Johnson argued that the most truthful life-writing is when 'the writer tells his...

Johnson argued that the most truthful life-writing is when 'the writer tells his own story', since only he knows the whole truth about himself. {He does not use the word 'autobiography', which only came into circulation in the early 19th century.} Those who write about another may want to over-praise him or 'aggravate his infamy'; those who write about themselves, he says – optimistically – have no 'motive to falsehood' except 'self-love', and we are all on the watch for that.

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