Chapter 31 — Part III: The Decalogue — The Eighth Commandment
Section 14. This Commandment Forbids Detraction — This Commandment forbids not only false testimony, but also the detestable vice and practice of detraction, -- a pestilence, which is the source of innumerable and calamitous evils. This vicious habit of secretly reviling and calumniating character is frequently reprobated in the Sacred Scriptures. With him, says David, I would not eat; and St. James: Detract not one another, my brethren.