[256] **Malicious speech (pesuñña)** means: malicious speech comes about in two ways — on the part of one desiring to endear himself, or on the part of one intending to cause division. One conveys malicious speech in ten ways: by reference to birth (jāti), to name, to clan, to work, to craft, to illness, to distinguishing mark, to defilement, to offence, or to abuse.
**Birth** means: there are two kinds of birth — low birth and high birth. **Low birth** means: birth as a caṇḍāla, birth as a bamboo-worker, birth as a hunter, birth as a chariot-maker, birth as a scavenger — this is called low birth. **High birth** means: birth as a khattiya, birth as a brāhmaṇa — this is called high birth. …
**Abuse (akkosa)** means: there are two kinds of abuse — low abuse and high abuse. **Low abuse** means: "You are a camel," "You are a ram," "You are an ox," "You are a donkey," "You are an animal," "You are a hell-being; there is no good destination for you; only a bad destination is to be expected for you" — or [abuse] with the syllable *ya*, or with the syllable *bha*, or with [the words] *kāṭa* and *koṭacikā* [the male and female organs] — this is called low abuse. **High abuse** means: "You are wise," "You are competent," "You are intelligent," "You are learned," "You are a speaker of Dhamma; there is no bad destination for you; only a good destination is to be expected for you" — this is called high abuse.
English translation from the Pali (Siam Raṭṭha edition) — under review, not for citation.