Charles IX, King of France, once asked the Poet Tasso who, in his estimation, was the happiest?
Tasso without hesitation replied, “God.”
“Every one knows that,” responded the King, “therefore my question does not refer to Him; but who after God is the happiest?”
Then Tasso answered: “He who becomes most like to God.”
Flowers of Mary: addresses in Honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Delivered at Ingolstadt, May, 1858 By Louis Gemminger · 1894. Page 46.
Short Stories on Honor, Chivalry, and the World of Nobility—no. 807