St. Luke of Crimea on those who revile

 

A man who reviles, reviles himself; and he who slanders his neighbor, slanders himself, and in this way reveals the filthiness and uncleanness of his soul. He who reviles defiles himself, and not the one whom he reviles. All those things that come out from within us make us unclean. And from within us come not only words, but also deeds and, in general, our whole conduct. Our words, our works, even our gaze, reveal the state in which our soul is found. If our words are full of malice and slanders, if our works are not clean, and our whole conduct shows malice, pride, megalomania, and the tendency to put ourselves forward, this makes us unclean...

 

Greek source: https://krufo-sxoleio.blogspot.com/2026/05/blog-post.html