他反映的代谢是一个燃烧的过程，是活跃的炉子。当它停止运作时，生活已经结束。他对地狱一定是错误的。地狱很冷；那里的一切都很冷。身体意味着体重和热量；现在，体重是我屈服于我的热量的力量，我的热量正在滑走。而且，除非我重生，否则它将永远不会返回。这是宇宙的命运。所以至少我不会一个人。
(Metabolism, he reflected, is a burning process, an active furnace. When it ceases to function, life is over. They must be wrong about hell, he said to himself. Hell is cold; everything there is cold. The body means weight and heat; now weight is a force which I am succumbing to, and heat, my heat, is slipping away. And, unless I become reborn, it will never return. This is the destiny of the universe. So at least I won't be alone.)