[…] rather than alter his pace, or path (that Conscience or Reason boundeth him in) he will bee poor, undone; any thing but the Ratio formalis, essentiall of a Suist, or selfe-polititian, that is changeable.

As much as he was committed to analytical intelligence, Irving was equally committed to good writing. He worked hard to get sentences right. His own work he edited unprotectively […]

a headachy pain

My personal favorite that emerged from the fog of warspeak was gorilla snot (2001), a gluelike substance that is spread over sand to prevent a dust cloud from forming whenever a helicopter takes off or lands.