In a monastery lived a monk who moreso than his brethren tended to slander and denigrate others while considering himself as the best and wisest. After he had indulged in this vice for a long time, he became ill and died. On the other side, he received a severe penalty, as the remainder of this story will show.
One night, as the monks had finished singing the hora matutina and had retired, one of them remained in the chapel, praying. When he again opened his eyes, he saw next to him on the bench a hideous being such as he had never before seen. It stretched its tongue way out of its mouth, moving it back and forth. After a while it drew its tongue back and began to chew on it. The tongue appeared as though it was completely burnt.
From fear and sympathy, the monk began to cry. He then crossed himself and then gathered the courage to speak to the being for he suspected that God wanted him to know a secret. “Being,” he said, “I beseech you by God’s triumvirate to tell me why you are here.” The being answered, “I was a monk of your order, known as this and that, and now must endure this pain and shame because I was a slanderer. The unkind words that I spoke about my brothers and others I must now pay for, as you can see.”
At that, the being disappeared and it is said that he was damned forever. This story occurred in England in a monastery that I will not name to prevent bringing dishonor upon it. All slanderers can expect such a penalty when they fail to hold their tongues and confess, because in the bible the holy mother says that those who slander and spread ugly rumors must bite and chew their own tongues.