Manhood | The fifth is Manhood, following the aspect of Mars

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by Pierre de Ronsard (1524 - 1585)

Translation © by Grant Hicks

Le Viril

Language: Middle French after the Middle French

Our translations: ENG

Le quint est le Viril, suivant l'aspect de Mars;
Son cours est de quinze ans, sa nature fascheuse,
Magnanime, constante, avare, dangereuse,
Rendant l'homme guerrier suivant ses estendars.

Confirmed with M. Prosper Blanchemain, ed., Œuvres complètes de P. de Ronsard, Tome VI, Paris: Librairie A. Franck, 1866, page 420.

Text Authorship:

by Pierre de Ronsard (1524 - 1585), "Le Viril", appears in Gayetez et Epigrammes, in Sur les sept âges de l'homme, no. 5 [an adaptation] [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]

Based on:

a text in Middle French by Claude Gruget (d. c1560) [text unavailable]
- Go to the text page.

Based on:

a text in Spanish (Español) by Pero Mexia (1497 - 1551) [text unavailable]
- Go to the text page.

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

by Jack Ledru (1922 - 2013), "Le Viril", 2010, first performed 2011 [ vocal quartet and piano ], from Sur les Sept Âges de l'homme, no. 5 [sung text not yet checked]

Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

ENG English (Grant Hicks) , "Manhood", copyright © 2026, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this page: Grant Hicks [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2026-07-16
Line count: 4
Word count: 28

Manhood

Language: English after the Middle French

The fifth is Manhood, following the aspect of Mars;
Its course is fifteen years long, its nature disagreeable,
Magnanimous, constant, miserly, haughty,
Turning man into a warrior following its banners.

Text Authorship:

Translation from Middle French to English copyright © 2026 by Grant Hicks, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
Contact: licenses@email.lieder.example.net

Based on:

a text in Middle French by Pierre de Ronsard (1524 - 1585), "Le Viril", appears in Gayetez et Epigrammes, in Sur les sept âges de l'homme, no. 5 [an adaptation]
- Go to the text page.

Based on:

a text in Middle French by Claude Gruget (d. c1560) [text unavailable]
- Go to the text page.

Based on:

a text in Spanish (Español) by Pero Mexia (1497 - 1551) [text unavailable]
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2026-07-18
Line count: 4
Word count: 30