2. The terrible evils that backbiting breeds. Reparation of the damage it causes.
The thoughts of God are so very different from the thoughts of men. In the Old Testament, God says, "You shall not curse the deaf." (1) Would it not have been better for Him to say, "You shall not curse those who hear well"? Why bother to take such precautions for the deaf? But the wisdom of the Lord has nothing in common with our boldness. "You shall not curse the deaf," He says. Here is how Saint Gregory explains these words: "Backbiting someone who is deaf means backbiting one who is absent and cannot hear you. Just as a deaf man cannot hear or understand what is said, so it is with an absent person someone backbites. He cannot reply or rectify the errors of which he is the object." (2)
(1) Lev 19:14
(2) Saint Gregory the Great. In prolog. III Past, Chapter 1, Ad Monit.

Therefore, one must not backbite the deaf. Not recognizing this rule, backbiters rashly shoot down the reputation of those who are absent. This is something they would never dare to do in the presence of the people they backbite.
We have already spoken at length about backbiting. We have treated its various species and its gravity. Now let us take a look at the importance of avoiding this defect even in small things, due to its unfortunate consequences, and above all at the necessity of repairing the reputation of other people: a very difficult thing as we shall see.