“
And do you know another thing, Arthur? Life is too bitter already, without territories and wars and noble feuds.
”
”
T.H. White (The Once and Future King)
“
This is beyond understanding." said the king. "You are the wisest man alive. You know what is preparing. Why do you not make a plan to save yourself?"
And Merlin said quietly, "Because I am wise. In the combat between wisdom and feeling, wisdom never wins.
”
”
John Steinbeck (The Acts of King Arthur and His Noble Knights)
“
The gods do not visit you to remind you what you know already.
”
”
Mary Stewart
“
I think too many people presume to read the divine Scriptures and fall into such terrors as this,' said Patricius sternly. 'Those who presume on their learning will learn, I trust, to listen to their priests for the true interpretations.'
The Merlin smiled gently. 'I cannot join you in that wish, brother. I am dedicated to the belief that it is God's will that all men should strive for wisdom in themselves, not look to it from some other. Babes, perhaps, must have their food chewed for them by a nurse, but men may drink and eat of wisdom for themselves.
”
”
Marion Zimmer Bradley (The Mists of Avalon (Avalon, #1))
“
Thinking and planning is one side of life; doing is another. A man cannot be doing all the time.
”
”
Mary Stewart (The Crystal Cave (Arthurian Saga, #1))
“
Morgause laughed as she mounted her horse with some help from a footman. “I see through your protests, Merlin. You are quite amorous of me, I know it.” Merlin looked like he swallowed a frog. “Lady,” he said. “Wise, old lady. Please depart lest I be forced to help you depart.
”
”
K.M. Shea (Enchanted (King Arthur and Her Knights, #2))
“
The Queen of Air and Darkness tilted back her head and laughed. A more ghastly sound I hope never to hear. ‘Do you think I care about these trifles?’
‘Murder is no trifle, woman,’ Arthur said.
‘No? How many men have you killed, Great King? How many have you slain without cause? How many did you cut down that you might have spared? How many died because you in your battle-rage would not heed their pleas for mercy?’
The High King opened his mouth to speak, but could make no answer.
”
”
Stephen R. Lawhead (Arthur (The Pendragon Cycle, #3))
“
Used every man according to his capacity.
”
”
Mary Stewart (The Crystal Cave (Arthurian Saga, #1))
“
Keep that hairy mutt outside the great hall,” Merlin ordered as they made their way to the treasury door. “No.” “You are acting like a child.” “I am a woman masquerading as a 15 year old boy king who makes no decisions about his own kingdom. The least you will allow me to do is to make decisions regarding my pets.” “Fine.
”
”
K.M. Shea (Enchanted (King Arthur and Her Knights, #2))
“
Arthur is no fit king. Uther's bastard, Merlin's pawn, he is lowborn and a fool. He is wanton and petty and cruel. A glutton and a drunkard, he lacks all civilized graces. In short, he is a sullen, ignorant brute.
All these things and more men say of Arthur. Let them. When all the words are spoken and the arguements fall exhausted into silence, this single fact remains: we would follow Arthur to the very gates of Hell and beyond if he asked it. And that is the solitary truth.
Show me another who can claim such loyalty.
”
”
Stephen R. Lawhead (Arthur (The Pendragon Cycle, #3))
“
Stop, Morgian. Your wiles cannot avail you now.’ He turned to the High King and said, ‘The hurt this woman has done me, I readily forgive. It is for the harm that she has caused others that she is to be judged.
”
”
Stephen R. Lawhead (Arthur (The Pendragon Cycle, #3))
“
I’m lucky summers are cool here, or this would really be the pits,” Britt muttered, hiking up her pantyhose. (Merlin still insisted they were called chausses. Britt knew better.)
”
”
K.M. Shea (Enchanted (King Arthur and Her Knights, #2))
“
He holds the sword!' shouted Merlin. 'And that has not changed. Whoever would be king must first take the sword from Arthur's hand. For I tell you truly, none among you will be king without it!
”
”
Stephen R. Lawhead (Arthur (The Pendragon Cycle, #3))
“
Merlin: "Grown-ups have developed an unpleasant habit lately, I notice, of comforting themselves for their degradation by pretending that children are childish. I trust we are free of this?"
Arthur: "Everybody knows that children are more intelligent than their parents."
Merlin: "You and I know it, but the people who are going to read this book do not.
