Danegeld; Rudyard Kipling

[alpharaposa]

It would figure that he's the origin of the phrase.

Danegeld

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.

It is wrong to put temptation in the path of any nation,
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,
No matter how trifling the cost,
For the end of that game is oppression and shame,
And the nation that plays it is lost!"

-Rudyard Kipling

Comments

[jordan179.livejournal.com]

Quite true, and when combined with "Recessional," you get the sad state of modern Britain.

[stryck.livejournal.com]

The funny thing is, I've been (mis)quoting the "once you pay" line since before I was in high school, and never looked up the source until now.

I think I picked it up from a role-playing supplement, or from an article in Dragon magazine.

Which leads me to conclude that my time spent in school was mostly wasted.

...you get the sad state of modern Britain.

[(Anonymous)]

You mean the coming Islamic Republic of Anglostan?

And not only are you never rid of the Dane...

[(Anonymous)]

...you get to find out how many relatives he has in Denmark, when all of them show up demanding THEIR Danegeld.