Saturday, May 02, 2009
RANDOM ENCYCLOPEDIA BRITANNICA
DENTISTRY- 95-100 no illustrations.
DENVER- recent origin. pop in 1873-15,000, but rapidly growing.
DESCARTES, RENE- pgs 115-128. b tourlaine 1596 d. stockholm 1650. family of poitev in decent. his father purchased a commision as councellor in the parliament of rennes, so isolation between bourgeoisie + high nobility, 1/2 each year in rennes. 3 kids. older boy foolowed father in govt + a daughter + rene. mother did not recover from his birth + raised by a nurse- was an imaginative child, sent at 8 to the school of l fleche, which henry V had founded + endowed for the jesuits + stayed 1604-1612, later D praised it. his feeble health excused him from morning duties + he developed a habit of matutinal reflection in bed, which he kept up. even then didn't trust tradition + authority. 2 yrs before leaving, selected 1 of 24 who went to receive the heart of the murdered king. at 16 went home to his father in rennes, who had remarried 1612, completed his lessons in horsemanship + fencing + in 1613 begun to taste adulthood in paris. but did not lead to dissipation, tho fan of gaming. made aquaintance w/ leading mathmaticians + intamacy w/ a former classmate, who had become a friar. when he left for a post D abandoned social life + 2 years spent secluded blah blah 1617 took service in netherlands in prince maurice of orange's army. saved his payment the rest of his life as a curiosity.(framed?) continental stint blah blah. 'inspiration' in 1619. travel 1921. back to paris. sold property giving him a yearly income. off to italy. 1625 returned home. settled in paris + devoted to pure mathmatics + refraction of light + making magnifying glasses, but engaged in reflections on the nature of man + sou + god. went to the siege of la rochelle + went in w/ the army in 1628 + came back settled on philosophy. 1633-53 lived in holland. visited france a few times, england, + denmark. moved a lot. healthier around 30 blah blah letters, cortesian blah blah. queen christine of sweden hired him, but he died after attending to a sick friend. he was short. dressed in black. unmarried. GEEK! NO READ REST!
