What maketh this but Juppiter, the kyng,
That is prince and cause of alle thyng
Convertynge al unto his propre welle
From which it is deryved, sooth to telle,
And heer-agayns no creature on lyve
Of no degree availleth for to strive.
Thanne is it wysdom, as it thynketh me,
To maken vertu of necessity,
And take it weel, that we may nat eschue;
And namely, that to us alle is due.
And whoso gruccheth ought, he dooth folye,
And rebel is to hym that al may gye.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Knight’s Tale. Theseus turns inspirational speaker here on the question of death. He says it is outside of man’s control and in the hands of the god Jupiter, who causes all things to return to their own origin from which they are derived. He advises to make a virtue of necessity, saying anyone who complains or rebels against their fate is foolish.