'Pangur Ban' (poem)

Pangur Ban

originally written in Old Irish by an Irish monk in the 9th century and translated by Robin Flower

I and Pangur Ban my cat,
'Tis a like task we are at:
Hunting mice is his delight,
Hunting words I sit all night.

Better far than praise of men
'Tis to sit with book and pen;
Pangur bears me no ill-will,
He too plies his simple skill.

'Tis a merry sight to see
At our tasks how glad are we,
When at home we sit and find
Entertainment to our mind.

Oftentimes a mouse will stray
In the hero Pangur's way;
Oftentimes my keen thought set
Takes a meaning in its net.

'Gainst the wall he sets his eye
Full and fierce and sharp and sly;
'Gainst the wall of knowledge I
All my little wisdom try.

When a mouse darts from its den,
O how glad is Pangur then!
O what gladness do I prove
When I solve the doubts I love!

So in peace our task we ply,
Pangur Ban, my cat, and I;
In our arts we find our bliss,
I have mine and he has his.

Practice every day has made
Pangur perfect in his trade;
I get wisdom day and night
Turning darkness into light.

I discovered this poem in the exhibition on The Book of Kells, an illuminated New Testament from the 8th century  - one of the most beautiful things I´ve ever seen - which is kept in Trinity College, Dublin. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Kells

Source of 'Pangur Ban':

 

 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reichenau_Primer