Gossips Ahoy!

It's amazing how much gossips and rumours there are on social media and the world generally. I'm sure it wasn't like that in times of old before the T'Internet and all the gossip websites. Sure, in those days people did gossip about each other to each other. But it was at a slower pace and confined to smaller areas geographically. 

Now you write something about someone on social media and it has already travelled round the globe with repeat copying and sharing. And it's so vile too. I know someone who broke a relationship and wrote about him on T'Internet in the most abusive way. Definitely slanderous or libellous or both; whatever the difference!

Socrates was a Greek philosopher from Athens. Born in 470 BC and died in 399 BC. (When you study these dates you'll notice he was getting younger each year.)

Anyway, one day, before T'Internet was invented, someone came to him with some juicy gossip about someone else. 

Beware of gossip mongers. If they are gossiping to you, they are probably gossiping about you to someone else. Gossiping is stealing. It steals someone's good name and you'll never see that person in the same light again. You'll always wonder about the gossip, and whether it was true. And he can't buy his good name back.

So Socrates said to the gossip, "Before you tell me what you want to say, I want you to apply a three test filter.

"Test One - Are you sure what you'll tell me is true?"

The man thought a bit and said no; it was something he heard from someone else.

Socrates asked, "Is what you'll tell me good?"

The man said no; it was an awful scandal about that person.

Socrates asked again, "Is what you'll tell me useful to me?"

Again the man said no, it's just some information he'd heard from someone else about that person.  

To which Socrates replied, "Unless it's true, good and useful I don't want to know!"

Something to think about next time someone gossips to you.

Now ... have you heard the rumours about ... ... ...

"YOU SHALL NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS AGAINST YOUR NEIGHBOUR!"

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