Pangur Bán

Pangur Bán  (1903)  Anonymous, translated by Whitley Stokes and John Strachan

related portals: Celtic languages, Medieval poetry. This translation of the Old Irish poem (see w:Pangur Bán and oldwikisource:Pangur Bán) was published in the Thesaurus Palaeohibernicus

1. I and Pangur Bán, each of us two at his special art:
   his mind at hunting (mice), my own mind is in my special craft.
   
2. I love to rest—better than any fame—at my booklet with diligent science:
   not envious of me is Pangur Bán: he himself loves his childish art.
   
3. When we are—tale without tedium—in our house, we two alone,
   we have—unlimited (is) feat-sport—something to which to apply our acuteness.
   
4. It is customary at times by feat of valour, that a mouse sticks in his net,
   and for me there falls into my net a difficult dictum with hard meaning.
   
5. His eye, this glancing full one, he points against the wall-fence:
   I myself against the keenness of science point my clear eye, though it is very feeble.
   
6. He is joyous with speedy going where a mouse sticks in his sharp-claw:
   I too am joyous, where I understand a difficult dear question.
   
7. Though we are thus always, neither hinders the other:
   each of us two likes his art, amuses himself alone.
   
8. He himself is the master of the work which he does every day:
   while I am at my own work, (which is) to bring difficulty to clearness.

This work published before January 1, 1923 is in the public domain worldwide because the author died at least 100 years ago.