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Zuotengdazuo Posted 7 years ago
Grammar

What does “turn the scale” mean in this context?

It is due to no accident that when one of his most important works, The Woman of Samaria, was sold to Christie's shortly after the discussion which followed the publication of Mr Strickland's biography, it fetched £235 less than it had done nine months before, when it was bought by the distinguished collector whose sudden death had brought it once more under the hammer. Perhaps Charles Strickland's power and originality would scarcely have sufficed to turn the scale if the remarkable mythopoeic faculty of mankind had not brushed aside with impatience a story which disappointed all its craving for the extraordinary. And presently Dr Weitbrecht-Rotholz produced the work which finally set at rest the misgivings of all lovers of art.

Excerpt From
The Moon and Sixpence
W Somerset Maugham
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Hi. What do you think “turn the scale” means in this context? I know its definition, though.
Thank you.
  

Top answer

I haven't read this work. " This is apparently from the image of a balance where if you put something on the empty pan and it causes the balance to tilt toward that something, that means that that something has value. In the given text, the publication of Strickland's controversial biography caused this art to fall in value somewhat, and it could have been much worse if fans of Strickland hadn't generally ignored the claims in the biography.

— Anonymous

  • I haven't read this work.
  • " This is apparently from the image of a balance where if you put something on the empty pan and it causes the balance to tilt toward that something, that means that that something has value.
  • In the given text, the publication of Strickland's controversial biography caused this art to fall in value somewhat, and it could have been much worse if fans of Strickland hadn't generally ignored the claims in the biography.
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1 Answers
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I haven't read this work. But with no further context, this apparently means "make his art have value." This is apparently from the image of a balance where if you put something on the empty pan and it causes the balance to tilt toward that something, that means that that something has value. In the given text, the publication of Strickland's controversial biography caused this art to fall

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