Gossipers, those biting fleas, Francis avoided when they were speaking, and he averted his ears, as we ourselves have seen, lest they be defiled by hearing such things. For once, when Francis heard a certain brother blacken the reputation of another, he turned to Brother Peter of Catania, his vicar, and spoke this terrible sentence; "Disaster confronts the Order, unless these slanderers are checked. Quickly the sweetest savor of the many begins to take on a terrible stench, unless the mouths of the stinking are closed"...
Saint Francis of Assisi
Celano, Second Life
Chapter CXXXVIII
Saint Francis of Assisi
Celano, Second Life
Chapter CXXXVIII
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