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Author: Fr.
Belet.
Originally written in French in 1870, Fr.
Belet wages war against one of the worst sins of his time —backbiting —better
known to us as detraction (telling the faults of others without cause). Most
of us do not realize how evil this sin is. In fact, many of us don’t think
it’s a sin at all. After ruining someone’s reputation, or satisfying our anger
(and yes, hatred) by spewing out every bad thing we can say about someone, we
justify ourselves by saying, "Well, it’s true!" We even think we are acting
justly by giving someone what they deserve…so little do we see things from
God’s point of view, to whom these are vile sins —a form of hatred of neighbor
—a failure to do the two things necessary —to love God and our neighbor (Mt.
22:37-40). In his war on detraction, Fr. Belet drafts into his army all the
best men of Western Civilization: Aristotle, Plato, Horace, Seneca, Pliny, the
Roman Emperor Constantine, King David, Isaiah, Saints James, Luke, Matthew,
Paul, John Chrysostom, Jerome, Cassian, Gregory the Great, Augustine, Bernard,
Thomas Aquinas, and many, many others. A fascinating little book —well worth
its cost.
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