---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Poetic justice, with her lifted scale…"
description: "\"“Poetic justice, with her lifted scale, Where, in nice balance, truth with gold she weighs, And solid pudding against empty praise. Here she beholds th..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e6/alexander-pope-235_authorship_poetic-justice-with-her-lifted-scale-whe_2647351.png"
---

#  Poetic justice, with her lifted scale, Where, in nice…

![“Poetic justice, with her lifted scale, Where, in nice balance, truth with gold she weighs, And solid pudding against empty praise. Here she beholds the chaos dark and deep, Where nameless somethings in their causes sleep, Till genial Jacob, or a warm third day, Call forth each mass, a poem, or a…” quote by Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e6/alexander-pope-235_authorship_poetic-justice-with-her-lifted-scale-whe_2647351.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e6/alexander-pope-235_authorship_poetic-justice-with-her-lifted-scale-whe_2647351.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e6/alexander-pope-235_authorship_poetic-justice-with-her-lifted-scale-whe_2647351.png)

> ““Poetic justice, with her lifted scale, Where, in nice balance, truth with gold she weighs, And solid pudding against empty praise. Here she beholds the chaos dark and deep, Where nameless somethings in their causes sleep, Till genial Jacob, or a warm third day, Call forth each mass, a poem, or a play: How hints, like spawn, scarce quick in embryo lie, How new-born nonsense first is taught to cry.””

[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.

Justice weighs truth against falsehood, revealing hidden chaos and nurturing creation.

**In simple terms:** Justice balances truth.

Key Takeaway

Uphold fairness.

Themes

justice truth balance creativity

Mood

reflective poetic

Type

literary ethical

When to use this quote

- legal decisions
- artistic critique
- personal morality
- conflict resolution

Key Concepts

ethics literature

Questions to Reflect On

- How do we measure truth?
- What role does chaos play in growth?

A Different Perspective

Justice can be subjective.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Authorship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/authorship/) [Corruption](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/corruption/) [Enlightenment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enlightenment/) [Justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justice/) [Poem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poem/) [Poetic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetic/) [Poetic Justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetic-justice/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Satire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/satire/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/)

## Related quotes

> [“...the problem with poetic justice is that it never knows when to stop.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-hughart/the-problem-with-poetic-justice-is-that-it-never-knows-when-to-stop/)

[Barry Hughart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-hughart/)

> [There may be more poetry than justice in poetic justice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-will/there-may-be-more-poetry-than-justice-in-poetic-justice/)

[George Will](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-will/)

> [If the church does not identify with the marginalized, it will itself be marginalized. This is God's poetic justice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-keller/if-the-church-does-not-identify-with-the-marginalized-it-will-itself/)

[Timothy Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-keller/)

> [Poetic justice, poetic justice.. if I told you that a flower bloom in a dark room would you trust it. I mean I write…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kendrick-lamar/poetic-justice-poetic-justice-if-i-told-you-that-a-flower-bloom-in-a/)

[Kendrick Lamar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kendrick-lamar/)

> [From the moment one sets up for an author, one must be treated as ceremoniously, that is as unfaithfully, "as a king's favorite or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/from-the-moment-one-sets-up-for-an-author-one-must-be-treated-as/)

[Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/)

> [No, what I felt was the torment of waiting, stuck between the end of one sentence and the beginning of the next which might…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/no-what-i-felt-was-the-torment-of-waiting-stuck-between-the-end-of/)

[Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/)

> [“The past is dangerous, not least because it cannot go away. It is simply there , never to change, and in its constancy it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-esolen/the-past-is-dangerous-not-least-because-it-cannot-go-away-it-is/)

[Anthony Esolen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-esolen/)

> [“The same hand that can write a beautiful poem, can knock you out with one punch—that's Poetic Justice.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irish-wayne-kelly/the-same-hand-that-can-write-a-beautiful-poem-can-knock-you-out-with/)

[Irish" Wayne Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irish-wayne-kelly/)

> [“Amateurs… They’re like of a pack of clay pigeons to the shotgun they call poetic justice.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-reed/amateurs-they-re-like-of-a-pack-of-clay-pigeons-to-the-shotgun-they/)

Martin Reed

> [I never really knew what to do with my hair to begin with. When I was fat, I had incredibly long, unkempt hair. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corey-stoll/i-never-really-knew-what-to-do-with-my-hair-to-begin-with-when-i-was/)

[Corey Stoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corey-stoll/)

> [“Sir Storm, I have decided that you are a god of poetic justice." Baka to Storm”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-danann/sir-storm-i-have-decided-that-you-are-a-god-of-poetic-justice-baka-to/)

[Victoria Danann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-danann/)

> [“To say that the farmer laughed would be to express the matter feebly. That his young opponent, who had been irritating him unspeakably since…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-g-wodehouse/to-say-that-the-farmer-laughed-would-be-to-express-the-matter-feebly/)

[P.G. Wodehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-g-wodehouse/)

> [“Retribution. Poetic justice. Just deserts. Comeuppance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-flinn/retribution-poetic-justice-just-deserts-comeuppance/)

[Alex Flinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-flinn/)

