A quote from a book loosely based on Arthurian legend

[Russell]

I read a book many, many years ago that had a great little quote. A king and his entourage are walking though a forest and they come upon a shrine to Mithras. As is the old tradition, the king takes a bit of water and places in the shrine, an offering to the god. The priest accompanying the group recoils a bit and castigates him for honoring a foreign god. The king replies with a great little quote: "Worship what gods ye will, respect what gods there are".

I cannot, for the life of me, remember the book. Any help for my ailing memory will be appreciated!

[ALLEN]

I can't swear to it, but the puckishness reminds me of something Merlin might have said in The Once and Future King. In the movie EXCALIBUR (1981) Merlin, meeting with his daughter Morgana (la Fey), bemoans the replacement of the older polytheistic religions by the quickly rising Christianity.

But . . . Merlin and King Arthur are two different characters.

[Russell]

Whatever version of the Arthurian legend I was reading, it was the king who was speaking to a Christian holy man. I actually re-read the Once and Furure King looking for the quote and couldn't find it. Reminded myself of just how much I enjoy that book. If you've read the Once and Future King, have you found The Book of Merlyn? It's a fourth and final book to that series. Great little read.

"Worship what gods ye will, respect what gods there are...."
It's a great sentiment on it's own though, the absence of a citation as to it's origin changes that not one bit.