“In adultery, there is usually tenderness and self-sacrifice; in murder, courage; in profanation and blasphemy, a certain satanic splendour. Judas elected those offences unvisited by any virtues: abuse of confidence and informing.”
— Jorge Luis Borges · 1899 – 1986Source: Ficciones, "Three Versions of Judas" (1944) · Check the source
Verified attributionWhat we know
- What is documented
- The passage appears in Borges’s short story and is spoken within the narrative by the fictional theologian Nils Runeberg.
Understanding the quote
Borges stages a provocative moral argument through a fictional scholar: he contrasts wrongs that carry a certain tragic dignity with betrayal that seems irredeemable. In the story the claim about Judas supports a larger puzzle about sacrifice, interpretation, and whether evil can wear virtues’ masks.
In the original · Spanish
En el adulterio suelen participar la ternura y la abnegación; en el homicidio, el coraje; en las profanaciones y la blasfemia, cierto fulgor satánico. Judas eligió aquellas culpas no visitadas por ninguna virtud: el abuso de confianza (Juan 12:6) y la delación.
The story behind it
Borges became almost completely blind yet kept writing and later directed Argentina’s National Library — a striking irony for a writer obsessed with books.
Going further
- The era
- In 1944, Borges published the story in Ficciones, amid mid‑century literary experiments in metafiction.
- The thinking
- This is literary metafiction: Borges uses invented scholars and documents to show how stories create meanings. Practically, it teaches skepticism about simple moral labels.
- Key word
- Betrayal: breaking trust in a way that creates moral complexity beyond mere wrongdoing.
Three challenges to live it
In the app, you pick the one that fits your day, and in the evening you say how it went.
Write a 15-minute imaginary letter to Judas: describe, without judging, what you think his deepest motivation for betrayal might be.
Borges contrasts betrayals with other ‘noble’ crimes; composing a letter to Judas forces you to articulate hidden motives and the moral complexity the quote raises.
Sit quietly for 10 minutes without your phone; focus on images and emotions that arise when you consider the idea of 'betrayal' in the quote.
The quote invites subtle moral listening; a mindful pause lets you notice instinctive reactions and why some wrongs feel irredeemable.
Ask a trusted person for a 20-minute conversation: read them the quote, then openly discuss what you each consider betrayal and why.
Borges invites a moral debate; comparing your interpretation with another voice reveals how narrative shapes judgment and broadens understanding.
How would you judge an act whose meaning changes with the story told about it?
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