ABSTRACT
The persistence of the Stoic meaning raises the issue of the location of laws of nature, whether in the human mind or in nature she explicitly explored by late Renaissance thinkers. Theodor Zwinger addresses the issue through the opposition of 'nature' and 'art'; the latter representing the imposition of mental categories on the former. For the new science of the seventeenth century, law is a complex term when associated with nature. It is generally thought of as independent of the human mind; it determines regularity in nature; it is applicable without exception; it is not necessarily dependent on a version of metaphysics or an overarching theory, and can relate to isolatable aspects of nature. The term 'regula' leads us on to a more general consideration of the concepts 'law' and 'nature'. In jurisprudence, 'regula' relates to the stipulative force of law, by which rules are laid down and exceptions are made.
