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Abstract

The article is an attempt to answer a question on the measure of happiness or, in other words, on the possibility of experiencing joys of life that would provide a counterargument to Henri-Frédéric Amiel’s statement that “deep down each thing sorrow dwells,” which makes “the pen of sorrow” burden “the pen of joy.” Both an essay on the “intelligence of flowers” by Maurice Maeterlinck and Amiel’s Journal suggest a sundial can perform such function. It is a device measuring solar time, hence a time of experiencing happiness on the one hand, and a measure indicating ephemeral and evanescent nature of the “hours of joy.”