Guards! Guards! - Terry Pratchett

Perhaps the magic would last, perhaps it wouldn't. But then again, what does?

If there was anything that depressed him more than his own cynicism, it was that quite often it still wasn't as cynical as real life.

I believe you find life such a problem because you think there are good people and bad people. You're wrong, of course. There are, always and only, the bad people, but some of them are on opposite sides.