Our readers of that time (...) have exactly three ideas in their magnificent noodles. The first is that the human species is superior to others. The second, that the twentieth century is superior to other centuries. And the third, that human adults of the twentieth century are superior to their young. (...)
”
”
T.H. White (The Once and Future King (The Once and Future King #1-5))
“
Britt said, standing up. “You know, Merlin, I’m starting to think your magic might be all talk.”
“What?” Merlin squawked.
“You can’t break Morgause’s enchantment, and you can’t help me understand Gawain. It seems like there isn’t much you can do,” Britt said.
“You ungrateful pig-child. Of course I can do magic. Lots of magic! I brought you here didn’t I?” Merlin said.
”
”
K.M. Shea (Enchanted (King Arthur and Her Knights, #2))
“
When I die, never say that I am gone. The sun sets. The moon fades. My body perishes. But my leaving has nothing to do with being gone. I will stay forever with you.
”
”
David Paul Kirkpatrick
“
Merlin Speaks:
Ô mighty trees of Avalon
release sap and seeds
into hearts and minds
So Arthur’s dream
can reveal echoes
of futures past
So Camelot’s glory
is forever ingrained
in the rich forests
and mountains’ mysterious valleys
where a once and future King
lowered his sword
and lay in the arms
of his sweet Lady of Forests and Lakes
”
”
Ramon William Ravenswood (Icons Speak)
“
I was going to bring Sir Kay and Gawain with me, but at the last minute Lancelot pushed Kay back.So I had no choice but to bring Lancelot in Kay’s place,” Merlin said, sounding just the smallest bit disgusted.
“I find myself gladdened by this news,” Britt said.
Merlin raised an eyebrow in surprise. “Are you?”
Lancelot beamed. “I am pleased my presence delights you, My Lord.”
“It’s not that. Since you kept Kay from coming to get me,in all likeliness that means you are now higher on his list of people to MAIM than I am,” Britt said. Merlin coughed to cover a laugh,
”
”
K.M. Shea (Embittered (King Arthur and Her Knights, #3))
“
the stables. “My Lord,” he said, sketching a bow to Britt. “A guest has just arrived at Camelot. A Royal guest—a lady!” the young boy said, looking horrified. Britt held back a groan, but couldn’t stop her expression of disdain. “Inform the lady I am busy with kingly affairs and send Merlin to greet her.” “Merlin already has greeted her,” the page said, his eyes bulging. “She hit him with a club.” “Never mind, I shall meet this curious lady myself,” Britt said, brushing horse hair from her clothes.
”
”
K.M. Shea (Embark (King Arthurs and her Knights, #4))
“
All that winter's day and far into the night the kings twisted and squirmed, but Merlin held them in his iron grasp and would not let go. He became first a rock, and then a mountain in Arthur's defence. Arthur stood equally unmoved. No power on earth could have prevailed against them . . .
”
”
Stephen R. Lawhead (Arthur (The Pendragon Cycle, #3))
“
It is a child speaking," said Merlin, "not a king and not a knight, but a hurt and angry child, or you would know, my lord, that there is more to a king than a crown, and far more to a knight than a sword. You were a knight when you grappled Pellinore unarmed."
"And he defeated me."
"You were a knight," said Merlin. "Somewhere in the world there is defeat for everyone. Some are destroyed by defeat, and some made small and mean by victory. Greatness lives in one who triumphs equally over defeat and victory.
”
”
John Steinbeck (The Acts of King Arthur and His Noble Knights)
“
Britt Said “I’m glad.”
Merlin nodded “If you’re so glad then you should work to win over more of your men.”
“Yes, Merlin.”
“Don’t you ‘yes, Merlin’ me!”
“Of course, Merlin.”
“That’s hardly any better.”
“You don’t think I know that?” “Harridan.”
“I find it amusing that you resort to name calling when you can’t think of anything better to say.”
“Only to those who deserve it.”
“Yes, Merlin.
”
”
K.M. Shea (Enchanted (King Arthur and Her Knights, #2))
“
And at that moment he saw that Merlin was already standing in the entrance of the tent, and Merlin smiled, for he took joy in causing wonder.
”
”
John Steinbeck (The Acts of King Arthur and His Noble Knights)
“
Then I am fundamentally a slave, I whom you call the most glorious king of all?” said Arthur. “No man is free who needeth air to breathe,” said Merlin.
