[738] Setting at Sāvatthī.
There the Blessed One addressed the bhikkhus: "Bhikkhus!" "Venerable sir," those bhikkhus replied to the Blessed One. The Blessed One said this: "Bhikkhus, speech possessed of four factors is well spoken (subhāsitā), not badly spoken; it is blameless and beyond reproach by the wise (viññū). Which four? Here, bhikkhus, a bhikkhu speaks only what is well spoken, not what is badly spoken; he speaks only what is Dhamma, not what is contrary to Dhamma; he speaks only what is pleasing, not what is displeasing; he speaks only what is true, not what is false. Speech possessed of these four factors, bhikkhus, is well spoken, not badly spoken; it is blameless and beyond reproach by the wise."
English translation from the Pali (Siam Raṭṭha edition) — under review, not for citation.