Treatise on Universal Harmony

put men into a rage, and transported them wherever one wished; nevertheless, if we consider the words, the verses, and the intervals they used, it will be easy to conclude that the words we use now have a greater majesty than those they sang, particularly when the subject of our Music contains the praises of God, or that which pertains to the mysteries of the faith, and to our salvation. Furthermore, we can sing all sorts of measured verses just as they did, for the French language also has its metric feet, and its long or short syllables, and doubtful or indifferent ones, like the Greek and the Latin: and experience shows that the singing does not prevent one from hearing the words distinctly, and the discourse one is reciting, particularly when someone sings alone with the lute or the lyre, as does Monsieur le Baillif, the Orpheus of our century. One will also be able to hear the text perfectly, even when one sings in three, four, or several parts, which will always happen when one moderates all the voices in such a way that one is not heard