ABSTRACT
The period 1794-1814 presents a rich and varied cultural landscape in which the author becomes a teacher, a stubborn scientific theorist who maintained and defended a position that was under serious attack, and an entrepreneur who sought to provide income and wealth for his young family through his publishing activities. Bernardin explains how a year and half earlier, probably towards the end of 1796, he had called for subscribers to purchase his major production, the Harmonies de la nature. By the early 1800s the political landscape was changing and Bernardin's supporters in the ministry clearly had less influence than in the earlier period. However, Bernardin was soon to find assistance from another quarter, and this final source would support him until his death in 1814. In the latter half of 1800, as Souriau points out, Bernardin was invited by the citoyenne Maisonneuve, maitresse de pension, rue de Seine, to visit her establishment.