”
”
Thomas Berger (Arthur Rex)
“
Also, on account of the odd relationship between time and space, the people who do manage to time-jump sometimes space-jump at the same time and end up in places where they simply don't belong. Over there, for example," he said as a raucous DeLorean sports car rared into view from nowhere, "is that crazy American professorwho can't seem to stay put in one time, and, I must say, there is an absolute plague of of killer robots from the future being sent to change the past. Sleeping there under that banyan tree is a certain Hank Morgan of Hartford, Connecticut, who was accidentally transported one day back to King Arthur's Court, and stayed there until Merlin put him to sleep for 1300 thirteen hundred years. He was suppsoed to wake up back in his own time, but look at this lazy fellow! He's still snoring away, and has missed his slot.
”
”
Salman Rushdie (Luka and the Fire of Life (Khalifa Brothers, #2))
“
Rest you here, enchanter, while the light fades,
Vision narrows, and the far
Sky-edge is gone with the sun.
Be content with the small spark
Of the coal, the smell
Of food, and the breath
Of frost beyond the shut door.
Home is here, and familiar things;
A cup, a wooden bowl, a blanket,
Prayer, a gift for the god, and sleep.
(And music, says the harp, And music.)
Rest here, enchanter, while the fire dies.
In a breath, in an eyelid's fall,
You will see them, the dreams;
The sword and the young king,
The white horse and the running water,
The lit lamp and the boy smiling.
Dreams, dreams, enchanter! Gone with the harp's echo
when the strings
Fall mute; with the flame's shadow when the fire
Dies.
Be still, and listen.
Far on the black air Blows the great wind, rises
The running tide, flows the clear river.
Listen, enchanter, hear
Through the black air and the singing air
The music….
”
”
Mary Stewart
“
Only Merlin and her guards ever woke her in the mornings, and her guards only shouted to her through the doors.
Britt picked her head off her pillow. “Merlin?”
Merlin, once again standing out in the hallway, hissed through the door.“You’re still in bed.”
“Yeah, so?”
“It is indecent for you to allow a man into your bedchambers when you are still in bed!”
Britt rolled her eyes and sat up. “What did you want?”
“Get up. We’re going to mass.”
“No, we’re not. You might be, but I’m not.”
“Oh yes you are, you little heathen.”
“It’s boring. The pastor only talks in Greek or Hebrew or whatever that language is.”
“He’s the archbishop, and he conducts the service in Latin.”
“Mmm, yeah that,” Britt said, falling back into her bed with a thump.
“Do not lie back down you unschooled foundling!”
“Too late,” Britt said. “If you want me to go to mass you’re going to have to drag me out of here. How indecent would that be?
”
”
K.M. Shea (Enchanted (King Arthur and Her Knights, #2))
“
There is one person who can save you, sire.’ ‘Who is that?’ ‘Merlin. The great magician. He is the man who made the abbey church of Derby disappear into the earth. He will know how to heal you. He will find a cure.’ ‘Bring him before me. Let him work his magic on my poor bones.
”
”
Peter Ackroyd (The Death of King Arthur: The Immortal Legend (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition))
“
If you did die tomorrow…”
Merlin’s fingers flew into the air. “I can’t—”
“Theoretically,” Val said, gently rolling his eyes. “What would you want people to say about you?”
“Once upon a time, he had a very nice beard,” Merlin said. “He was the teacher of forty-two king Arthurs. He never gave in to tyrants.
”
”
Cori McCarthy & Amy Rose Capetta (Once & Future (Once & Future, #1))
“
His very first story, he told me as he was dying, was set in Camelot, the court of King Arthur in Britain: Merlin the Court Magician casts a spell that allows him to equip the Knights of the Round Table with Thompson submachine guns and drums of .45-caliber dumdums.
Sir Galahad, the purest in heart and mind, familiarizes himself with this new virtue-compelling appliance. While doing so, he puts a slug through the Holy Grail and makes a Swiss cheese of Queen Guinevere.
”
”
Kurt Vonnegut Jr. (Timequake)
“
Over the previous summer, Merlin made the unfortunate discovery that he was fond of Britt.
”
”
K.M. Shea (Enlighten (King Arthur and Her Knights, #5))
“
Britt Said “I’m glad.”
Merlin nodded “If you’re so glad then you should work to win over more of your men.”
“Yes, Merlin.”
“Don’t you ‘yes, Merlin’ me!”
