--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Authors are partial to their wit, 'tis…" description: "\"Authors are partial to their wit, 'tis true, But are not critics to their judgment, too?\" — Alexander Pope" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/902/alexander-pope-235_books_authors-are-partial-to-their-wit-tis-tru_786827.png" --- # Authors are partial to their wit, 'tis true, But are not… ![“Authors are partial to their wit, 'tis true, But are not critics to their judgment, too?” quote by Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/902/alexander-pope-235_books_authors-are-partial-to-their-wit-tis-tru_786827.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/902/alexander-pope-235_books_authors-are-partial-to-their-wit-tis-tru_786827.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/902/alexander-pope-235_books_authors-are-partial-to-their-wit-tis-tru_786827.png) > “Authors are partial to their wit, 'tis true, But are not critics to their judgment, too?” [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Authors favor their own cleverness, yet critics should also be judged fairly, acknowledging bias in self‑assessment. **In simple terms:** Authors love wit; critics need fairness. Key Takeaway Balance self‑praise with objective critique. Themes self‑assessment bias critique literary standards Mood reflective analytical educational Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - writing workshops - peer review sessions - literary analysis Key Concepts humor self‑reflection Questions to Reflect On - How do you guard against bias when evaluating your work? - What standards ensure fair criticism? A Different Perspective Self‑praise can blind authors to flaws. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Judgment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/judgment/) [Wit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wit/) ## Related quotes > [Criticism is beyond your control and is a collective group of people deciding things about you that may or may not be true. Some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-ashcroft/criticism-is-beyond-your-control-and-is-a-collective-group-of-people/) [Richard Ashcroft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-ashcroft/) > [If I depended on the critics' judgment and recognition, I'd never have gone into the motion-picture business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wayne/if-i-depended-on-the-critics-judgment-and-recognition-i-d-never-have/) [John Wayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wayne/) > [I don't trust white critics' judgment about most things that deal with black life, particularly when a black person is the creator.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-mcmillan/i-don-t-trust-white-critics-judgment-about-most-things-that-deal-with/) [Terry McMillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mcmillan/) > [Modest plainness sets off sprightly wit, For works may have more with than does 'em good, As bodies perish through excess of blood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/modest-plainness-sets-off-sprightly-wit-for-works-may-have-more-with/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [Poets like painters, thus unskilled to trace The naked nature and the living grace, With gold and jewels cover ev'ry part, And hide with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/poets-like-painters-thus-unskilled-to-trace-the-naked-nature-and-the/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [Beauty that shocks you, parts that none will trust, Wit that can creep, and pride that licks the dust.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/beauty-that-shocks-you-parts-that-none-will-trust-wit-that-can-creep/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [The greatest advantage I know of being thought a wit by the world is, that it gives one the greater freedom of playing the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/the-greatest-advantage-i-know-of-being-thought-a-wit-by-the-world-is/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [I have always considered The Merry Wives one of the worst plays, if not altogether the worst, that Shakespeare has left us. The wit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-henry-lewes/i-have-always-considered-the-merry-wives-one-of-the-worst-plays-if/) [George Henry Lewes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-henry-lewes/) > [Criticism is often not a science; it is a craft, requiring more good health than wit, more hard work than talent, more habit than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-de-la-bruyere/criticism-is-often-not-a-science-it-is-a-craft-requiring-more-good/) [Jean de la Bruyere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-de-la-bruyere/) > [The drama is not a mere copy of nature, not a facsimile. It is the free running hand of genius, under the impression of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leigh-hunt/the-drama-is-not-a-mere-copy-of-nature-not-a-facsimile-it-is-the-free/) [Leigh Hunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leigh-hunt/) > [Life is a battle of wits, and many people have to fight it unarmed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evan-esar/life-is-a-battle-of-wits-and-many-people-have-to-fight-it-unarmed/) [Evan Esar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evan-esar/) > [We do not claim that punning is legitimate wit. Wit consists in combination of ideas, punning in combination of words only. We wonder at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-hosmer/we-do-not-claim-that-punning-is-legitimate-wit-wit-consists-in/) [Harriet Hosmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-hosmer/) > [If you strike upon a thought that baffles you, break off from that entanglement and try another, so shall your wits be fresh to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristophanes/if-you-strike-upon-a-thought-that-baffles-you-break-off-from-that/) [Aristophanes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristophanes/) > [If you are well-mannered towards those whose views are similar to yours, you may be said to exhibit a fairly good character. But, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-are-well-mannered-towards-those-whose-views-are-similar-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) ## More by Alexander Pope > [How do we know that we have a right to kill creatures that we are so little above, as dogs, for our curiosity or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/how-do-we-know-that-we-have-a-right-to-kill-creatures-that-we-are-so/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [To wake the soul by tender strokes of art, To raise the genius, and to mend the heart; To make mankind, in conscious virtue…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/to-wake-the-soul-by-tender-strokes-of-art-to-raise-the-genius-and-to/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [A mighty maze! But not without a plan.