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in rerum natura

British  
/ ɪn ˈrɛərʊm næˈtʊərə /
  1. in the nature of things

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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Many of them express relations of terms to which nothing exactly or nothing at all in rerum natura corresponds.

From Meno by Jowett, Benjamin

Now if, like the key in our illustration, the religion in question were something given in rerum natura independent of human origination in any form, this argument would be practically irresistible.

From The Faith of the Millions (2nd series) by Tyrrell, George

So that, for aught we know, all we see, hear, and feel may be only phantom and vain chimera, and not at all agree with the real things existing in rerum natura.

From A Treatise Concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge by Berkeley, George

In any case, a scientific reasoner might be expected to ask: 'Is this alleged acquisition of knowledge, not through the ordinary channels of sense, a thing in rerum natura?'

From The Making of Religion by Lang, Andrew

The ingredients of hodge-podge exist in rerum natura, and the place they occupy and the function they fulfil in it are no less deserving of our inquisitive regard.

From Lectures on Popular and Scientific Subjects by John Sutherland Sinclair, Earl of Caithness

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