by François Rabelais (1490 - 1553)
Translation by (Paul) Jules Barbier (1825 - 1901) and by Thomas Urquhart, Sir (1611 - 1660)
Quand Philippe roy de Macedonie...
Language: French (Français)
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.
About the headline (FAQ)
Authorship:
- by François Rabelais (1490 - 1553), appears in Pantagruel [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- [ None yet in the database ]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in English, a translation by (Paul) Jules Barbier (1825 - 1901) and by Thomas Urquhart, Sir (1611 - 1660) ; composed by Elliott Cook Carter, Jr..
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2003-11-10
Line count: 61
Word count: 499
The Defense of Corinth
Language: English  after the French (Français)
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."
Authorship:
- by (Paul) Jules Barbier (1825 - 1901) [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]
- by Thomas Urquhart, Sir (1611 - 1660) [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in French (Français) by François Rabelais (1490 - 1553), appears in 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 - 2012), "The Defense of Corinth" [ sung text checked 1 time]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2003-11-10
Line count: 65
Word count: 676