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/a-mighty-maze-but-not-without-a-plan/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [Let such teach others who themselves excel, And censure freely who have written well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/let-such-teach-others-who-themselves-excel-and-censure-freely-who/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [For I, who hold sage Homer's rule the best, Welcome the coming, speed the going guest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/for-i-who-hold-sage-homer-s-rule-the-best-welcome-the-coming-speed/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [Like following life through creatures you dissect, You lose it in the moment you detect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/like-following-life-through-creatures-you-dissect-you-lose-it-in-the/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [When two people compliment each other with the choice of anything, each of them generally gets that which he likes least.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/when-two-people-compliment-each-other-with-the-choice-of-anything/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [Such labour'd nothings, in so strange a style, Amaze th' unlearn'd and make the learned smile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/such-labour-d-nothings-in-so-strange-a-style-amaze-th-unlearn-d-and/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [Charms strike the sight, but merit wins the soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/charms-strike-the-sight-but-merit-wins-the-soul/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [She went from opera, park, assembly, play, To morning walks, and prayers three hours a day. To part her time 'twixt reading and bohea,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/she-went-from-opera-park-assembly-play-to-morning-walks-and-prayers/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [I am satisfied to trifle away my time, rather than let it stick by me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/i-am-satisfied-to-trifle-away-my-time-rather-than-let-it-stick-by-me/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [The greatest advantage I know of being thought a wit by the world is, that it gives one the greater freedom of playing the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/the-greatest-advantage-i-know-of-being-thought-a-wit-by-the-world-is/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [Then say not Man's imperfect,Heav'n in fault; Say rather, Man's as perfect ashe ought:](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/then-say-not-man-s-imperfect-heav-n-in-fault-say-rather-man-s-as/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [First follow Nature, and your judgment frame By her just standard, which is still the same: Unerring nature, still divinely bright, One clear, unchanged,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/first-follow-nature-and-your-judgment-frame-by-her-just-standard/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [Who shall decide when doctors disagree, And soundest casuists doubt, like you and me?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/who-shall-decide-when-doctors-disagree-and-soundest-casuists-doubt/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) [Explore all 850 Alexander Pope quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) ## More Books quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/) [Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/) > [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [“Within the pages of books, I've journeyed to Mandalay, the Milky Way and Santa Fe, without once having to leave my armchair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-ansbro/within-the-pages-of-books-i-ve-journeyed-to-mandalay-the-milky-way/) [Kevin Ansbro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-ansbro/) > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“Tacitus did not write a most dangerous book. His readers made it so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-k-krebs/tacitus-did-not-write-a-most-dangerous-book-his-readers-made-it-so/) Christopher K. Krebs > [“Take some books and read; that’s an immense help; and books are always good company if you have the right sort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/take-some-books-and-read-that-s-an-immense-help-and-books-are-always/) [Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/) [Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/) > [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [“Be careful about reading health books. Some fine day you'll die of a misprint.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-herz/be-careful-about-reading-health-books-some-fine-day-you-ll-die-of-a/) Markus Herz > [But editors are still the world's readers. And thus the eyes of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/but-editors-are-still-the-world-s-readers-and-thus-the-eyes-of-the/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) [Browse all 59,485 Books quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Authors are partial to their wit, 'tis true, But are not critics to their judgment, too?", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alexander Pope" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/authors-are-partial-to-their-wit-tis-true-but-are-not-critics-to/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Books" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/authors-are-partial-to-their-wit-tis-true-but-are-not-critics-to/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/902/alexander-pope-235_books_authors-are-partial-to-their-wit-tis-tru_786827.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/902/alexander-pope-235_books_authors-are-partial-to-their-wit-tis-tru_786827.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/902/alexander-pope-235_books_authors-are-partial-to-their-wit-tis-tru_786827.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Authors are partial to their wit, 'tis true, But are not critics to their judgment, too?” — Alexander Pope", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Alexander Pope", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Authors are partial to their wit,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/authors-are-partial-to-their-wit-tis-true-but-are-not-critics-to/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/authors-are-partial-to-their-wit-tis-true-but-are-not-critics-to/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```