The King answered her not a word. Only his lip showed a gleam of teeth, as of a tiger's troubled at his meal." - Meaning and context.">
Chapter 17, "The King Flies His Haggard"
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So now she [Prezmyra] told him of her letters received from Corund out of Impland. "It is well seen, Lord," said she, "how in these days you do beat down all peoples under you, and do set up new tributary kings to add to your great praise in Carcë. O King, how long must this ill weed of Demonland offend us, going still untrodden under feet?"
The King answered her not a word. Only his lip showed a gleam of teeth, as of a tiger's troubled at his meal.

— Eric Rücker Eddison

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "So now she [Prezmyra] told him of her letters received from Corund out of Impland. "It is well seen, Lord," said she, "how in these days you do beat down all peoples under you, and do set up new tributary kings to add to your great praise in Carcë. O King, how long must this ill weed of Demonland offend us, going still untrodden under feet?"
The King answered her not a word. Only his lip showed a gleam of teeth, as of a tiger's troubled at his meal." in the context of "Chapter 17, "The King Flies His Haggard"" to mean that wisdom is timeless.

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Source: Wikiquote: "Eric Rücker Eddison" (Quotes, The Worm Ouroboros (1922)) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
Eric Rücker Eddison

About Eric Rücker Eddison

Eric Rücker Eddison (24 November 1882 – 18 August 1945), who wrote under the name E. R. Eddison, was an English fantasy writer most famous for his novels The Worm Ouroboros, Mistress of Mistresses and A Fish Dinner in Memison.