Constantijn Huygens

Constantijn Huygens (1596-1687), Dutch poet, musician, and statesman, born in The Hague. A diplomat, he was secretary to several princes of Orange and traveled widely in England and on the Continent. He was acquainted with many men of letters, including the French philosopher René Descartes and the English poet John Donne, whose work he translated (1630) into Dutch. Huygens wrote many sophisticated, intellectual, ornate poems in French, Italian, and Latin, as well as in Dutch. They were collected as Korenbloemen (Cornflowers; 27 volumes, 1658-72). He also wrote Trijnte Cornelis (1653), a play sympathetic to lower-class life; Costelick Mal (1622), a satire on female dress; and three moralistic autobiographical works. Huygens was an accomplished musician, and he composed numerous airs for strings. He was the father of the scientist Christiaan Huygens.