκηκοόσιν ὅμοιος γένῃ, καὶ μετὰ πολλῆς τῆς εἰρήνης καὶ τῆς ἀσφαλείας τὸν παρόντα διάγῃς βίον. Ἂν μάθωσιν οἱ κακήγοροι, ὅτι τῶν διαβαλλομένων μᾶλλον ἡμεῖς αὐτοὺς ἀποστρεφόμεθα, παύσονται καὶ αὐτοί ποτε τῆς πονηρᾶς συνηθείας ταύτης, καὶ διορθώσονται τὸ ἁμάρτημα, καὶ ἐπαινέσονται μετὰ ταῦτα, καὶ ἡμᾶς αὐτοὺς ὡς σωτῆρας αὐτῶν γενομένους καὶ εὐεργέτας ἀνακηρύξουσιν. Ὥσπερ γὰρ τὸ καλῶς λέγειν καὶ ἐγκωμιάζειν ἀρχὴ φιλίας ἐστὶν, οὕτω τὸ κακῶς λέγειν καὶ διαβάλλειν ἔχθρας, καὶ ἀπεχθείας, καὶ τῶν μυρίων πολέμων ἀρχὴ καὶ ὑπόθεσις γέγονεν. Οὐδαμόθεν γὰρ ἑτέρωθεν ἠμέληται τὰ ἡμέτερα, ἀλλ' ἢ ἐκ τοῦ τὰ ἀλλότρια πολυπραγμονεῖν καὶ περιεργάζεσθαι· οὐ γὰρ ἔστιν ἄνθρωπον κακηγοροῦντα, καὶ τοὺς ἀλλοτρίους πολυπραγμονοῦντα βίους, τῆς ἰδίας ἐπιμεληθῆναί ποτε ζωῆς. Τῆς γὰρ σπουδῆς ἁπάσης αὐτῷ εἰς τὴν ἑτέρων πολυπραγμοσύνην ἀναλισκομένης, ἀνάγκη τὰ αὐτοῦ πάντα ἁπλῶς κεῖσθαι καὶ ἠμελημένως. Καὶ γὰρ ἀγαπητὸν τὴν πᾶσαν σχολὴν εἰς τὴν ἐπιμέλειαν τῶν οἰκείων ἁμαρτημάτων καὶ τὴν κρίσιν ἀναλίσκοντα, δυνηθῆναί τι ποιῆσαι πλέον· ὅταν δὲ διαπαντὸς τὰ ἀλλότρια φροντίζῃς, πότε τῶν σῶν ἐπιμελήσῃ κακῶν; Φύγωμεν τοίνυν, ἀγαπητοὶ, φύγωμεν τὰς κακηγορίας, μαθόντες ὡς διαβολικόν ἐστιν ὅλον τὸ βάραθρον, καὶ τῆς ἐπιβουλῆς τῆς ἐκείνου αὕτη ἡ ἐνέδρα. Ἵνα γὰρ καὶ τῶν ἡμετέρων ἀμελήσωμεν, καὶ χαλεπωτέρας ἑαυτοῖς καταστήσωμεν τὰς εὐθύνας, εἰς ταύτην ἡμᾶς τὴν συνήθειαν ὁ διάβολος ἤγαγε· μᾶλλον δὲ, οὐ τοῦτο μόνον ἐστὶ τὸ χαλεπὸν, ὅτι λόγον δώσομεν, ὧν εἰρήκαμεν τότε, ἀλλ' ὅτι καὶ τὰ