"Thus such a backbiter may be likened to the serpent which is called the basilisk. This serpent which I tell you of is so poisonous that if it toucheth a spring of water at once this is wholly dyed and infected, so deadly is its poison. In like manner doeth the evil tongue, for with its wicked speech it can at once poison a city, a country, a province." St. Bernadine of Siena  (Homily on Backbiters)