“Of course, Merlin.”
“That’s hardly any better.”
“You don’t think I know that?”
“Harridan.”
“I find it amusing that you resort to name calling when you can’t think of anything better to say.”
“Only to those who deserve it.”
“Yes, Merlin.
”
”
K.M. Shea (Enchanted (King Arthur and Her Knights, #2))
“
Take heed, you bear in mind the piety you owe unto your country and unto your fellow countrymen, whose slaughter by the treachery of the Payneham shall be unto your disgrace everlasting. Unless you press hardily forward to defend them. Fight therefore for your country, and if it be that death overtake you, suffer it willingly for your country’s sake. For death itself is victory, and a healing unto the soul.
”
”
Geoffrey of Monmouth (The History of the Kings of Britain)
“
She was wearing a tunic. A blue tunic that matched the shade of her eyes and hit her knees. Beneath the tunic, she wore an inner tunic made of linen that stuck to her like a second skin. She also had on hose, or chausses, as Merlin called them. Britt almost laughed in his face when the man explained that instead of wearing pants, men wore drawers, the tunic, and the fitted socks/chausses.
”
”
K.M. Shea (Enthroned (King Arthur and Her Knights, #1))
“
I suppose I'm just worried I'll disappoint people," Arthur admitted. "Merlin says I'm going to be a legendary king - I just wish I was confident enough to agree. And now that I know the legend of my reign stretches into other dimensions, it seems impossible that I'll ever live up to those expectations, or worse -"
"The expectations you put on yourself?" Alex said, finishing his sentence.
Arthur went quiet and nodded. "You too?"
"My legacy isn't written in the stars like yours, but when I first became the Fairy Godmother I almost drowned in the expectations other people put on me," Alex said. "I wanted to believe in myself as much as the rest of the world did, so I put so much pressure on myself; I became harshly disappointed every time I made a simple mistake. I felt like I would disappoint the world if I was ever exposed as -"
"Human," Arthur said, finishing her sentence this time.
"Yes," Alex said. "My biggest fear was disappointing someone, and then after one moment of weakness I ended up disappointing the entire fairy-tale world. I went form being the most beloved person in the Happily Forever After Assembly, to the most feared and hated. But rather than fighting the world that discarded me, I chose to continue saving it. So maybe greatness isn't about being immortal, or glorious, or popular - it's about choosing to fight for the greater good of the world, even when the world's turned it's back on you.
”
”
Chris Colfer (Beyond the Kingdoms (The Land of Stories, #4))
“
Jack and Annie joined Arthur and Guinevere on the bench, and Cafelle sat on a low stool near the blazing fire. Kee sat beside her. “Tell me, what do you seek to know, my lord?” Cafelle asked King Arthur. The king leaned forward into the half circle of firelight. “The ninth dragon…was stolen…from Morgan’s garden,” he said. “Oh,” Cafelle said. “I understand. You need the ninth dragon, my lord, to cross to Avalon.” “I do indeed, wise friend,” he said. Cafelle nodded. Without another word, she stood up and opened the door. Kee joined her at the threshold, and the two stood together, facing the woods outside. Kee’s silky
”
”
Mary Pope Osborne (Night of the Ninth Dragon (Merlin Missions, #27))
“
Indeed," Arthur said. "But ... no one has said I'll be a good king. It would be a relief to know I don't go mad or bad before the end."
Alex sighed, but with a smile. She knew Arthur was prying information out of her just to tease her, but two could play this game.
"You're a good king, don't worry," she said, and then looked sadly to the ground. "At least you are once you heal from ... the incident."
"What incident?" Arthur asked.
Alex shook her head somberly. "Well, if Merlin hasn't told you, then I probably shouldn't."
"Oh, right - the incident," he said, pretending to know. "Old Merlin's told me about that plenty of times."
"Good," Alex said. "So you know all about the leeches."
Arthur gulped. "Yes ... I do," he said nervously.
"Luckily by then you've already been captured by the Saxons and your legs have been ripped off," Alex said. "So there aren't too many leech wounds."
Arthur gulped. "It's the definition of luck," he said.
"It's a shame you lose both your arms in the battle before you get captured," Alex said. "But you aren't known as Arthur the Limbless for nothing."
"Arthur the Limbless? "
"Oh, yes," Alex said. "A lesser king would have let the title belittle him, but you still manage to instill fear in all your enemies. Then again, that could be because of your future wife, Queen Girtha. Of course, Merlin has told you about her ..."
