Quand Philippe roy de Macedonie entreprint assieger & ruiner
Corinthe, les Corinthiens par leurs espions advertiz, que contre
eulx il venoit en grand arroy & exercice numereux, tous feurent 
non à tort espoventez, & ne feurent negligens soy soigneusement
mettre chascun en office & debvoir, pour à son hostile venue,
resister, & leur ville defendre. Les uns des champs & forteresses
retiroient meubles, bestail, grains, vins, fruictz, victuailles, &
munitions necessaires. Les autres remparoient murailles, dressoient
bastions, esquarroient ravelins, cavoient fossez, escuroient
contremines, gabionnoient defenses, ordonnoient plates formes,
vuidoient chasmates, rembarroient faulses brayes, erigeoient
cavalliers, ressapoient contrescarpes, enduisoient courtines,
taluoient parapetes, enclavoient barbacanes, asseroient machicoulis,
renovoient herses Sarrazinesques, & Cataractes, assoyoient
sentinelles, forissoient patrouilles. Chascun estoit au guet, chascun
portoit la hotte. Les uns polissoient corseletz, vernissoient
alecretz, nettoyoient bardes, chanfrains, aubergeons, briguandines,
salades, bavieres, cappelines, guisarmes, armetz, mourions, mailles,
iazerans, brassalz, tassettes, gouffetz, guorgeriz, hoguines,
plastrons, lamines, aubers, pavoys, boucliers, caliges, greues,
foleretz, esprons. Les autres apprestoient arcs, frondes, arbalestes,
glands, catapultes, phalarices, micraines, potz, cercles, & lances à
feu: balistes, scorpions, & autres machines bellicques repugnatoires
& destructives des Helepolides. Esguisoient vouges, picques, rancons,
halebardes, hanicroches, volains, lancers, azes guayes, fourches
fières, parthisanes, massues, hasches, dards, dardelles, iavelines,
iavelotz, espieux. Affiloient cimeterres, brands d'assier,
badelaires, passuz, espées, verduns, estocz, pistoletz, viroletz,
dagues, mandousianes, poignars, cousteaulx, allumelles, raillons.
Chascun exerceoit son penard: chascun desrouilloit son braquemard.
Femme n'estoit, tant preude ou vieille feust, qui ne feist fourbir
son harnoys: comme vous sçavez que les antiques Corinthiennes
estoient au combat couraigeuses.

    Diogenes les voyant en telle ferveur mesnaige remuer, & n'estant
par les magistratz enployé à chose aulcune faire, contempla par
quelques iours leur contenence sans mot dire: puys comme excité
d'esprit Martial, ceignit son palle en escharpe, recoursa ses manches
iusques es coubtes, se troussa en cueilleur de pommes, bailla à un
sien compaignon vieulx sa bezasse, ses livres, & opistographes, feit
hors la ville tirant vers la Cranie (qui est une colline &
promontoire lez Corinthe) une belle esplanade: y roulla le tonneau
fictil, qui pour maison luy estoit contre les miures du ciel, & en
grande vehemence d'esprit desployant ses braz le tournoit, viroit,
brouilloit, barbouilloit, hersoit, versoit, renversoit, grattoit,
flattoit, barattoit, bastoit, boutoit, butoit, tabustoit,
cullebutoit, trepoit, trempoit, tapoit, timpoit, estouppoit,
destouppoit, detraquoit, triquotoit, chapotoit, croulloit, elançoit,
chamailloit, bransloit, esbranloit, levoit, lavoit, clavoit,
entravoit, bracquoit, bricquoit, blocquoit, tracassoit, ramassoit,
clabossoit, afestoit, bassouoit, enclouoit, amadouoit, goildronnoit,
mittonnoit, tastonnoit, bimbelotoit, clabossoit, terrassoit,
bistorioit, vreloppoit, chaluppoit, charmoit, armoit, gizarmoit,
enharnachoit, empennachoit, carapassonnoit, le devalloit de mont à
val, & praecipitoit par le Cranie: puys de val en mont le rapportoit,
comme Sisyphus faict sa pierre: tant que peu s'en faillit, qu'il ne
le defonçast. Ce voyant quelqu'un de ses amis, luy demanda, quelle
cause le mouvoit, à son corps, son esprit, son tonneau ainsi
tormenter? Auquel respondit le philosophe, qu'à autre office n'estant
pour la republicque employé, il en ceste façon son tonneau
tempestoit, pour entre ce peuple tant fervent & occupé, n'este veu
seul cessateur & ocieux.

by François Rabelais (1490-1553) , from Pantagruel

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive)

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by Elliott Cook Carter, Jr. (1908-) , "The Defense of Corinth"

Date added to the website: 2003-11-10.

