Father's Prayer

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”.

上帝啊，为我造一个儿子，他会坚强到知道什么时候

他很虚弱，害怕的时候勇敢地面对自己；

一个在诚实的失败中会感到自豪和不屈不挠的人，以及

在胜利中谦虚温和。

给我造一个儿子，他的叉骨不会成为他的脊梁

应该;一个会认识你并且认识他自己的儿子

知识的基石。

引导他，我祈祷，不是在安逸和舒适的道路上，而是在

困难和挑战的压力和刺激。在这里让他学会

在风暴中站起来；在这里让他学会同情那些谁

失败。

为我造一个心清净、志向远大的儿子；

一个在试图驾驭别人之前先驾驭自己的儿子；

一个会学会笑，但永远不会忘记如何哭泣的人；一个

将到达未来，但永远不会忘记过去。

毕竟这些东西都是他的，我祈祷，再加上足够的感觉

幽默，这样他就可以一直很认真，但从不把自己当回事

太认真了。给他谦卑，让他永远记得

伟大的朴素，真正智慧的开放思想，

真正力量的温柔。

然后我，他的父亲，就敢低声说：“我没有白活”。