"Naturally," Arthur said. "She's that nasty woman, right? So hideous, people are afraid to look at her. Now remind me, how many terrible children do we have?"
"Just the one," Alex said. "And who would have expected you to die during childbirth?"
"I die in childbirth?" Arthur asked with a quiver in his voice. "How is that possible?"
"Isn't that obvious?" Alex asked. "That's why they call your wife Girtha the Strong Handed. Did you never make that connection?"
"Oh, that's right," Arthur said. "I made that connection once before, but I forgot about it."
"I don't blame you," Alex said. "I would have blocked it out of my mind, too.
”
”
Chris Colfer (Beyond the Kingdoms (The Land of Stories, #4))
“
There then followed a period of disturbance and danger. There were many lords in this land who longed to be king, and who were prepared to do battle for the crown of England. So Merlin visited the Archbishop of Canterbury. ‘Call together all the nobles and knights of the realm to London, reverend sir,’ he said to him. ‘Tell them to assemble in the city by Christmas Day, on pain of excommunication. They will witness a miracle, I assure you of that. The king of the universe will on that day declare who is to be king of the realm.’ So the archbishop sent his summons, and the magnates set out for the city in the hope that they might see their new sovereign. They prayed and confessed themselves on their journey, so that they might be all the more pure.
”
”
Peter Ackroyd (The Death of King Arthur: The Immortal Legend (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition))
“
Woe unto the red dragon, for his extermination draws near; and his caverns shall be occupied of the white dragon that betokens the Saxons whom you have invited here. The red signifies the race of Briton, that shall be oppressed of the white. Therefore, shall the mountains and the valleys thereof be made level plane and the streams of the valley’s shall flow with blood. The rights of religion shall be done away, and the ruin of the churches be made manifest. At last, she that is oppressed shall prevail, and resist the cruelty of them that came from without. For the bore of Cornwall shall bring sucker and shall trample their necks beneath his feet. The islands of the ocean shall be subdued onto his power, and the forest of goal shall he possess. The house of Romulus shall dread the fierceness of his prowess, and doubtful shall be his end.
”
”
Geoffrey of Monmouth (The History of the Kings of Britain)
“
The Glass Castle is also known as the Grail Castle, the pilgrimage place of the Grail knights, troubadours, Merlins, and bards, like Taliesin, who enter within the Grail Gates of her spinning, spiral tower to receive their initiation and rebirth. This is the hero’s journey, to make the pilgrimage into the Womb. King Solomon; Yeshua, descendent of King David; and King Arthur also walked this labyrinth Womb path and experienced the shamanic internment, and symbolic rebirth or resurrection through the Divine Feminine—at-one-ment with the Great Mother.
The heroine’s journey is to not only enter the Grail Castle, but to become the Grail Castle; to become both the eternal pilgrim and also the sacred site that the knights and bards make pilgrimage to, to receive their baptism; to become a Magdalene, a magical doorway or womb portal for others.
”
”
Azra Bertrand (Womb Awakening: Initiatory Wisdom from the Creatrix of All Life)
“
You men that be known from these others by your Christian profession. Take heed, you bear in mind the piety you owe unto your country and unto your fellow countrymen, whose slaughter by the treachery of the Payneham shall be unto your disgrace everlasting. Unless you press hardily forward to defend them. Fight therefore for your country, and if it be that death overtake you, suffer it willingly for your country’s sake. For death itself is victory, and a healing unto the soul. In as much as he that shall have died for his brethren offers himself as a living sacrifice unto God, nor is it doubtful that herein he follows in the footsteps of Christ, who distained not to lay down his own soul for his breatharian. Who therefore amongst you shall be slain in this battle, unto him shall that death be as full penance and absolution of all his sins, if so be he receive it willingly on this way.
”
”
Geoffrey of Monmouth (The History of the Kings of Britain)
“
Merlin?” Layla asked. “The Merlin? Knights of the Round Table, King Arthur? That Merlin?