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The Defense of Corinth

 When Philip, King of Macedon, enterprised the Siege and ruin of
 Corinth, the Corinthians, having received certain intelligence, by
 their spies, that he with a numerous army in battle array was coming
 against them, were all of them, not without cause, most terribly
 afraid; and therefore were not neglectful of their duty, in doing
 their best endeavors to put themselves in a fit posture to resist his
 hostile approach, and defend their own city.
 
 Some from the field brought into the fortified places their
 moveables, cattle, corn, wine, fruit, victuals, and other necessary
 provisions.  Others did fortify and rampire their walls, set up
 little fortresses, bastions, squared ravelins, digged trenches,
 cleansed counter-mines, fenced themselves with gabions, contrived
 platforms, emptied casements, erected the cavaliers, mortaised
 barbacans, plaistered the courtines, fastened the herses and
 cataracts, new pointed with portcullices with fine steel or iron, and
 doubled their patrouille.  Everyone did watch and ward, and not one
 was exempted from carrying the basket. Some polish'd corselets,
 varnished backs and breasts, cleaned the headpieces, mailcoats,
 briggandins, haubergeons, brassars and cuissars, greves, jacks,
 targets, shields. They sharpened spears.  They sharpened staves,
 prepared scymetars, partisans, chipping knives, javelins, javelots,
 zagages, truncheons, dags, daggers, poignards, bayonets, darts,
 dartlets, rapiers, arrowheads, staves, skenes, sables, maces,
 back-swirds, battle-axes, quarter-staves, cutlasses, clubs.  Ev'ry
 man exercised his weapon; every man scowered off the rust from his
 natural hanger; nor was there a woman amongst them, (though never
 reserved or old), who made not her harness to be well furbished; as
 you know, the Corinthian women of old were reputed very dangerous
 combatants.

 Diogenes, seeing them all warm at work and himself not employed by
 the magistrates in any business whatsoever, he did very seriously
 (for many days together without speaking one word) consider and
 contemplate the countenances of his fellow citizens. Then on a
 sudden, as if he had been roused up and inspired by a martial spirit,
 he girded his cloak, scarfways about his left arm, tucked up his
 sleeves to the elbow, trussed himself like a clown gathering apples,
 and giving to one of his old acquaintances his wallet, books, and
 opistographs, away went he out of town towards a little hill or
 promontory of Corinth called Craneum: and there on the strand, a
 pretty level place, did he roll his jolly tub, which served him for
 an house to shelter him from injuries of the weather; there, I say,
 in a great vehemency of spirit, did he turn it, veer it, wheel it,
 whirl it, frisk it, jumble it, shuffle it, huddle it, tumble it,
 hurry it, justle it, jumble it, joult it, evert it, overthrow it,
 subvert it, beat it, thwack it, bump it, knock it, thrust it, push
 it, batterit, shock it, shake it, throw it, toss it, jerk it,
 overthrow it upside-down, topsy-turvy, arsiversy, tread it, trample
 it, stamp it, slamp it, tap it, ting it, ring it, tingle it, towl it,
 sound it, resound it, shut it, unbung it, stop it, close it,
 unstopple it. He hurled it, slid it down the hill, precipitated it
 from the very height of the Craneum; heaved it, transfigured it,
 bespattered it, garnished it, furnished it, bored it, bewrayed it,
 parched it, bedashed, tottered it, adorned, staggered it, transformed
 it, brangled it, heaved it, carried it, bedashed it, hacked it; then
 from the foot to the top, like another Sisyphus with his stone, bore
 it up again, slid it down the hill, and every way so banged it and
 belaboured it that it was ten thousand to one he had not struck the
 bottom of it out.

 Which, when one of his friends had seen, and asked him, why he did so
 toil his body, perplex his spirit, and torment his tub, the
 Philosopher's answer was "That not being engaged in any other office
 by the Republic, he thought it expedient to thunder and storm it so
 tempestuously upon his tub, that amongst a people so fervently busy,
 and earnest of work, he alone might not seem a loitering slug and
 lazy fellow."

by (Paul) Jules Barbier (1825-1901) , .
by Sir Thomas Urquhart (1611-1660) , .

a text in French by François Rabelais (1490-1553) , from Pantagruel

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive)

by Elliott Cook Carter, Jr. (1908-) , "The Defense of Corinth"

Date added to the website: 2003-11-10.