ABSTRACT
A physician, philosopher and traveller, Francois Bernier eludes hasty categorization on account of the diversity of his institutional and mondain affiliations. The experience of the traveller plays a pivotal role in the philosophical stance adopted by Bernier, as it does in his apparent rejection of what he terms the 'fictions' of philosophers. Bernier demonstrates a certain resistance to the theoretical systematization which overwhelmed the field of physical science in the seventeenth century. In the autumn of 1655 Bernier set out from France on a voyage to the Orient which would last thirteen years. Bernier assumes an amicable tone and does not shun the digressions and chiaroscuros beloved of the Asiatic lands he had so long frequented. In his Abrege Bernier regularly refers the reader to his practical experience, conveyed notably in his use of self-quotation. Bernier's geographical knowledge is not only bookish, but also a practical knowledge combining direct personal experience and first-hand accounts.
