El nombre de los gatos
El nombre de los gatos es cosa difícil,
no es nada más un juego para los días de fiesta;
ustedes pensarán que estoy más loco que una cabra
cuando les digo que un gato debe tener tres nombres diferentes.
Para empezar, el nombre que la familia usa a diario,
como Pedro, Augusto, Alonso o Jaime,
como Víctor o Jonathan, Jorge o Guille Bailey—
todos ellos razonables nombres cotidianos.
Existen nombres más elaborados, si les parece, más
melodiosos,
unos para los caballeros otros para las damas:
tales como Platón, Admeto, Electra, Démeter—
todos ellos también razonables nombres cotidianos.
Pero les diré que un gato necesita un nombre que le
sea propio,
un nombre especial,
majestuoso,
de otro modo ¿cómo podría mantener su cola erguida
o desplegar sus bigotes, o alimentar su orgullo?
Puedo sugerir muchos nombres de este tipo,
tales como Munkustrap, Quaxo o Coricopat,
como Bombalurina o si no Jellyrum—
nombres que solo pertenecen a un gato.
Pero por sobre todo queda todavía un nombre,
y éste es el nombre que jamás adivinarán—
el nombre que ningún hombre puede
descubrir—
pero que EL GATO SABE y jamás revelará.
Cuando observen
a un gato en meditación profunda,
la razón, les advierto, es siempre la misma:
su mente está embelesada en la contemplación
de la idea, de la idea, de la idea de su nombre:
su inefable efable
efainefable
profundo e inescrutable único Nombre.
T. S. Eliot, St.
Louis, Missouri, 1888- Londres, 1965
En Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats,
Harcourt-Brace-Jovanovich Publishers, U.S.A., 1982
Versión © Silvia Camerotto
imagen de Edward Gorey (tapa de libro) en La Fille D'Or
The Naming Of Cats
The Naming of Cats is a difficult matter,
It isn't just one of your holiday games;
You may think at first I'm as mad as a hatter
When I tell you, a cat must have THREE DIFFERENT NAMES.
First of all, there's the name that the family use daily,
Such as Peter, Augustus, Alonzo or James,
Such as Victor or Jonathan, George or Bill Bailey--
All of them sensible everyday names.
There are fancier names if you think they sound sweeter,
Some for the gentlemen, some for the dames:
Such as Plato, Admetus, Electra, Demeter--
But all of them sensible everyday names.
But I tell you, a cat needs a name that's particular,
A name that's peculiar, and more dignified,
Else how can he keep up his tail perpendicular,
Or spread out his whiskers, or cherish his pride?
Of names of this kind, I can give you a quorum,
Such as Munkustrap, Quaxo, or Coricopat,
Such as Bombalurina, or else Jellylorum-
Names that never belong to more than one cat.
But above and beyond there's still one name left over,
And that is the name that you never will guess;
The name that no human research can discover--
But THE CAT HIMSELF KNOWS, and will never confess.
When you notice a cat in profound meditation,
The reason, I tell you, is always the same:
His mind is engaged in a rapt contemplation
Of the thought, of the thought, of the thought of his name:
His ineffable effable
Effanineffable
Deep and inscrutable singular Name.
It isn't just one of your holiday games;
You may think at first I'm as mad as a hatter
When I tell you, a cat must have THREE DIFFERENT NAMES.
First of all, there's the name that the family use daily,
Such as Peter, Augustus, Alonzo or James,
Such as Victor or Jonathan, George or Bill Bailey--
All of them sensible everyday names.
There are fancier names if you think they sound sweeter,
Some for the gentlemen, some for the dames:
Such as Plato, Admetus, Electra, Demeter--
But all of them sensible everyday names.
But I tell you, a cat needs a name that's particular,
A name that's peculiar, and more dignified,
Else how can he keep up his tail perpendicular,
Or spread out his whiskers, or cherish his pride?
Of names of this kind, I can give you a quorum,
Such as Munkustrap, Quaxo, or Coricopat,
Such as Bombalurina, or else Jellylorum-
Names that never belong to more than one cat.
But above and beyond there's still one name left over,
And that is the name that you never will guess;
The name that no human research can discover--
But THE CAT HIMSELF KNOWS, and will never confess.
When you notice a cat in profound meditation,
The reason, I tell you, is always the same:
His mind is engaged in a rapt contemplation
Of the thought, of the thought, of the thought of his name:
His ineffable effable
Effanineffable
Deep and inscrutable singular Name.
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