Warning: Contains SPOILERS for No Time To Die.

M (Ralph Fiennes) gives a speech at James Bond’s funeral at the end of No Time To Die, with his chosen quote a fitting endpoint for Daniel Craig’s 007 story. With the 25th Bond movie also being Craig’s fifth and final outing in the franchise, there’d long been a question mark over whether or not the film would kill him off. Bond hasn’t died before, but then he’s never had a true arc either, and ultimately Bond’s death was the right way to say goodbye.

Of course, there were some more literal goodbyes too in No Time To Die’s ending, with several tributes paid to the fallen 00 agent. These include Madeleine Swann (Léa Seydoux) telling her and James’ daughter, Mathilde, about him. There’s also the use of “We Have All The Time In The World,” which reflects much of Bond’s story in No Time To Die, links back to past 007s, and conjures up the appropriate sense of poignancy.

Related: No Time To Die’s Ending Debunks A Major Reboot Theory

Perhaps most intriguing of all among these fond farewells, though, is the quote M (real name Gareth Mallory), reads at the end of No Time To Die. During a memorial for Bond at MI6, M quotes from the American writer Jack London (whose works include The Call Of The Wild and White Fang). The speech M gives is from a longer passage of London’s, which first appeared in the San Francisco Bulletin in 1916. The quote M uses in No Time To Die is:

“The proper function of man is to live, not to exist. I shall not waste my days in trying to prolong them. I shall use my time.”

M and Bond meet in London in No Time to Die.

In the context of No Time To Die's story, it’s a fitting tribute to who Craig’s James Bond was and in particular the reason he dies. Bond chooses to sacrifice himself because the other option is going through life never being able to touch either Madeleine or Mathilde. To be so close to those he loves, but never truly with them, would be no life at all. It would mean that, rather than living, he would simply be existing. Similarly, it speaks to Bond’s drive to save the day, no matter the cost. The movie’s title, No Time To Die, also supports this: Bond is a man with no time to die because he cannot stop, he must always push ahead until the job is done. The same can be applied to the London quote M reads at the end of No Time To Die and Bond's journey. Bond literally cannot prolong his days; he uses his time to save the world and say goodbye. London’s original quote is longer, but viewed in its entirety, while not unsuitable, it does feel like M chose the most fitting passage to read for the story and themes of No Time To Die.

"I would rather be ashes than dust! I would rather that my spark should burn out in a brilliant blaze than it should be stifled by dry-rot. I would rather be a superb meteor, ever atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet. The proper function of man is to live, not to exist. I shall not waste my days in trying to prolong them. I shall use my time."

Curiously, the London quote M reads at the end of No Time To Die has appeared in a Bond story movie. Author Ian Fleming used it in You Only Live Twice, as part of an obituary for Bond when he was believed to have died. There, to applied to Fleming’s - and by extension, Bond’s - view on boredom. Fleming once called boredom the worst sin of the human being, and baked this into Bond’s character as the one vice he’d always reject. It certainly fits that Bond, the non-stop hero who’ll always take the risk and can never leave the action behind. That can be applied to Daniel Craig’s 007 era too, but M’s use of the quote as a eulogy for Bond is much more emotional. It speaks not to mere boredom, but to headier themes of love, loss, grief, and legacy. It’s a sign of how much Bond has grown; of how much he has lived.

Next: Every James Bond Movie Ranked From Worst to Best (Including No Time to Die)