On judging

As soon as thou feelest that pride is taking hold of thee because of the good works thou hast done, at once remember thy sins, that thou mayest quell thy senseless self-exaltation. Do the same also when thou seest thy neighbour erring — namely, at once remember his virtues also. St Basil the Great

Do not love to hear the ill spoken of others; speak of thine own sins and blame thyself, not others. Elder Ambrose of Optina

Judge thyself alone, and then thou wilt leave off judging others. Barsanuphius the Great

Neither mock nor judge him who has fallen into temptation, but rather pray that temptation may not overtake thee also. St Ephraim the Syrian

He who is far from evil notices evil least of all. Saint Gregory the Theologian

Let us leave off judging our neighbour, and we shall not fear blasphemous thoughts, for the cause of the second is the first. Saint John of Sinai

When will the grace of the Lord cover us? Only when we strive to cover the sins of our brethren.

If thou coverest thy brother's sin and dost not make it known, God too will cover thy sin. The venerable father Poemen

It is senseless to leave one's own dead man and go to weep over another's. He who feels the weight of his own sins does not look upon the sins of his neighbour. The venerable Moses

And indeed, who knows another's conscience? Thou judgest him, but God has already forgiven him; and so now thou judgest an innocent man whom God has justified, a saint to come... The hierarch Philaret

Wouldest thou avoid the sin of judging thy neighbour? Imitate that ascetic father who, seeing that a brother had sinned, sighed and said: “Woe is me! As he has sinned today, so shall I sin tomorrow. He repents of it; but I — who knows, perhaps I shall not even have time for it, perhaps I shall not have strength for repentance.”

If in thy presence someone judges his neighbour, say to him: “Stop, brother; I fall every day into grievous sins; how then am I to judge another?” With such medicine thou wilt heal both thyself and him who in thy presence judges another. Saint John of the Ladder

But we, wretched ones, judge our neighbours without discernment; and, what is worse, our own guilt is not enough for us: we wish to harm others also when we tell them of the sins of others, and thereby bring into their hearts the sin of judging. If we had love, the sight of our neighbour's failing would stir up in us grief and compassion, as it is written: “Charity shall cover the multitude of sins” (1 Pet. 4:8). The venerable Dorotheus

As the wind puts out a lamp, so judging puts out the grace of God.

He who would overcome the sin of judging, let him ascribe the sins which he sees in his brother not to him but to the demon who suggested them to him. St John of the Ladder

Here is the shortest road that leads to life: judge not! St John of the Ladder

In the very thing for which we judge our neighbour, or of which we accuse him, into that same sin shall we ourselves fall, whether bodily or spiritual. St John of the Ladder

Strive not to grow used to reproving and correcting others, lest thou thyself remain unreproved and uncorrected. The venerable elder Alexi (Shushania)

In the hour of the soul's departure they will ask thee only of thine own, not of another's. The venerable elder Alexi (Shushania)

If thou seest that a brother has sinned, hate him not, turn not thy back upon him and judge him not, for by this thou wilt first of all deliver thyself into the enemy's hands. St Anthony the Great

Judge none of mortals, that the Lord may hear thy prayers. St Anthony the Great

He who is curious about the sins of others and from suspicion judges his brother has not yet begun to repent nor taken care for the knowledge of his own sins. St Maximus the Confessor

Out of self-love and self-confidence there is born in us yet another evil, which does us great harm — namely, the strict judging and condemning of our neighbour, which we count as nothing, which we hate and, when occasion offers, even mock. We think ourselves something great and have a high opinion of ourselves, and from this we look down upon others and judge them, do not love them, and it seems to us that we are far from those failings which, in our opinion, are proper to others. But thou hast no right to this, and, taking it to thyself, thou deservest judgement and condemnation not before weak men but before the almighty Judge, the Lord. St Nicodemus the Hagiorite

The beginning of salvation is the judging of oneself. St Nilus of Sinai

Let us urge upon ourselves: let us not judge others, for in ourselves there is enough of what we dislike in another. St Nilus of Sinai

Whose work is it to put others in an awkward place, to judge them and to harm them, if not the devil's? And behold, we help the demons in the ruin of ourselves and of our neighbour. Why does this happen? Because there is no love in us! For charity covers a multitude of sins (1 Pet. 4:8). Abba Dorotheus

Seek the cause of every trial not in other people but in thyself, and say: this has befallen me for my sins.