”
”
Steve McHugh (A Glimmer of Hope (The Avalon Chronicles, #1))
“
Empires have risen in this world and fallen, and history takes note of few of them. Those that survive in the memories of men do so by virtue of the faults that flawed their greatness. But here in Britain, in my own lifetime, a spark ignited in the breast of one strong man and became a clean, pure flame to light the world, a beacon that might have outshone the great lighthouse of Pharos, had a sudden gust of wilful wind not extinguished it prematurely. In the space of a few, bright years, something new stirred in this land; something unprecedented; something wonderful; and men, being men, perceived it with stunned awe and then, being men, destroyed it without thought, for being new and strange. When it was over, when the light was snuffed out like a candle flame, a young man, full of hurt and bewilderment, asked me to explain how everything had happened. He expected me to know, for I was Merlyn, the Sorcerer, Fount of all Wisdom.
”
”
Merlin, Camelot, King Arthur
“
It was an ancient, rusted-out lunchbox, complete with Thermos. The metal was adorned with the image of King Arthur and a very powerful-looking magician with a gnarled staff. “Do you collect your own merchandise, Merlin?
”
”
Cori McCarthy & Amy Rose Capetta (Sword in the Stars (Once & Future, #2))
“
You would argue that we’re not a parasitic life form?’ Arthur challenged. Morgan seemed wounded.
‘Do you think I’m parasitic, Arthur?’ asked Bedivere, his eyebrows raised.
‘No, but—’
‘How about Gwen?’ he added, teasing.
‘Of course not, I didn’t say that the individual is parasitic, just our current way of life. Consumerism is destroying the planet. No, it has destroyed the planet. Why do you think half the world has starved to death? There’s not enough left to support everyone.’
‘Says who?’ Morgan snapped.
‘Says common sense.’ He could feel the wine loosening his tongue. ‘People are lying when they say things aren’t that bad. What do you think all those wars were for? We were all just fighting over who got to eat the last éclair.’
Marvin’s stomach growled, and he awkwardly cleared his throat.
”
”
M.L. Mackworth-Praed
“
Now!’ Marvin interjected. ‘You must all be wondering why I invited you here. Well, you know why you’re here, Arthur; and I assume you’ve explained a little about the club to our members—’
‘We’re looking at alternative truths, right?’ Bedivere asked. ‘The darker side to Britain, and all that.’
‘Yes, yes, Bedivere, we shall cover that. We shall look at Europe, why we left and why ultimately the EU was disbanded; we shall look at the tragic situation in the United States, and we shall look at the abandonment of the Commonwealth states and the blight of Indonesia. But as well as that we shall also be looking closer to home, at our own histories, and I use the plural intentionally; at the rising rebels in the old Celtic countries, at the redefinition of New National Britain’s borders, and at our absolute ruler himself, George Milton, who thus far has used all his electoral power to claw hold of democratic immunity, whose Party has long since been a change-hand, change-face game of musical chairs with the same policies and people from one party to the next. This brings me to my former point of why I invited you here: because I believe that you three are the smartest, the most open, the most questioning, and that you will benefit most from hearing things from an alternative viewpoint—not always my own, and not always comfortable—that the three of you may one day take what you have learned here and remember it when the world darkens, and this country truly forgets that which it once was.’
There was a deep silence. Even Arthur, who was used to Marvin’s tangential speeches, was momentarily confounded, and in the quiet that followed he observed Bedivere to see what he thought of this side to their teacher. His eyes then slipped to Morgan, and he was surprised to find that she was transfixed.
‘But I must stress to all of you, it is my job at risk in doing this, my life at stake. So when you speak of this, speak only amongst yourselves, and tell no one what it is we discuss here. Understood?’
There was a series of dumbstruck nods of consent. Bedivere cleared his throat with a small cough.
‘And here I thought this was just going to be an extra-curricular history club,’ he joked.
”
”
M.L. Mackworth-Praed
“
The internal evidence in the case of certain of the recognised Scottish romances seems to point to a native origin. The principal figure in these - Sir Gawayn - has both a historical and mythical connection with the Scottish Lowlands, and with Cumberland - the southern part of the Cymric kingdom of Strathclyde. In the earlier course of the story that gradually gathered around him, he fits in with the historical circumstances. He is the son of Loth, King of the Lothians, by Anna, the half-sister of Arthur. Along with his two brothers he assists Arthur in his war against the Saxons. He is made by Arthur Lord of Galloway. He is the friend of the Caledonian Merlin...
”
”
John Veitch (History and Poetry of the Scottish Border: Their Main Features and Relations, Volume 1)
“
Some men are born to plow fields, some live to be great physicians, others to be great kings. Me, I was born to serve you, Arthur. And I’m proud of that. And I wouldn’t change a thing.
