A Father's Prayer
by General Douglas MacArthur
Build me a son, O Lord, who will be strong enough to know when
he is weak, and brave enough to face himself when he is afraid;
one who will be proud and unbending in honest defeat, and
humble and gentle in victory.
Build me a son whose wishbone will not be where his backbone
should be; a son who will know Thee and that to know himself is
the foundation stone of knowledge.
Lead him, I pray, not in the path of ease and comfort, but under the
stress and spur of difficulties and challenge. Here let him learn to
stand up in the storm;
here let him learn compassion for those who fail.
Build me a son whose heart will be clean, whose goal will be high;
a son who will master himself before he seeks to master other men;
one who will learn to laugh, yet never forget how to weep; one who
will reach into the future, yet never forget the past.
And after all these things are his, add, I pray, enough of a sense of
humor, so that he may always be serious, yet never take himself
too seriously. Give him humility, so that he may always remember
the simplicity of greatness, the open mind of true wisdom, the
meekness of true strength.
Then I, his father, will dare to whisper, "I have not lived in vain".
作者∕麥克阿瑟（General Douglas MacArthur）
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主啊！懇求你教導我的兒子，
使他在軟弱時，能夠堅強不屈；
在懼怕時能夠勇敢自持，
在誠實的失敗中，毫不氣餒；
在光明的勝利中，仍能保持謙遜溫和。
懇求塑造我的兒子，
不至空有幻想而缺乏行動；
引導他認識你，同時又知道，
認識自己乃是真知識的基石。 主啊！懇求你教導我的兒子，
篤實力行而不空想；
引領他認識你，同時讓他知道，
認識自己，才是一切知識的基石。
主啊！我祈求你，
不要使他走上安逸、舒適之徒，
求你將他置於困難、艱難和挑戰的磨練中，
求你引領他，使他學習在風暴中挺身站立，
並學會憐恤那些在重壓之下失敗跌倒的人。 主啊！求你塑造我的兒子，
求你讓他有一顆純潔的心，
並有遠大的目標；
使他在能指揮別人之前，
先懂得駕馭自己；
當邁入未來之際，永不忘記過去的教訓。
主啊！在他有了這些美德之後，
我還要祈求你賜給他充分的幽默感，
以免他過於嚴肅，還苛求自己。 求你賜給他謙卑的心，
使他永遠記得，
真正的偉大是單純，
真正的智慧是坦率，
真正的力量是溫和。
然後作為父親的我，
才敢輕輕的說：
「我這一生總算沒有白白活著」
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