米沃什“致女教授，为我的猫的荣誉一辩并由此生发”

致女教授，为我的猫的荣誉一辩并由此生发
我勇敢的帮手，一只小型老虎
酣睡在我桌上，电脑旁，
没察觉你侮辱了它的种族。
猫戏弄老鼠或半死的鼹鼠。
然而，你说的不对：这并非由于残忍。
猫只是喜欢动的东西。
因为，毕竟，我们知道惟有知觉
可以暂时进入他者，
移情于老鼠的痛楚与惊恐。
此即猫之天性，自然皆如此。
漠然，哎，漠然于善恶。
而对于我们，恐怕很是个难题。
自然之历史自有其博物馆，
为何我们的孩子还要了解野兽，
探究蛇类与爬行动物存在上亿年的世界？
自然吞噬，自然湮没。
屠场日夜冒烟，鲜血泼溅。
是谁所创造？是良善的主？
的确，毫无疑问，它们是无辜的，
蜘蛛、螳螂、鲨鱼、蟒蛇。
只有我们会说：残忍。
我们的知觉与良心
独自在星系的苍白蚁丘
寄希望于一个仁慈的上帝。
谁只能感觉并思考，
谁的体温和动作与我们相似，
如他告知我们的，我们与祂相似。
假如果真如此，他必怜悯
每只被殴打的老鼠，每只受伤的小鸟。
他就会在宇宙的十字架上受难。
这就是你对猫的责难带来的后果：
一种神学的、奥古斯丁式的苦相，
使我们在世间的行走愈加艰难。
伯克利，1993。
依据英译：
To Mrs. Professor In Defense Of My Cat's Honor And Not Only
My valiant helper, a small-sized tiger
Sleeps sweetly on my desk, by the computer,
Unaware that you insult his tribe.
Cats play with a mouse or with a half-dead mole.
You are wrong, though: it's not out of cruelty.
They simply like a thing that moves.
For, after all, we know that only consciousness
Can for a moment move into the Other,
Empathize with the pain and panic of a mouse.
And such as cats are, all of Nature is.
Indifferent, alas, to the good and the evil.
Quite a problem for us, I am afraid.
Natural history has its museums,
But why should our children learn about monsters,
An earth of snakes and reptiles for millions of years?
Nature devouring, nature devoured,
Butchery day and night smoking with blood.
and who created it? Was it the good Lord?
Yes, undoubtedly, they are innocent,
Spiders, mantises, sharks, pythons.
We are the only ones who say: cruelty.
Our consciousness and our conscience
Alone in the pale anthill of galaxies
Put their hope in a humane God.
Who cannot but feel and think,
Who is kindred to us by his warmth and movement,
For we are, as he told us, similar to Him.
Yet if it is so, the He takes pity
On every mauled mouse, every wounded bird.
Then the universe for him is like a Crucifixion.
Such is the outcome of your attack on the cat:
A theological, Augustinian grimace,
Which makes difficult our walking on this earth.
Berkeley, 1993
translated by Czesław Miłosz and Robert Hass