Pope Francis Quotes

Slander is a poison which kills charity, both in the slanderer and the one who listens.

Slander is poison to the soul.

Fire and swords are slow engines of destruction, compared to the tongue of a Gossip.

Done to death by slanderous tongue

Quick-circulating slanders mirth afford; and reputation bleeds in every word.

Slander is worse than cannibalism.

Hurl your calumnies boldly; something is sure to stick. Audacter calumniare, semper aliquid haeret

Calumniate, calumniate; there will always be something which sticks.

Into the space of one little hour sins enough may be conjured up by evil tongues to blast the fame of a whole life of virtue.

Malicious tongues spread their poison abroad and nothing here below is proof against them.

No one loves to tell of scandal except to him who loves to hear it. Learn, then, to rebuke and check the detracting tongue by showing that you do not listen to it with pleasure.

The only time people dislike gossip is when you gossip about them.

Gossip is when you have a malice of intent or mindless, third-party conversation to someone about someone, something you haven't said to that someone.

Gossip is when you hear something you like about someone you don't.

… poison tongues …

People are more slanderous from vanity than from malice.

No one is safe from slander. The best way is to pay no attention to it, but live in innocence and let the world talk.

He that easily believes rumors has the principle within him to augment rumors. It is strange to see the ravenous appetite with which some devourers of character and happiness fix upon the sides of the innocent and unfortunate.

To speak evil of any one, unless there is unequivocal proofs of their deserving it, is an injury for which there is no adequate reparation.

It is perfectly monstrous,' he said, at last, 'the way people go about nowadays saying things against one behind one's back that are absolutely and entirely true.

RUMOR, n. A favorite weapon of the assassins of character.

Close thine ear against him that shall open his mouth secretly against another. If thou receivest not his words, they fly back and wound the reporter. If thou dost receive them, they fly forward and wound the receiver.

Rumors are spread by jealous people

Calumny crosses oceans, scales mountains and traverses deserts, with greater ease than the Scythian Abaris, and like him, rides upon a poisoned arrow.

Gossip is the Devil's radio.