Excellent; all is well. The 'everlasting tedium' exactly countervenes the 'immediate onset of death' and I am left only with the 'canker' which, in the person of Firx, already afflicts me. One must use his wits in dealing with maledictions.

Chapter 2, "Cil" - Quotations and text from the Dying Earth novels - The Eyes of the Overworld (1966)