”
”
Julian Jones
“
for what cause he was thus dragged there? "My magicians," answered Vortigern, "told me to seek out a man that had no human father, and to sprinkle my castle with his blood, that it may stand." "Order those magicians," said Merlin, "to come before me, and I will convict them of a lie." The king was astonished at his words, but commanded the magicians to come and sit down before Merlin, who cried to them-- "Because ye know not what it is that hinders the foundation of the castle, ye have advised my blood for a cement to it, as if that would avail; but tell me now rather what there is below that ground, for something there is surely underneath that will not suffer the tower to stand?
”
”
James Knowles (The Legends of King Arthur and His Knights)
“
Behold, the astounding verbal exchange between lovers," Merlin said, kissing her cheek.
”
”
K.M. Shea (King Arthur and Her Knights: The Complete Series: Books 1-7)
“
Nimue paused a long time. I think she sensed the truth of Britain before any of us, before even Merlin and certainly long before Arthur,
”
”
Bernard Cornwell (The Winter King (The Warlord Chronicles, #1))
“
Ashmole was a mathematician, a scientist, a founding member of the Royal Society, a lawyer, an astrologer and an alchemist. And, just like the legendary figure of Merlin, who acted as wizard to King Arthur, and the historical figure of the Druid who was counsellor to kings, at the height of his career Ashmole became the adviser to the court of King Charles II.
”
”
Philip Carr-Gomm (The Book of English Magic)
“
Some occultists themselves believed that the authorities were showing an interest in their activities. Ronald ‘Chalky’ White, a prominent follower of the early pioneer of Neopagan witchcraft Robert Cochrane, claimed he was once visited by MI5 officers in the 1970s and questioned about rituals in which he assumed the identity of Merlin as ‘kingmaker’.119 It is possible that White made up this story in order to inflate his own importance, and it seems somewhat unlikely that British intelligence took seriously magical ritual performances in which members of the covine took on roles such as King Arthur, Merlin, Queen Elizabeth and John Dee.
”
”
Francis Young (Magic in Merlin's Realm: A History of Occult Politics in Britain)
“
Evil?” Merlin shook his head. “No. They are like humans and dogs and any other creature that lives. Some are good. Some are bad. And some…” he tilted the brim of his hat up. “Want only to live peaceful lives. They have been here for some time, after all, before people, before dogs and horses, before the trees and stones. Some can be quite dangerous when stirred to action, but they are not, all of them, evil.
”
”
Audrey Mackaman
“
queen opened the gate, and she and Arthur crossed to the hut. Guinevere knocked on the door. A moment later, an old woman wrapped in a shawl stood in the doorway. She had a long white braid and luminous skin worn smooth by weather and time, like an ancient stone. The woman’s eyes were closed. With a start, Jack realized Cafelle was blind. At her side was a tall white dog with light blue eyes. Oki didn’t bark or whine. The peaceful gaze of the white dog seemed to keep him calm. “Greetings, Cafelle. We have come to—to seek your help,” rasped King Arthur. Cafelle bowed her head. “Welcome, Your Majesty,” she said. “And the queen has come with you this time,
”
”
Mary Pope Osborne (Night of the Ninth Dragon (Merlin Missions, #27))
“
Britt jerked her head up, ready to shout hysterics at the handsome wizard. When she met Merlin’s eyes, she paused. Merlin was too cute for his time. He was suspiciously cute, in fact. His hair wasn’t long either, unlike his two companions. It was short and soft, and he had no facial hair.
”
”
K.M. Shea (Enthroned (King Arthur and Her Knights, #1))
“
Without HSPs in positions at the top in a society or organization, the warrior types tend to make impulsive decisions that lack intuition, use power and force abusively, and fail to take into account history and future trends. That’s no insult to them; it is just their nature. (This was the whole point of Merlin’s role in the King Arthur legends; similar figures are in most Indo-European epics.)
”
”
Elaine N. Aron (The Highly Sensitive Person)
Mary Pope Osborne (Christmas in Camelot (Magic Tree House: Merlin Missions #1))
“
Vivien, dost thou still hate me?" And she said, "Nay, master."
But she spake not the truth, for in her heart she was evil and the heart of Merlin was good, and that which is evil will always hate that which is good.
”
”
Howard Pyle (The Story of King Arthur and His Knights)