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"Invictus," featuring Morgan Freeman, Jr. as Nelson Mandela, debuted in US theaters on December 11. A very peculiar title for certain, especially to those who are not a student of classical literature. Invictus, as you may have remembered or conjectured, is Latin for "unconquerable," which aptly describes Mandela.
The term invictus lay dormant for quite some time. In fact, the only other notable reference may have been a poem entitled "Invictus" that the English poet, William Ernest Henley (1849-1903), had penned in 1875 from his hospital bed. At age 12 he had contracted TB of the bone and had to have his left leg amputated below the knee. He was in poor health and hospitalized much of the rest of his life.
The poem is clearly a demonstration of his resilience to his physically crippling disability. While the subject sounds like a "downer," the poem is truly optimistic of life, which is why it becomes part of this holiday greeting.
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.
There is little doubt Mr. Henley would have looked only to himself to deal with today's adversities. There is a lesson to be learned.
The warmest of holiday wishes to you, your family, and friends,
Andy t.a.