Editing Great chain of being (section)

== The Great Chain ==
The Great Chain of being links God, angels, humans, animals, plants, and minerals.<ref name="Tillyard Web"/> The links of the chain are:

=== God ===
God is the creator of all things. Many religions, such as [[Judaism]], [[Christianity]], and [[Islam]] believe he created the entire universe and everything in it. He has spiritual attributes found in angels and humans. God has unique attributes of [[omnipotence]], [[omnipresence]], and [[omniscience]]. He is the model of perfection in all of creation.<ref name="Tillyard Web"/>

=== Angelic beings ===
{{Further|Christian angelology}}

In the [[New Testament]], the [[Epistle to the Colossians]] sets out a partial list: "everything visible and everything invisible, Thrones, Dominations, Sovereignties, Powers – all things were created through him and for him."<ref name="Colossians">[[Epistle to the Colossians]] 1:15-20</ref> The [[Epistle to the Ephesians]] also lists several entities: "Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come".<ref name="Ephesians">[[Epistle to the Ephesians]] 1:21</ref>

In the 5th and 6th centuries, [[Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite]] set out a more elaborate hierarchy, consisting of three lists, each of three types:<ref name="Price 2021">{{cite web |last1=Price |first1=Kitty |title=The Hierarchy of Angels |url=https://www.portsmouthcathedral.org.uk/sermons-lectures-and-talks/archive/ppg4stmyr92zw9gzf4rcbe65srttnw |publisher=Portsmouth Cathedral |access-date=8 December 2023 |date=26 September 2021 |archive-date=8 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231208094210/https://www.portsmouthcathedral.org.uk/sermons-lectures-and-talks/archive/ppg4stmyr92zw9gzf4rcbe65srttnw |url-status=live }}</ref>

{{multiple image
 | width = 140
 | image1 = Nine orders of angels.jpeg
 | caption1 = [[Eastern Orthodox]] icon of [[Christian angelology|nine orders of angels]]
 | image2 = Die Leiter des Auf- und Abstiegs.jpg
 | caption2 = The mediaeval ''scala naturae'' as a staircase, implying the [[orthogenesis|possibility of progress]]:<ref>{{cite book |last=Ruse |first=Michael |author-link=Michael Ruse |date=1996 |title=Monad to man: the Concept of Progress in Evolutionary Biology |url=https://archive.org/details/monadtomanconcep0000ruse |url-access=registration |publisher=Harvard University Press |isbn=978-0-674-03248-4 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/monadtomanconcep0000ruse/page/21 21]–23}}</ref> [[Ramon Llull]]'s ''Ladder of Ascent and Descent of the Mind'', 1305
 | footer = 
}}

* Angels of presence, praising God
** [[Seraphim]] – spirits of love
** [[Cherubim]] – spirits of harmony
** [[Throne (angel)|Thrones]]<ref name="Colossians"/> – record keepers of universal laws
* Angels of government, spreading light
** [[Dominion (angel)|Dominions]]<ref name="Colossians"/><ref name="Ephesians"/> – spirits of wisdom and knowledge
** [[Angels in Christianity#Virtues|Virtues]] – angels of movement and [[Free will in theology|free will]]
** [[Powers (angel)|Powers]]<ref name="Colossians"/><ref name="Ephesians"/> – angels of form and space
* Angels of revelation, able to communicate with humans
** [[Principality (angel)|Principalities]]<ref name="Ephesians"/> – angels of time and personality
** [[Archangel]]s – powerful angels superior to ordinary angels
** [[Angel]]s – governors of spirits of nature

=== Humanity ===
Humans uniquely share spiritual attributes with God and the angels above them, [[love]] and language, and physical attributes with the animals below them, like having material bodies that experienced emotions and sensations such as lust and pain, and physical needs such as hunger and thirst.<ref name="Tillyard Web"/>

[[File:BonnetChain.jpg|thumb|[[Charles Bonnet]]'s chain of being from ''Traité d'insectologie'', 1745]]<!--very long image-->

=== Animals ===
Animals have senses, are able to move, and have physical appetites. The [[apex predator]] like the [[lion]], could move vigorously, and has powerful senses like keen eyesight and the ability to smell their prey from a distance, while a lower order of animals might wiggle or crawl, or like [[oyster]]s were sessile, attached to the sea-bed. All, however, share the senses of touch and taste.<ref name="Tillyard Web"/>

=== Plants ===
Plants lacked sense organs and the ability to move, but they could grow and reproduce. The highest plants have important healing attributes within their leaves, buds, and flowers.<ref name="Tillyard Web"/> 
Lower plants included [[fungi]] and [[moss]]es.<ref name="Tillyard Web"/>

=== Minerals ===
At the bottom of the chain, minerals were unable to move, sense, grow, or reproduce. Their attributes were being solid and strong, while the gemstones possessed magic. The king of gems was the [[diamond]].<ref name="Tillyard Web"/>