For lack of wood the fire goes out,
and where there is no whisperer,
quarreling ceases.
PROVERBS 26:20

A brother asked a hermit, “Abba, if someone brings me gossip, should I ask him to stop speaking?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because we also gossip. We would be asking someone else to do what we cannot do.”
“Then what is the best thing to do?”
“The best thing is to remain silent. Silence is better for us and for others as well.”

By Way of the Desert: 365 Daily Readings
Bernard Bangley