III.
Raphael Maffei relates that when Chinese warriors prepared for combat they entered with splendid apparel and elegant arms, carrying four swords on their harness and manipulating two at once with great skill.
But the backbiter's tongue surpasses them by far. It carries not four swords, nor a hundred, nor six hundred, but thousands, for fear it will run out once it enters into combat. The backbiting tongue often lights such a conflagration that four thousand soldiers -- what am I saying, four thousand? -- forty thousand, even a hundred thousand will not suffice to put it out. A two-edged sword, a keen knife, a piercing arrow, a cane-stiletto, a sharp razor, and a quick biting tongue all bear a striking resemblance. Listen to the Psalmist: "They have bent their bow to shoot arrows." As the bow strikes from far off and wounds a person unawares, the backbiting tongue attacks those who are absent and wreaks its havoc from a distance of many miles. Bending its bow in Germany, it strikes and wounds a Frenchman or a Spaniard in his own land. Its arrows fly across the sea, or rather they pierce all the way to heaven, for they attack God Himself and His Saints. "They set their mouthings in place of heaven," (7) says David. It also penetrates the very bowels of the earth and rends the dead in their tombs, for David adds, "Their pronouncements pierce the earth." It buries the living, and it digs the dead out of their tombs.
(7) Ps 72:9
The Psalmist goes on to say, "They scoff and speak evil; outrage from on high they threaten." (8) When its fury is roused, a raging bull lifts its head and casts terrible eyes at its prey, aiming at him and rampaging against him with all its might. Thus does the backbiter move in with head held high; stifling the voice of his conscience, the things he has meditated in his heart spew from his mouth in contempt of every law of Christian charity.
(8) Ps 72:8
The backbiting tongue has chosen the very motto of Death as its own: "I spare no one!" Priest or judge, known or unknown, religious or worldling, friend or foe, none of that matters to him. The backbiter spares nothing and no one, not even his father and mother. Why is this so? Because he enjoys talking, so speaking evil gratifies him. He considers it a pleasure when he finds something to criticize in others. He is filled with joy when he can invent and relate things that do not even exist.
"O Lord," cries David, "rescue my soul from the sword, my only one from the grip of the dog!" (9) Cassiodorus says that Saint Augustine declares, "The sword is the backbiter's tongue, and the dog is the backbiter himself." Why does David ask to be rescued from the grip of the dog? We could understand if he had said a bear or a lion, but why be so afraid of a dog?
(9) Ps 21:21
He is right after a fashion, however. The bear and the lion are naturally fierce, but a dog may often sidle peacefully up to you and suddenly bite your leg. If it is a bulldog, it will square off against you and attack your head. David knew this type of dog from experience. He knew Saul, Semeias, Absalom, Seba, Achitophel and Doeg; they were purebred dogs, which are the most troublesome by far.
IV.
Pliny relates the fact that the camel will drink only after disturbing the water with its hooves." (10) That proud beast does not want to look at its deformed face and see it mirrored in the water. Men without credit, virtue or reputation often act like the camel. They attempt to blacken others' reputation with backbiting so that they will not be the only ones called deformed. They have adopted this maxim of the Ephesians: "Let there be no superiority among us!" A servant's laziness is never more visible than when a more active servant is working by his side. A virtuous man's piety is never more evident than when he is next to a vain and godless man.
(10) Pliny, Historica naturalia, Book 8, Chapter 18.
Therefore, in order to avoid embarrassment over their corruption, men of vice try to sully others with their backbiting tongues. They think they look better when others are ugly and wrinkled. "Say whatever you like," they declare, "the man you praise so highly is no holier than anyone else; the person you exonerate is no angel!" And when they have nothing to say, they state, "We could say lots of things about him, but we won't stir up that swamp, please God! We will say nothing instead."
Wretch, speaking that way is not keeping silence; it is a subtle form of backbiting! You murmur like this because that person's behavior has nothing in common with yours. Why did the Pharisees pursue Jesus with their hatred? Because His life bore no resemblance to theirs. (11) Because of this they called Him a drinker, a violater of the Sabbath, loving people of evil life. David prophesied well of them when he said, "Those who repay evil for good harass Me for pursuing good... In return for My love they slandered Me, but I prayed." (12) And Saint John Chrysostom cries, "You are a man, and you would spit an asp's venom? You are a man, and you would become a raging beast? You have been given a mouth not to wound, but to heal." Saint Augustine declares, "Since you get angry with others when they speak evil against you, get angry with yourself when you speak evil against someone else." (13)
(11) Wis 12:15
(12) Ps 37:21; 108:4
(13) Saint Augustine, Homily 89, Ad Pop.
In olden times, the Lord commanded the prophet Isaias to announce, "Every knee shall be bowed to Me, and every tongue shall swear by My name." (14) Backbiters, place your tongues beneath the sway of reason once again, that they may no longer wound people's reputations, that they may refrain from the least detraction, that they may be silent over even the slightest defects. Follow Saint John Chrysostom's advice: "Such is the nature of vipers that, as soon as they bite a man, they enter water at once. If they find no water, they die." (15) Do likewise if you have poured the venom of detraction into someone's ears and have spoken a thoughtless word that may wound your neighbor's reputation. Cast yourself at once into the waters of penance; repent, and promise that you will be more watchful in the future. And if you are able to repair the damage your tongue has caused, then repair it. This is hard, no doubt but it is necessary. It is better to restore something you have taken than to perish with it.
(14) Is 45:24
(15) Saint John Chrysostom, Homily 3, In Matt