by Anonymous / Unidentified Author
Translation by W. H. (Wystan Hugh) Auden (1907 - 1973)
The monk and his cat
Language: English after the Irish (Gaelic)
Our translations: FRE
Pangur, white Pangur, How happy we are Alone together, Scholar and cat. Each has his own work to do daily; For you it is hunting, for me study. Your shining eye watches the wall; my feeble eye is fixed on a book. You rejoice when your claws entrap a mouse; I rejoice when my mind fathoms a problem. Pleased with his own art Neither hinders the other; Thus we live ever without tedium and envy. Pangur, white Pangur, How happy we are Alone together, Scholar and cat.
Text Authorship:
Based on:
- a text in Irish (Gaelic) by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist [text unavailable]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Samuel Barber (1910 - 1981), "The monk and his cat", op. 29 no. 8 (1953), published 1954 [ voice or SATB chorus and piano ], from Hermit songs, no. 8 [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "Le moine et son chat", copyright © 2015, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this page: René Slot
This text was added to the website: 2004-01-18
Line count: 16
Word count: 87