In Praise of Self-Deprecation


         The buzzard has nothing to fault himself with.
         Scruples are alien to the black panther.
         Piranhas do not doubt the rightness of their actions.
         The rattlesnake approves of himself without reservations.

         The self-critical jackal does not exist.
         The locust, alligator, trichina, horsefly
         live as they live and are glad of it.

         The killer-whale's heart weighs one hundred kilos
         but in other respect it is light.

         There is nothing more animal-like
         than a clear conscience
         on the third planet of the Sun.
                  
          by Wislawa Szymborska - 1976                                    
          (trans. by M.Krynski and A. Maguire)



            Ngo+.i ca tu+. nghi~ xa^'u

           Pha`n na`n chi o' ve^` mi`nh
        Nga.i ngu`ng xa la. ti'nh ti`nh ba'o dden
           Ca' sa(n cha(?ng ma?y may quen
        Nghi ngo+` ddu'ng dda('n nhu+~ng phen cho^.p mo^`i
           Ra('n chuo^ng tu+. ma~n ngay tho+`i
        La`m chi co' cho' la. ddo+`i tu+. phe^
           Sa'n, ca`o, sa^'u, e'n na`o che^
        So^'ng nhu+ va^~n so^'ng pho+?n phe^ ddo+`i tra^`n
           Qua? tim ca' ma^.p tra(m ca^n
        Nhu+ng ma` ma(.t kha'c muo^n pha^`n nhe. te^nh
           Vu+o+.t tre^n thu' ti'nh bo^`ng be^`nh
        Cha(?ng gi` co' the^? giu+~a me^nh mo^ng ddo+`i
           Ngoa`i lu+o+ng ta^m sa'ng trong soi
        Tre^n ha`nh tinh he^. ma(.t tro+`i, thu+' ba\.

		DDo^ng A di.ch


Chu' thi'ch:
*piranha: mo^.t loa.i ca' sa(n ba('t loa.i ca' kha'c. Ngu+o+`i Trung
 Hoa di.ch la` "nhu.c thu+.c ngu+".
*alligator: mo^.t loa.i gio^'ng nhu+ ca' sa^'u o+? Nam My~, nhu+ng co^?
 phi`nh to ho+n ca' sa^'u bi`nh thu+o+`ng.
*trichina: mo^.t loa.i sa'n so^'ng ky' sinh trong co+ ba('p ddo^.ng va^.t
 co' vu'. Ngu+o+`i Trung Hoa di.ch la` "toa`n mao tru`ng".
*the third planet of the Sun: ha`nh tinh thu+' ba cu?a Ma(.t Tro+`i,
 tu+'c Tra'i DDa^'t. Tra'i DDa^'t la` ha`nh tinh thu+' ba ga^`n
 Ma(.t Tro+`i nha^'t sau sao Thu?y va` sao Kim.           Ngoa`i lu+o+ng ta^m sa'ng trong soi