Of the propriety of speech, and of the respect due to persons.
_If any man offend not in word_, saith the Apostle Saint James, _the same is a perfect man._ Carefully keep yourselves from all immodest speech; for although you speak such words with no evil intent, yet those who hear them may take them in another sense. Immodest speech, falling into a weak heart, spreads and dilates like a drop of oil upon cloth; and sometimes it so takes hold of the heart that it fills it with a thousand guilty thoughts and temptations. For if the poison of the body enters through the mouth, the poison of the heart enters through the ear; and the tongue that produces it is truly murderous, since, although perhaps the venom it has cast forth has not had its effect, because of the antidote that may have been found in their hearts, yet it was no fault of its malice if it did not cause their death. And let no one say that he did not think of it; for Our Lord, Who knows the thoughts, hath said, _that out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh_. And if we do not think ill of it, the devil nevertheless thinks much of it, and always makes secret use of these evil words to pierce someone’s heart. It is said that those who have eaten the herb called _angelica_ always have sweet and pleasant breath; and those who have propriety and chastity well within their hearts, which is preeminently the angelic virtue, always have pure, chaste, and proper words upon their lips. As for coarse and foolish things, the Apostle would not have us so much as name them, assuring us that _nothing corrupts good manners so much as evil speech_.
_If any man offend not in word_, saith the Apostle Saint James, _the same is a perfect man._ Carefully keep yourselves from all immodest speech; for although you speak such words with no evil intent, yet those who hear them may take them in another sense. Immodest speech, falling into a weak heart, spreads and dilates like a drop of oil upon cloth; and sometimes it so takes hold of the heart that it fills it with a thousand guilty thoughts and temptations. For if the poison of the body enters through the mouth, the poison of the heart enters through the ear; and the tongue that produces it is truly murderous, since, although perhaps the venom it has cast forth has not had its effect, because of the antidote that may have been found in their hearts, yet it was no fault of its malice if it did not cause their death. And let no one say that he did not think of it; for Our Lord, Who knows the thoughts, hath said, _that out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh_. And if we do not think ill of it, the devil nevertheless thinks much of it, and always makes secret use of these evil words to pierce someone’s heart. It is said that those who have eaten the herb called _angelica_ always have sweet and pleasant breath; and those who have propriety and chastity well within their hearts, which is preeminently the angelic virtue, always have pure, chaste, and proper words upon their lips. As for coarse and foolish things, the Apostle would not have us so much as name them, assuring us that _nothing corrupts good manners so much as evil speech_.
Now if these shameful words are spoken covertly, with finesse and subtlety, they are far more dangerous still; for, just as the sharper a dart is, the more easily it enters our bodies, so the sharper an evil word is, the deeper it penetrates our hearts. And those who think themselves very agreeable when they say such things in company know not why companies are formed; for they ought to be like swarms of bees gathered together to make honey from some sweet and virtuous conversation, and not like a swarm of wasps clinging to some rotten thing. If, then, some fop should say unbecoming words to you, show that your ears are offended by them, either by turning away or by using some other means, as prudence shall suggest to you.
It is one of the worst qualities a mind can have to be given to mockery. God exceedingly hates this vice, and in former times He made examples of those who practised it. Nothing is so contrary to charity, and still more to devotion, as contempt for one’s neighbour; now, derision and mockery never occur without such contempt. It is therefore a very great sin; and the doctors are right to say that mockery is the greatest offence one can offer one’s neighbour in words, because other offences do not always prevent us from esteeming the one offended, whereas this one is always accompanied by scorn and contempt.
It is one of the worst qualities a mind can have to be given to mockery. God exceedingly hates this vice, and in former times He made examples of those who practised it. Nothing is so contrary to charity, and still more to devotion, as contempt for one’s neighbour; now, derision and mockery never occur without such contempt. It is therefore a very great sin; and the doctors are right to say that mockery is the greatest offence one can offer one’s neighbour in words, because other offences do not always prevent us from esteeming the one offended, whereas this one is always accompanied by scorn and contempt.
As for the play of words that takes place among well-bred people, with a gentle and modest gaiety, it belongs to the virtue which the Greeks call _eutrapelia_, and which we may call good conversation: it is a gracious way of taking recreation at the expense of human foibles and little imperfections, from which no one is exempt. We need only take care not to pass from jesting to mockery; for mockery provokes laughter through contempt of our neighbor, whereas jesting provokes laughter through freedom, playfulness, and frankness of heart, joined to the charm of a few words. It is related of Saint Louis that, when the religious whom he had at his court wished to speak of serious matters after dinner, “It is not the time,” he would say to them, “to reason in this fashion, but rather to take recreation with a few good sayings: let each man therefore freely and honestly say what he will.” And in this he wished to give the nobility gathered around him occasion to receive some token of his goodness. For the rest, Philothea, let us pass the time so wholly in recreation that we may ever secure for ourselves the holy eternity through devotion.