turn the scale: meaning 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 This material may be protected by copyright. Hi. What do you think “turn the scale” means in this context? I know its definition, though. Thank you.