journey to Canterbury. Ranging in status from a Knight to a humble Plowman, they are a microcosm of 14th-century English society The Canterbury Tales contains 22 verse tales and 2 prose tales presumably told by pilgrims to pass the time on their way to visit a shrine in Canterbury, England The tales represent nearly every variety of med ieval story at its best. The special genius of Chaucers work, however, lies in the dramatic interaction between the tales and the framing Francois de la rochefoucauld (1613-80 francois de la rochefoucauld was born to one of the noble families of france on Sept 15, 1613, in Paris. His notions of human faults and foibles grew out of a life immersed in the olitical crises of his time. The public life of his family was cond itioned by the attitude of the monarchy toward the nobility--sometimes flattering, sometimes threatening. Having served in the army periodically from 1629 to 1646, La rochefoucauld became one of the prominer leaders in the civil war from 1648 to 1653. Wounded in 1649 and again in 1652, he finally retired from the struggle with extensive face and throat wounds and with his health ruined The literary reputation of La rochefoucauld rests on one book: 'Reflexions ou sentenc et maximes morales, published in 1665. Generally called the 'Maximes, these moral reflections and maxims are a collection of cynical epigrams, or short sayings, about human nature--a nature that the author felt is dominated by self-interest. Typical of his point of view are the following sayings: We seldom find such sensible men as those who agree with us' Virtues are lost in self-interest as rivers are lost in the sea" " The su is to think oneself cleverer than the others", and"We always like those who admire us; we do not always like those whom we admire After convalesc ing, he settled in Paris where he became involved with a circle of brilliant and cultivated people who debated intellectual subjects of all kinds. As an exercise, they attempted to express their thoughts with the greatest brev ity. In so doing they made great us of the epigram, or maxim, which creates surprise through the devices of exaggeration and paradox. La Rochefoucauld soon gained mastery of this device. The first edition of his Maximes contains, in fact, some longer selections along with the epigrams. Altogether he authorized five ed itions of the book in his lifetime, the last appearing in 1678. Two years I a ter. on march 1680.he diedin Paris Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), one of the worlds leading research Cambridge, Massachusetts. In 1865 the school was opened in Boston by geologist William Barton Rogers, who became its first president Throughout its history MiT has held a world wide reputation for teaching and research. It as among the first schools to use the laboratory method of instruction, develop the modern profession of chemical eng ineering, and offer courses in aeronautical and electrical engineering and applied physics Word study 1. Verbal affixes ize/ise: 1 )to cause to be; to make to become modernize /stabilize /realize/materialize /standard ize/computerize /idealize/5 journey to Canterbury. Ranging in status from a Knight to a humble Plowman, they are a microcosm of 14th-century English society. The Canterbury Tales contains 22 verse tales and 2 prose tales presumably told by pilgrims to pass the time on their way to visit a shrine in Canterbury, England. The tales represent nearly every variety of medieval story at its best. The special genius of Chaucer's work, however, lies in the dramatic interaction between the tales and the framing story. Francois de La Rochefoucauld (1613-80). Francois de La Rochefoucauld was born to one of the noble families of France on Sept. 15, 1613, in Paris. His notions of human faults and foibles grew out of a life immersed in the political crises of his time. The public life of his family was conditioned by the attitude of the monarchy toward the nobility--sometimes flattering, sometimes threatening. Having served in the army periodically from 1629 to 1646, La Rochefoucauld became one of the prominent leaders in the civil war from 1648 to 1653. Wounded in 1649 and again in 1652, he finally retired from the struggle with extensive face and throat wounds and with his health ruined. The literary reputation of La Rochefoucauld rests on one book: 'Reflexions ou sentences et maximes morales', published in 1665. Generally called the 'Maximes', these moral reflections and maxims are a collection of cynical epigrams, or short sayings, about human nature--a nature that the author felt is dominated by self-interest. Typical of his point of view are the following sayings: "We seldom find such sensible men as those who agree with us"; "Virtues are lost in self-interest as rivers are lost in the sea"; "The surest way to be deceived is to think oneself cleverer than the others"; and "We always like those who admire us; we do not always like those whom we admire." After convalescing, he settled in Paris where he became involved with a circle of brilliant and cultivated people who debated intellectual subjects of all kinds. As an exercise, they attempted to express their thoughts with the greatest brevity. In so doing they made great use of the epigram, or maxim, which creates surprise through the devices of exaggeration and paradox. La Rochefoucauld soon gained mastery of this device. The first edition of his 'Maximes' contains, in fact, some longer selections along with the epigrams. Altogether he authorized five editions of the book in his lifetime, the last appearing in 1678. Two years l a t e r , o n M a r c h 1 7 , 1 6 8 0 , h e d i e d i n Paris. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), one of the world’s leading research universities, in Cambridge, Massachusetts. In 1865 the school was opened in Boston by geologist William Barton Rogers, who became its first president. Throughout its history MIT has held a worldwide reputation for teaching and research. It was among the first schools to use the laboratory method of instruction, develop the modern profession of chemical engineering, and offer courses in aeronautical and electrical engineering and applied physics. Word Study 1. Verbal affixies -ize/ise: 1)to cause to be; to make; to become modernize / stabilize / realize / materialize / standardize / computerize / idealize /