![](\"https:\/\/musefanpage.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/celtic-cat.gif\"\/)
\n<\/div>\nKaiYves requested this month’s poem, a 9th-century Irish monk’s description of his quiet life with his cat, Pangur B\u00c3\u00a1n (“White Pangur” or “Fair Pangur”). “Pangur” is the Irish Gaelic word for a fuller, someone who finishes fabric by beating or shrinking it to tighten the weave.<\/p>\n
As translated and adapted by W. H. Auden to be set to music by Samuel Barber:<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Pangur, white Pangur, As translated by Robin Flower:<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n I and Pangur B\u00c3\u00a1n my cat, Better far than praise of men ‘Tis a merry task to see Oftentimes a mouse will stray ‘Gainst the wall he sets his eye When a mouse darts from its den, So in peace our task we ply, Practice every day has made
\nHow happy we are
\nAlone together, Scholar and cat.
\nEach has his own work to do daily;
\nFor you it is hunting, for me, study.
\nYour shining eye watches the wall;
\nMy feeble eye is fixed on a book.
\nYou rejoice when your claws entrap a mouse;
\nI rejoice when my mind fathoms a problem.
\nPleased with his own art
\nNeither hinders the other;
\nThus we live ever
\nWithout tedium and envy.
\nPangur, white Pangur,
\nHow happy we are,
\nAlone together, Scholar and cat.<\/p>\n
\n‘Tis a like task we are at:
\nHunting mice is his delight,
\nHunting words I sit all night.<\/p>\n
\n‘Tis to sit with book and pen;
\nPangur bears me no ill-will,
\nHe too plies his simple skill.<\/p>\n
\nAt our tasks how glad are we,
\nWhen at home we sit and find
\nEntertainment to our mind.<\/p>\n
\nIn the hero Pangur’s way;
\nOftentimes my keen thought set
\nTakes a meaning in its net.<\/p>\n
\nFull and fierce and sharp and sly;
\n‘Gainst the wall of knowledge I
\nAll my little wisdom try.<\/p>\n
\nO how glad is Pangur then!
\nO what gladness do I prove
\nWhen I solve the doubts I love!<\/p>\n
\nPangur B\u00c3\u00a1n, my cat, and I;
\nIn our arts we find our bliss,
\nI have mine and he has his.<\/p>\n
\nPangur perfect in his trade;
\nI get wisdom day and night
\nTurning darkness into light.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16273","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-topstuff","category-random-craziness"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/musefanpage.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16273","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/musefanpage.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/musefanpage.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/musefanpage.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/musefanpage.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=16273"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/musefanpage.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16273\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16720,"href":"https:\/\/musefanpage.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16273\/revisions\/16720"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/musefanpage.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=16273"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/musefanpage.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=16273"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/musefanpage.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=16273"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}