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![Dame Nature wondering why God is changing the specifications for the rabbit at the last possible moment (and only by a hare!) Nature personified in 15th-century dress looks up from her work hammering out a rabbit on anvil at a be-turbaned divinity hovering in a blue void; her expression mingles confusion, incredulity, and yet a complete lack of surprise](https://www.eudaemonist.com/images/2023-10-23-dame-nature.jpg)
Ms. Ludwig XV 7 (83.MR.177), fol. 124v, ca. 1405.1
In a sterling example of the law of unintended consequences, the more officials attempted to limit discretion by heaping up specific details, the more they inadvertently encouraged innovation and interpretation.
- This image appeared in Lorraine Daston’s delightful Rules, and it seemed worthwhile to scrounge up a color version and make a note of it for later. [↩]