The Art of Manliness - Manvotionals - Brett McKay [43]
Invictus, Latin for “unconquerable,” has become the watchword of every man who looks life’s challenges in the eye and refuses to blink.
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.
Self-Measuring Questions
Concerning the Characteristic of Hardihood
FROM HOW TO CHOOSE THE RIGHT VOCATION, 1917
By Holmes Whittier Merton
Hardihood is a manly trait that encompasses the boldness, confidence, and daring to attempt difficult and risky feats, as well as the grit and resiliency to keep going when faced with setbacks and criticism. These questions are designed to help you evaluate your personal level of hardihood.
Have I “stout and persistent courage” or am I only courageous under excitement or stimulation of some kind?
Do I have to screw up my courage to meet difficult situations?
Am I conscious of being mentally and physically rugged?
Do I challenge hardships or do I try to avoid hardships and difficulties by following “the line of least resistance?”
Do I hesitate about trying out my powers in unused directions that demand fortitude or courage?
Have I the courage to blaze new lines of action when success seems reasonably certain or do I wait until others have occupied the “strategic positions?”
Does the element of personal risk in sports, travel, adventures or vocations count greatly with me?
Does that which is unknown or untried affright or allure me?
Am I attracted or repelled by the hazardousness of life-saving callings?
Am I resolute and clear-headed in the presence of imminent danger or do I quail or become panic-stricken?
As boy or man, have I ever shown individual heroism or is my bravery always of the mass or mob kind?
Do I struggle to master matters that test all of my resources?
Can I stand and profit by severe criticism when I have been or seem to have been at fault?
Do I, if necessary, court severe discipline as a preparatory course for a desired vocation or do I pamper myself and like to be coddled by others?
Do I strive for personal efficiency, grasp at opportunities and recognize my right to advancement?
Do I rebound quickly from defeat?
Am I indifferent to supercilious fault-finding?
Do I enjoy being in contests of fortitude and endurance and in intellectual combats?
If I were a candidate for some elective office would defeat dishearten me or should I reckon each successive defeat as preparation for final victory?
When confronted with unexpected difficulties in anything that I have undertaken, is my first impulse, or reaction, the desire to back down or to go ahead with greater energy than before?
Do I stand by the presumption that I am to succeed, even when things look blackest?
Have I a persistent resolution when once a careful judgment has been made?
In making purchases—whether of neckties or machinery equipments—do I inspect the goods under consideration and form independent opinion of their merits or am I influenced unconsciously in my decisions by what I think the salesman may think of me?
Do I sometimes accept less than I know I should for services rendered because I lack the stamina to stand up for my rights?
“Resolve to perform what you ought; perform without fail what you resolve.