[967] **"Even when reviled, he should not utter harsh speech"** means: reviled, scolded, disparaged, assailed, blamed, and censured, he should not retort to one who speaks with harsh, rough words; he should not revile back one who reviles; he should not provoke back one who provokes; he should not quarrel back with one who quarrels. He should not create strife, should not create quarreling, should not create contention, should not create dispute, should not create discord. He should abandon strife, quarreling, contention, dispute, and discord; he should dispel them, make an end of them, bring them to non-existence. He should be aloof from strife, quarreling, contention, dispute, and discord — abstaining, wholly refraining, gone out, released, fully freed, detached from them — and he should dwell with a mind rid of barriers. Hence: "Even when reviled, he should not utter harsh speech."
Therefore the Blessed One said:
Having received food and clothing in due season,
he should know moderation here for the sake of contentment;
guarded with regard to these, faring restrained in the village,
even when reviled he should not utter harsh speech.
English translation from the Pali (Siam Raṭṭha edition) — under review, not for citation.