“Among Latin writers, the acceptations of the word nature are so many, that I remember, one author reckons up no less than fourteen or fifteen. Hence we see how easy 'tis for the generality of men, without excepting those who write of natural things, to impose upon others and themselves, in the use of a word so apt to be mis-employ'd... the very great ambiguity of this term, and the promiscuous use made of it, without sufficiently attending to its different significations, render many of the expressions wherein 'tis employ'd either unintelligible, improper, or false.”

—  Robert Boyle

"A Free Inquiry into the Vulgar Notion of Nature" Sect.1 ibid.

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Robert Boyle21
English natural philosopher, chemist, physicist, and invent… 1627–1691

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