 In 1567 Courville began to collaborate with Baïf on the composition of "vers mesurés", verses written mostly by Baïf in which the French words were given long-short syllabic treatment in imitation of the supposed method used in Ancient Greek dramatic poetry; Courville set them to music.In 1570 the two, with the backing of the king, founded the "Académie de Poésie et de Musique", inviting a few other professional musicians and aristocratic patrons; however they maintained a high level of secrecy in their undertaking, which was intended to reform not only music, but mankind.Baïf and Courville, reading accounts of the ethical and moral effects of such dramatic poetry in Ancient Greece, believed that hearers of their new "musique mesurée", could be moved to become virtuous.