Автор: | Киплинг Д. Р. |
Категория: | Стихотворение |
DANE-GELD
А. D. 980-1016
It is always a temptation to an armed and agile nation |
To call upon a neighbour and to say: - |
«We invaded you last night - we are quite prepared to fight, |
Unless you pay us cash to go away.» |
And that is called asking for Dane-geld, |
And the people who ask it explain |
That you've only to pay ’em the Dane-geld |
And then you’ll get rid of the Dane! |
It is always a temptation to a rich and lazy nation, |
To puff and look important and to say: - |
«Though we know we should defeat you, we have not the |
time to meet you. |
We will therefore pay you cash to go away.» |
And that is called paying the Dane-geld; |
But we’ve proved it again and again, |
That if once you have paid him the Dane-geld |
You never get rid of the Dane. |
For fear they should succumb and go astray; |
So when you are requested to pay up or be molested, |
You will find it better policy to say: - |
«We never pay any-one Dane-geld, |
For the end of that game is oppression and shame, |
And the nation that plays it is lost!» |