ABSTRACT
At the age of eight years he was sent to the newly established Jesuit College at La Fleche, in Anjou. In 1603 the Jesuits had obtained from Henry IV authority to establish themselves in several cities in France, including La Fleche. Here the College Royal ,vas opened in January 1604 and the Society spared no pains to make the establishment famous as a centre of learning. Its first Rector was Father Chastellier; he was soon succeeded by Father Charlet, a man who had already attained distinction in the Society, and one to whom Descartes afterwards referred affectionately as " un second pere " . Its staff was chosen with the greatest care, and for many years no other city, not even Paris, could boast of an establishment comparable with that of La Fleche. It was therefore not without reason that Descartes later referred to it as l'une des plus celebres ecoles de ['Europe. Descartes was admitted at Easter 1604, and for eight years he followed the traditional course which embraced classics, logic and ethics, mathematics and physics, and metaphysics. Even at that early age he showed unusual talent for mathematical studies. It is recorded that although his health gradually improved he was never robust, and on that account he was allowed some relaxation from the rigours of school life. He was permitted to rise late, and in that way he acquired, or rather developed, those habits of meditation which were to remain with him all his life.
