<P> When Henley was 16 years old, one of his legs required amputation due to complications arising from tuberculosis . In the early 1870s, after seeking treatment for problems with his other leg at Margate, he was told that it would require a similar procedure . In August 1873 he chose instead to travel to Edinburgh to enlist the services of the distinguished English surgeon Joseph Lister, who was able to save Henley's remaining leg after multiple surgical interventions on the foot . While recovering in the infirmary, he was moved to write the verses that became "Invictus". A memorable evocation of Victorian stoicism--the "stiff upper lip" of self - discipline and fortitude in adversity, which popular culture rendered into a British character trait--"Invictus" remains a cultural touchstone . </P> <P> The fourth stanza alludes to a phrase from the King James Bible, which has, at Matthew 7: 14, </P> <P> Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it . </P> <Ul> <Li> In a speech to the House of Commons on 9 September 1941, Winston Churchill paraphrased the last two lines of the poem, stating "We are still masters of our fate . We still are captains of our souls ." </Li> <Li> While incarcerated at Robben Island prison, Nelson Mandela recited the poem to other prisoners and was empowered by its message of self - mastery . </Li> <Li> The Burmese opposition leader and Nobel Peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi stated, "This poem had inspired my father, Aung San, and his contemporaries during the independence struggle, as it also seemed to have inspired freedom fighters in other places at other times ." </Li> <Li> The poem was read by US POWs in North Vietnamese prisons . James Stockdale recalls being passed the last stanza, written with rat droppings on toilet paper, from fellow prisoner David Hatcher . </Li> <Li> The line "bloody, but unbowed" was the Daily Mirror's headline the day after the 7 July 2005 London bombings . </Li> <Li> The poem's last stanza was quoted by US President Barack Obama at the end of his speech at Nelson Mandela's memorial service (10 December 2013) in South Africa and published on the front cover of the 14 December 2013 issue of The Economist . </Li> <Li> The poem was chosen by Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh as his final statement before his execution . </Li> <Li> Jerry Kramer recited the poem during his National Football League (NFL) Pro Football Hall of Fame (HOF) induction speech </Li> </Ul>

Who said i am the master of my fate captain of my soul