What is the meaning of "any evidence to the contrary"?

Question

"Darkness was falling over the ancient Grecian monastery and the first of the evening stars were beginning to twinkle in the cloudless Aegean sky.
The sea was calm, the air was still and did indeed, as is so often claimed for it, smell of wine and roses.
A yellow moon, almost full, had just cleared the horizon and bathed in its soft and benign light the softly rolling landscape and lent a magical quality to the otherwise rather harsh and forbidding outlines of the dark and brooding monastery which, any evidence to the contrary, slumbered on peacefully as it had done for countless centuries gone by."

This is from Alistair Maclean's River Of Death.

I don't understand the meaning of any evidence to the contrary here.
Please help me with this expression.

Jamesglick · Accepted Answer

The dark and brooding monastery is suggestive of something unpeaceful, but it is just a suggestion. By adding any evidence to the contrary, it makes it crystal clear that the monastery is in fact a peaceful place. There is no evidence, nothing that can be seen, heard, or felt to indicate that there anything other than peacefulness associated with the monastery.

Thomas_Anderson · Answer

jamesglickThe dark and brooding monastery is suggestive of something unpeaceful, but it is just a suggestion. By adding any evidence to the contrary, it makes it crystal clear that the monastery is in fact a peaceful place. There is no evidence, nothing that can be seen, heard, or felt to indicate that there anything other than peacefulness associated with the monastery.

Thanks a lot.

I got it that "any evidence to the contrary" is used here to put stress on the peacefulness of monastery.

But what does "any evidence to the contrary" itself means?

"any evidence to the contrary", but contrary to what?
contrary to the peacefulness? or contrary to the frightful building?

In which conditions or situations we can use "any evidence to the contrary"?
Do you have some other examples of "any evidence to the contrary" from literature?
Still some what confused!

Thomas_Anderson · Answer

I google "any evidence to the contrary" and what I understood is as follows.

"any evidence to the contrary" means opposite /but (depending on the situation).

Like "We have for so long been told how good and great our country is that we refuse to open our eyes to any evidence to the contrary." from.

So here writer means that we accept our country is great as a fact and refuse to listen to any other or opposite thing.
"We have for so long been told how good and great our country is that we refuse to open our eyes to opposite"

Like "When I was a child, my otherwise enlightened family had a stuffed deer's head called Percy. Because I never heard any evidence to the contrary, I believed that the word percy referred to any stuffed animal's head." from

Means "When I was a child, my otherwise enlightened family had a stuffed deer's head called Percy. Because I never heard any thing opposite, I believed that the word percy referred to any stuffed animal's head.

So far, am I right?

In the Maclean's passage, "otherwise rather harsh and forbidding outlines of the dark and brooding monastery which, any evidence to the contrary, slumbered on peacefully as it had done for countless centuries gone by."

So it means "dark and brooding monastery (which suggested a scary place) but it slumbered on peacefully as it had done for..."

Any evidence for the contrary is just a fancy word for but or opposite.
Am I right?

Please guide me in this regard!

Moduffycobb · Answer

Hi,

I think that the missing link here is the word "evidence". Evidence means "proof", as in I have "proof" that you killed that man, because your fingerprints are at the scene, we found your gun, someone saw you. That proves you were there.

The word "contrary" does, yes, mean opposite to.

Evidence to the contrary means that there are facts that dispute, or question,something. It can mean opposite, but more so it can mean a challenge to that fact.

In your last sentence,

In the Maclean's passage, "otherwise rather harsh and forbidding outlines of the dark and brooding monastery which, any evidence to the contrary, slumbered on peacefully as it had done for countless centuries gone by."

The monastery seems scary and dark, although without evidence to the contrary, it had slept peacefully for years.

Hope this helps.

Maureen

Thomas_Anderson · Answer

moduffycobbThe monastery seems scary and dark, although without evidence to the contrary, it had slept peacefully for years.

Thanks a lot Maureen. Your explanation has really helped me.
Mr jamesglick, I owe you too.

What is the meaning of "any evidence to the contrary"?

Top answer

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

Related Questions