I have great comfort from this fellow: methinks he hath no drowning mark upon him; his complexion is perfect gallows. Stand fast, good Fate, to his hanging: make the rope of his destiny our cable, for our own doth little advantage. If he be not born to be hanged, our case is miserable.
– William Shakespeare
The Tempest, Act 1, Scene 1. During the violent storm, the Duke of Milan’s advisor Gonzalo expresses confidence in the ship’s Boatstain, a crude and blasphemous fellow. Gonzalo says that his complexion marks him out as more of a candidate for hanging than drowning.