> [“That was just too embarrassing, although there was a sort of poetic justice to peeing on your enemies when they weren't able to get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elle-casey/that-was-just-too-embarrassing-although-there-was-a-sort-of-poetic/)

[Elle Casey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elle-casey/)

> [“He wanted to laugh at the poetic justice of it all. After a couple of years of chasing after women and then a decade…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-quinn/he-wanted-to-laugh-at-the-poetic-justice-of-it-all-after-a-couple-of/)

[Julia Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-quinn/)

## 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 Authorship quotes

> [To write well is to think well, to feel well, and to render well; it is to possess at once intellect, soul, and taste.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-louis-leclerc-comte-de-buffon/to-write-well-is-to-think-well-to-feel-well-and-to-render-well-it-is/)

[Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-louis-leclerc-comte-de-buffon/)

> [A man starts upon a sudden, takes Pen, Ink, and Paper, and without ever having had a thought of it before, resolves within himself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-de-la-bruyere/a-man-starts-upon-a-sudden-takes-pen-ink-and-paper-and-without-ever/)

[Jean de la Bruyere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-de-la-bruyere/)

> [The writer, like a priest, must be exempted from secular labor. His work needs a frolic health; he must be at the top of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-writer-like-a-priest-must-be-exempted-from-secular-labor-his-work/)

[Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/)

> [“If there's a will, there's a way! I feel larger than LIFE--and look up to the stars who shine down on me and have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-scrima-black/if-there-s-a-will-there-s-a-way-i-feel-larger-than-life-and-look-up/)

Donna Scrima-Black

> [“Every article and review and book that I have ever published has constituted an appeal to the person or persons to whom I should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/every-article-and-review-and-book-that-i-have-ever-published-has/)

[Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/)

> [ Ye who write, choose a subject suited to your abilities. \[Lat., Sumite materiam vestris, qui scribitis, aequam Viribus.\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/ye-who-write-choose-a-subject-suited-to-your-abilities-lat-sumite/)

[Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/)

> [Authorship, according to the spirit in which it is pursued, is an infancy, a pastime, a labor, a handicraft, an art, a science, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-wilhelm-von-schlegel/authorship-according-to-the-spirit-in-which-it-is-pursued-is-an/)

[August Wilhelm Von Schlegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-wilhelm-von-schlegel/)

> [Authorship has never been with me a matter of choice. I have not done it for amusement, or for money, or for fame, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-martineau/authorship-has-never-been-with-me-a-matter-of-choice-i-have-not-done/)

[Harriet Martineau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-martineau/)

> [So there's a lot of people tied into believing that the traditional response to the authorship question. In terms of actors, some people get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-rylance/so-there-s-a-lot-of-people-tied-into-believing-that-the-traditional/)

[Mark Rylance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-rylance/)

> [Our favorites are few; since only what rises from the heart reaches it, being caught and carried on the tongues of men wheresoever love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-bronson-alcott/our-favorites-are-few-since-only-what-rises-from-the-heart-reaches-it/)

[Amos Bronson Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-bronson-alcott/)

> [Subtract from many modern poets all that may be found in Shakespeare, and trash will remain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/subtract-from-many-modern-poets-all-that-may-be-found-in-shakespeare/)

[Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/)

> [ All these teachers and \[screenwriting\] books mean you see movies that have been worked over by more committees wielding more rules, that all originality… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-schrader/all-these-teachers-and-screenwriting-books-mean-you-see-movies-that/)

[Paul Schrader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-schrader/)

> [That author, however, who has thought more than he has read, read more than he has written, and written more than he has published,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/that-author-however-who-has-thought-more-than-he-has-read-read-more/)

[Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/)

> [To expect an author to talk as he writes is ridiculous; or even if he did you would find fault with him as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/to-expect-an-author-to-talk-as-he-writes-is-ridiculous-or-even-if-he/)

[William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/)

> [“Try to be someone upon whom nothing is lost!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/try-to-be-someone-upon-whom-nothing-is-lost/)

[Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/)

[Browse all 190 Authorship quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/authorship/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“Poetic justice, with her lifted scale, Where, in nice balance, truth with gold she weighs, And solid pudding against empty praise. Here she beholds the chaos dark and deep, Where nameless somethings in their causes sleep, Till genial Jacob, or a warm third day, Call forth each mass, a poem, or a play: How hints, like spawn, scarce quick in embryo lie, How new-born nonsense first is taught to cry.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Alexander Pope"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/poetic-justice-with-her-lifted-scale-where-in-nice-balance-truth-with/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Authorship"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/poetic-justice-with-her-lifted-scale-where-in-nice-balance-truth-with/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e6/alexander-pope-235_authorship_poetic-justice-with-her-lifted-scale-whe_2647351.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e6/alexander-pope-235_authorship_poetic-justice-with-her-lifted-scale-whe_2647351.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e6/alexander-pope-235_authorship_poetic-justice-with-her-lifted-scale-whe_2647351.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Poetic justice, with her lifted scale, Where, in nice balance, truth with gold she weighs, And solid pudding…” — 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": "“Poetic justice, with her lifted scale,...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/poetic-justice-with-her-lifted-scale-where-in-nice-balance-truth-with/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/poetic-justice-with-her-lifted-scale-where-in-nice-balance-truth-with/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
