Iron balance scale tipping toward a shriveled apple, with forest greenery and loose leaves at its base

Original artwork, not a still

Garden of Eden · 1986

Ernest Hemingway

Do not start blaming who you love, or apportioning guilt, for it will all be apportioned in good time, and not by you.

Behind the line

What it means

Our interpretation.

The speaker urges someone not to assign blame to the person they love. Guilt, they say, will be apportioned later by someone other than the listener. The advice asks for restraint now, while leaving that later judgment outside the listener's hands.

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