To slip upon a pavement is better than to slip with the tongue: so the fall of the wicked shall come speedily.
All Commentaries on Wisdom of Sirach 20:18 Go To Wisdom of Sirach 20
John Chrysostom
AD 407
A person once said, indicating how easily one falls because of the tongue, "Many fall by the sword, but not as many as by the tongue." And revealing the seriousness of such a fall, the same person again said, "A slip on the pavement is preferable to a fall caused by the tongue." And not only does he speak of falls, but also he urges great vigilance against being made to fall when he says, "Make gates and bars for your mouth," not that we would set actual gates and bars but that with great caution we would close our mouths before what is unbecoming.
