CANTO THE TENTHArgument Considering the counsel vainOf all the rank and file, The Gypsies chose those of schooled brainTo gather for a whileAnd judge what government is goodFor the entire Gypsihood. 1Now when the maw is well provided for,The mouth is ready and the tongue is loose.You're sure to receive advice galoreFrom each and every counsellor you choose.It is a proven fact that many a priestIs want to sermonise after the feast. 2Yet when the aliment is scarce, alack!The mind appears to be much less astute:All its advice acquires a tinge of black,And like unto a fish the tongue is mute.The gist of all philosophy thereforeDepends alone upon the stomach's store. 3You may well laugh... Yet it is often saidThat inspiration of exalted thoughtGoes hand in hand with fullness of good bread.And as the barren field is yielding naught,So does the constant going without foodYield no such fruit as might be held for good. 4Gird up your loins, my friends, and answer, pray,Did hermits in the wilderness excelAt any good thing as they fed each dayOn berries, fungi, nuts, roots pimpernel,And starved to death on suchlike meagre fare,Sullen, morose, with only rags to wear? 5I'm telling you, theirs was a sorry fate:Vermin for company day out, day in,At night the devils kept them up till late,Tormenting them and teaching them to sin,Until they ended up out of their mind.Departed reason left a brute behind,......................................................................... 8Take Homer's Iliad, that splendid feat -He didn't pen it among crags or trees,But at such times as he sat down at meat,Singing a merry song, taking his ease.And if he drank the odd goblet of wine,The Muses filled him with their gift divine. 9Plato himself, though godly, hit the bottle,And ate as any highborn glutton would.And neither did sagacious AristotleLive without wine and meat and fish for food.That's why their books, though written long ago,Still make us marvel now, and rightly so............................................................................ 11As long as the Gypsies had nary a biteThey appeared not to reason at all.Yet now what an awesome, incredible sight:The whole number of them, great and small,Having eaten their fill, and without thinking twice,Boldly treat one another to expert advice. 12Ever since Than d'Aller had supplied them with bread,They'd been feasting without any break,And for many a day they'd been constantly glad,While the elders would constantly makePlans as to how they could possibly standFor order within their impoverished land. 13Nevertheless, their counsel came to naught,Despite the wisdom readily displayed,Since each and every speaker only soughtTo put his own ideas on parade.And, good or bad, they'd have it their own way,As long as there was someone to gainsay. 14One said there was no need of any rule,Or any regulation, law, or reign,For, as he saw it, and he was no fool,The best of rules did nothing but constrain.And should they all agree with one accordTo be subjected to some ruling lord? 15"For those on top," he said, "the rules are trump,'Cause they can keep us commoners at bay.King, prince, vizier, minister or mugwump,They are the ones that always have their sayAnd pocket the whole country's revenue,Which, by their rules, is no more than their due." 16Another one said, "Nay, but let us groundSuch order that will well be worth its while,A profitable system, and a sound,Unspotted by corruption and by guile,Its like not to be found under the sun.Else woe is us, for we shall be undone. 17What good is rank, position, all the rest?Let neither lord nor serf preserve their state.This is the order that I think is best:We are all peers, so let us integrate.An equal opportunity relation Is the solution for the Gypsy nation." 18Some in their number clamoured for a king,Complete, of course, with counsellors and court,For that had been the fashionable thingThey ought to proudly follow and not thwart.There was no point in seeking to depart From such a worthy, such a solid start. 19Some raised their voices against poverty -There should be naught for which the Gypsy lacks.Some motioned that for all eternityThey should abolish levying the tax.Some claimed that work was altogether bad,Though others should be working in their stead................................................................................... 22They almost came to blows about it all,And what had started as a mild debateWas quickly bringing tribes into a brawl,As Gypsy anger seemed to escalate.When circumstances called for a decree,They were all the more prone to disagree. 23According to the crownicles of yore,The Gypsy braves fought seven days a week,And were we but to reckon from this score,Their pow-wow was a fountain, so to speak,Of strife that issued forth for evermore.Thus no one had a chance to take the floor. 24That was sufficient proof to one and all,As their chagrin had been exceeding great,That multitude of words and bitter gallAre good for nothing but dissent and hate.Through such is all good counsel rendered vain,And in the end there is no gain to gain...................................................................... 27Considering the matter long and hard,The elders did consequently decideTo alter their approach in this regard,And not assemble all from far and wideIn the discussions to participate,But, out of every tribe, a delegate.................................................................... 30And there converged upon that very spotThe brightest minds, a wonder to behold,All like unto the knights of Camelot,That fabled castle in the tales of old.Their brains' endeavours were so exquisite,That all the nations marvelled at their wit.................................................................... 32Many a sage and scholar stood erectAnd made their wisdom amply manifest,Speaking enlightened words to the effectThat monarchy was, of all rules, the best,And hardly could a better rule be foundOn earth, above the earth, or underground. 33One delegate, Barkroarious by name,Attempted with excess of sophistryThe hearts of all for monarchy to claim,Drawing on Scripture verse and history,To persuade his peers by argumentThat monarchy is greatly diligent. 34"The truth," he said, "is obviously one:One God, one soul, one sun up in the sky,As blessed Solomon, the Psalmist's son,Is also writing. Then, I ask you, whyDon't we establish, as we rightly should,One monarchy for the whole Gypsihood ?..................................................................... 36The human body, too, has but one headTo give instruction and to show the way.All other members in this wise are led,And likewise we should do well to obey,Though we be many, one crowned head aloneAs our foundation made of solid stone. 37The body civic, it is therefore clear,Ought to be governed from a single seat.Friends, Gypsies, countrymen, lend me your ear:This is the rule no other rule can beat.Were some orator to expound all day,He couldn't show you any better way...................................................................... 40Therefore a monarch, brethren, I entreatYou to appoint. His name imports us not,But let him rule upon the Gypsy seat.All other rules are but an earthen potWhich you could shatter with a single blow:And out of it discord and hatred flow............................................................... 48To put it briefly, the republic sucks:No peace is in its boarders to be found.Everything there is in a state of flux.
