Schack Staffeldt: 'Til Britterne'

 

 

Til Britterne

 

Krigens Lynild omsonst, o Britter! mod Eder sig tænder,

Thi Neptun om jer Øe, slaaer sin betryggende Favn:

Kun for den lavere Krig med Piil og med Skytte I ræddes,

Mens det larmende Torv, Kræmmere! Valpladsen er.

 

 

To the British

 

In vain, war’s lightning flash – oh British! – you dearly would harrow,

For Neptune in his embrace your isle does firmly shield:

You are but safe from lesser wars and from the marksman’s arrow,

You’ve noisy market squares – Shopkeepers! – as battlefield.

 

(The derogatory term ‘shopkeepers’ for the British is often attributed to Napoleon, but it dates from 11 June 1794 and was made by the French revolutionary Bertrand Barère.)