" O Merlin", said Arthur, "Here hadst thou been slain for all thy crafts had I not been." "Nay," said Merlin, "Not so, for I could save myself an I would; and thou art more near thy death than I am, for thou goest to the deathward, an God be not thy friend. "

― Thomas Malory , Le Morte d'Arthur: King Arthur and the Legends of the Round Table