Outworks

[Johnyxxx]

Hello,

Though I have read it several times which is a good way for me to understand better I am still at a loss as to what the bold text means. Can anybody help me?

Walls so ancient and so sparsely adorned and decorated could not but be inhospitable in effect. Their stone was of a bleached
bone-grey; a grey that none the less seemed to be as immaterial as flame--or incandescent ash. They were substantial enough, however, to cast a marvellously lucent shadow, of a blue no less vivid but paler than that of the sea, on the shelving sward beneath them. And that shadow was steadily shifting as I watched. But even if the complete edifice had vanished into the void, the scene would still have been of an incredible loveliness. The colours in air and sky on this dangerous coast seemed to shed a peculiar unreality even on the rocks of its own outworks.

All Hallows, Walter de la Mare, 191?

Thanks a lot.

 

[Skrej]

Outworks are defensive structures, set out in front or beyond the main defensive line/wall.

Here, it seems to be referring to the natural geological structures of the rocky coastline which form a kind of defensive perimeter.

 

[BobK]

:up: Anything called a "<something>work" is usually artificial. But in this case it's a metaphor, like referring to an awe-inspiring cavern as a 'cathedral'.

b

 

[emsr2d2]

Johnyxxx, I have edited almost all your recent posts. You are putting unnecessary line breaks between paragraphs - one break is enough. Also, I assume you are copying and pasting the quotes from books. When you do that, they look strange on the screen. Your text should stretch all the way from the left to the right of the text box. After you post, look at the layout, then click "Edit post" and make the relevant changes so that your posts look like post #1 does now that I have edited it. Thanks.

 

[Johnyxxx]

Johnyxxx, I have edited almost all your recent posts. You are putting unnecessary line breaks between paragraphs - one break is enough. Also, I assume you are copying and pasting the quotes from books. When you do that, they look strange on the screen. Your text should stretch all the way from the left to the right of the text box. After you post, look at the layout, then click "Edit post" and make the relevant changes so that your posts look like post #1 does now that I have edited it. Thanks.

Ok, thanks, emsr2d2; I will get better. And speaking of which, I have also thought of what kind of text (fond and size) to use by default; because texts I copy and paste here have often different parameters; if you give me a tip, I will stick to it.

 

[emsr2d2]

If you highlight all the text and then click on the "Remove Format" button (it looks like two capital A's with a red X), the system will change your whole post to the standard font and size.

 

[BobK]

... what kind of text (font and size) ...

Fond is an adjective that has nothing to do with typefaces. (Etymologically, though, I think font does have some cognates that have a D there - foundry for example.)

By the way, I don't know if this was just a slip, but anyway...;-)

b

 

[Johnyxxx]

Yes, it should have been font. My mistake.