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1662 G. Torriano 2nd Alphabet Proverbial Phrases 2/1 Lasciar andar l'acqua alla china, ô alla valle, to let water go down wards, or into the valley, viz. to let nature take its course.

1724 J. Trenchard & T. Gordon Cato's Lett. III. 124 She [sc. Queen Elizabeth I]..by encouraging Trade, and leittng [sic] Nature take its Course, still encreas'd the Peoples Wealth and Power.

1843 Mother's Med. Adviser (new ed.) 35 No time should be lost in lancing the gums immediately that any urgent symptoms arise,..otherwise it is best to let Nature take its course.

1897 M. Kingsley Trav. W. Afr. 653 They'll let nature take its course if they don't feel keen on a man surviving.

1971 Revenue Act 1971: Hearings before U.S. Senate Finance Comm. (92nd Congr., 1st Sess.) i. 64 What I object to..about the program is that it proceeds upon the theory..that it is perfectly alright to let nature take its course where the money lenders are concerned, but where everybody else is concerned it is not alright to let nature take its course, we are going to freeze their wages, freeze their price.

1998 Univ. Oxf. Bot. Garden News Autumn 3/1 The park is burnt in blocks since this enables the ecologists to control the fire rather than allowing nature to take its course when there is a risk that the fires may get out of control.

2004 Nat. Health Nov. 89/2 Taking antidiarrhoeal products may interfere with your body's ability to fight the infection, so let nature take its course, unless your doctor recommends otherwise.