A Father's Prayer by General Douglas MacArthur 　 Build me a son, O Lord, who will be strong enough to know whenhe is weak, and brave enough to face himself when he is afraid;one who will be proud and unbending in honest defeat, andhumble and gentle in victory. 　Build me a son whose wishbone will not be where his backboneshould be; a son who will know Thee and that to know himself isthe foundation stone of knowledge. 　Lead him, I pray, not in the path of ease and comfort, but under thestress and spur of difficulties and challenge. Here let him learn tostand up in the storm; here let him learn compassion for those whofail. 　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 whowill reach into the future, yet never forget the past. 　And after all these things are his, add, I pray, enough of a sense ofhumor, so that he may always be serious, yet never take himselftoo seriously. Give him humility, so that he may always rememberthe simplicity of greatness, the open mind of true wisdom, themeekness of true strength. 　Then I, his father, will dare to whisper, "I have not lived in vain".