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Timothy McVeigh wrote out these words -- his final thoughts, before slipping into Eternity:
Out of the night that covers me,
Black as a 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 straight the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.
by William Ernest Henley 1875
W.E.Henley, a self-declared militant humanist who hated the Christian faith,
wrote this poem, "The Invictus," ("unconquered" in Latin) with the intention of shaking his
fist in defiance at the very thought of a sovereign God ruling over him.
Compare With This Statement of Hope, Faith, and Trust in God:
In the early 1900's, Dorothea Day, a young lady who had been greatly enamored with Henley
and his humanistic approach to life, was converted to Christ. In response to Henley,
she wrote this poem, setting forth the attitude of a Christian toward the sovereignty of God.
My Captain
Out of the light that dazzles me,
Bright as the sun from pole to pole
I thank the God I know to be
For Christ is the conqueror of my soul
Since His the sway of circumstance
I would not wince nor cry aloud
Under the rule which men call chance
My head with joy is humbly bowed
Beyond this place of sin and tears
That life with Him! And His the aid,
Despite the menace of the years,
Keep, and shall keep me, unafraid
I have no fear, though strait the gate,
He cleared my punishment from the scroll
Christ is the master of my fate
Christ is the master of my soul
By Dorothea Day
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