From Oscar Wilde's *The Critic as Artist* (1891). Select the word that fits the blank. "Every great man nowadays has his disciples, and it is always ______ who writes the biography."
APlato
BBoswell
CJudas
DHomer
Answer & Solution
Correct answer: C. Judas
Wilde's joke turns on a biblical allusion: among Christ's disciples, *Judas* was the betrayer. The barbed claim: when a great man's disciples write his life, they betray him — turning private detail into public scandal.
The other options are friendly chroniclers:
- *Boswell* wrote Johnson's life faithfully — too positive.
- *Plato* immortalised Socrates with reverence.
- *Homer* sang of heroes without betrayal.
Only *Judas* completes the cynicism of Wilde's epigram: the biographer-as-traitor.
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