Reply to 'Invictus'


Invictus
William Ernst Henley 

Out of the night that covers me,

      Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
      For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
      I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
      My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
      Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
      Finds and shall find me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
      How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate,
      I am the captain of my soul.

William Ernst Henely

Invictus was a poem written by William Ernst Henley in 1875 while he was in the hospital for tuberculosis.  It is a poem of bravery and a mastery of one's fate. Invictus itself means unconquered or invincible when translated from the original Latin. It inspired Nelson Mandela while he was in prison. It is the origin of the name of a 2009 film about the end of Apartheid in South Africa. Many other people have been inspired by this poem's words of endurance.
Orson F. Whitney was one of them. He loved the poem and was intrigued by it so much, he wrote a response poem to it, known as The Souls Captain. Unless Henley's original poem, which focus on man and his ability to endure hard things himself, Whitney's poem is more religious, focusing on Christ and his grace. Many prophets and apostles like Gordon B. Hinckley and Dallin H. Oaks have referenced both these poems.

The Souls Captain
Orson F. Whitney
Art thou in truth? Then what of him
Who bought thee with his blood?
Who plunged into devouring seas
And snatched thee from the flood?

Who bore for all our fallen race
What none but him could bear.—
The God who died that man might live,
And endless glory share?

Of what avail thy vaunted strength,
Apart from his vast might?
Pray that his Light may pierce the gloom,
That thou mayest see aright.

Men are as bubbles on the wave,
As leaves upon the tree.
Thou, captain of thy soul, forsooth!
Who gave that place to thee?

Free will is thine—free agency,
To wield for right or wrong;
But thou must answer unto him
To whom all souls belong.

Bend to the dust that head “unbowed,”
Small part of Life’s great whole!
And see in him, and him alone,
The Captain of thy soul.


For more information on the poem 'Invictus', check out this website

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