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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
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Interpretation

What this quote means

The quote suggests that various immoral actions may possess certain virtues or qualities, but betrayal lacks any redeeming value.

Jorge Luis Borges reflects on the nature of various moral transgressions, implying that while actions like adultery, murder, and blasphemy can ironically elicit qualities such as tenderness or courage, betrayal—particularly in the form of betrayal of trust—contains none of these virtues. He emphasizes that Judas's choice to betray is devoid of any honorable characteristics, highlighting the deep psychological and moral implications of such an act.

Themes

BetrayalTrustMoralityPhilosophyVirtues

In practice

Example use cases

This quote could be used in a discussion about the nature of betrayal and trust in relationships.

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The execution was set for the 29th of March, at nine in the morning. This delay was due to a desire on the part of the authorities to act slowly and impersonally, in the manner of planets or vegetables.
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This felicitous supposition declared that there is only one Individual, and that this indivisible Individual is every one of the separate beings in the universe, and that these beings are the instruments and masks of divinity itself.
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A man sets out to draw the world. As the years go by, he peoples a space with images of provinces, kingdoms, mountains, bays, ships, islands, fishes, rooms, instruments, stars, horses, and individuals. A short time before he dies, he discovers that the patient labyrinth of lines traces the lineaments of his own face.
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Let neither tear nor reproach besmirch this declaration of the mastery of God who, with magnificent irony, granted me both the gift of books and the night.
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