<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> <P> In modern English this is rendered as "But the gate to life is very narrow ." In this context "life" means "eternal salvation ." </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 December 14, 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> The poem was recited by students by the Eagle Academy during the 2016 United States National Democratic Convention . </Li> </Ul>

I ' m the captain of my soul