oft-painted

Updated: May 2, 2025

Outwardly regarded, our craft is a lie; for all that is outwardly seen of it is the clean-swept deck, and oft-painted planks comprised above the waterline; whereas, the vast mass of our fabric, with all its storerooms of secrets, for ever slides along far under the surface.

Herman Melville - White Jacket: or, the World on a Man-of-War