Le bonheur de ce monde

Sonnet written by Christophe Plantin, and displayed in the Plantin-Moretus Museum, on how to find happiness in the world.

It’s interesting to consider the contrast between this advice (basically, live a simple life with moderate ambitions and no quarrels) with his actual life as a massively successful businessman. Not to mention the bits about prayer and devotion, vs. his growing interest in Humanism and (apparently!) connections with heretical Christian groups, whose writings he sometimes printed from his own workshops.

I guess we all contain multitudes.