Words Good and Bad

Ὁ γὰρ ἀγαθὸς ἄνθρωπος ἐκ τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ θησαυροῦ τῆς καρδίας αὐτοῦ προφέρει τὸ ἀγαθόν. Ζητήσωμεν οὖν καὶ ἡμεῖς τὴν ἀπὸ τοῦ λόγου τροφὴν εἰς πλήρωσιν τῶν ψυχῶν ἡμῶν. Δικαιος γὰρ, φησὶν, ἐσθίων, ἐμπίπλησι τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ, ἵνα κατὰ τὴν ἀναλογίαν ὦν τρεφόμεθα, οὐ τὸν τυχόντα λόγον, ἀλλὰ ἀγαθὸν ἀναπέμπωμεν. Ὁ γὰρ πονηρὸς ἄνθρωπος, ὑπὸ μοχθηρῶν δογμάτων ἀνατραφεὶς, ἐξεοεύγεται τῇ καρδίᾳ λόγον πονηρόν. Οὐχ ὁρᾷς ὁποῖα τὰ στόματα τῶν αἱρετικῶν ἀπερεύγεται; ὡς χαλεπὰ καὶ δυσώδη, πολλήν τινα τὴν ἐν τῷ βάθει νόσον τῶν ἀθλίων κατηγοροῦντα; Ὁ γὰρ πονηρὸς ἄνθρωπος ἐκ τοῦ πονηρόν θησαυροῦ τῆς καρδίας αὐτοῦ προφέρει τὸ πονηρόν. Μὴ δὴ οὖν, κνηθόμενος τὴν ἀκοήν, ἐπισωρεύσῃς σεαυτῷ διδασκάλους, νόσον ἐνεργάσασθαι τοῖς σπλάγχνοις σου δυναμένους, καὶ πονηρῶν σοι ῥημὰτων ἐρυγὴν προξενῆσαι, δι' ὦν μέλλεις ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ τῆς κρίσεως καταδικάζεσθαι. Ἐκ γὰρ τῶν λόγων σου, φησὶ, δικαιωθήσῃ, καὶ ἐκ τῶν λόγων σου καταδικασθήσῃ Ἅγιος Βασίλειος ὁ Μέγας, Ὁμιλία Ἐις Τους Ψαλμούς, Εἰς Τον ΜΔ' Ψαλμον Source: Migne PG 29.393b-c

'For the good man brings forth good from the good treasure of his heart.' 1 Let us then seek nourishment from the word, that we might fill our souls. 'For the righteous man,' it is said, 'shall fill his soul when he eats,' 2 and so according to the analogy of nourishment, let it not be just any word we send forth, but a good word. For from heart of the evil man, nourished on depraved teachings, depravity bursts forth. Do you not see what sort of thing the mouths of heretics belch forth? How such roughness, and how such a stench indicates the grave sickness deep within such wretches? For from the evil treasure of his heart the evil man brings forth evil. Do not, then, have prurient ears, taking to yourself teachers who have a sickness ruling within them, and which in you shall create a flood of wicked words, and on account of which you shall be condemned on the day of judgement. He says: 'From your words you shall be justified and from your words condemned.' 1 Saint Basil of Caesarea, from Homilies on the Psalms, Psalm 44 1 Mt 12.35 2 Prov 13.23