Invictus
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.
不可征服
黑夜是如此的覆蓋著我
漆黑有如從南至北的深淵
但不管是什么神祗我都要感謝
為我那拒絕屈服的靈魂
環境伸出邪惡之爪把我抓住
但我沒有畏縮,也不高聲喊叫
在厄運不斷撲擊之下
我的頭染滿鮮血,但并不低垂
這個地方充滿憤怒和淚水
而在外面,可怖的陰影環伺
不過,即使歲月不??謬?br />
亦將發現我毫不畏懼
無論閘門何等狹窄
無論經卷如何寫滿刑罰
我仍是自己命運的主宰
我仍是自己靈魂的掌舵者
此為維多利亞時期英國詩人威廉姆.亨利的《不可征服》(Invictus,拉丁文=unconquerable)。作者從小體弱多病,患有肺結核癥,一只腳被截掉;為了保住另一只腳,他一生都奮力和病魔抗爭,不向命運屈服。