01_Biblica_1_F_Gregory_Layout 1 05/11/12 12:13 Pagina 339 339 SLIPS OF THE TONGUE IN THE SPEECH ETHICS OF BEN SIRA guard one’s speech. In the end, the ultimate antidote to slips of the tongue is the cultivation of wisdom and discipline, even if realisti- cally, in light of an ambiguous anthropology, these only reduce the likelihood of slips occurring. University of Scranton Bradley C. GREGORY Department of Theology & Religious Studies Scranton, PA 18510, USA SUMMARY This article examines the references to slips of the tongue in the speech ethics of Ben Sira. Against the background of Proverbs, this characteri- zation of accidental speech errors represents a new development. Its origin can be traced to the confluence between sapiential metaphors for mistakes in life and the idea of a slip of the tongue in the Hellenistic world. Ben Sira’s references to slips of the tongue are generally coordinated with a lack of discipline, though at least two verses seem to suggest that slips are not always sinful and that they represent a universal phenomenon, found even among the wisest sages.