The Great Chain of BeingMedieval metaphor illustrating hierarchy of being from God to the lowliest non-beingChain stretched from foot of God’s throne to the tiniest particle of sand: a place for everything, and everything in its place

Hierarchy Top of chain represents perfection—God, according to Medieval Christian thinkingEvery living and unliving thing had its place, its role and its “natural” way of being

AngelsJust below GodHad reason and spirit, but no body With no body, did not dieCould fall by free will (so devil was fallen angel)

Man in the HierarchyJust below the angelsCould aspire to greater perfection (angelic or god-like)Had reason in common with angelsHad body (mortality), unlike angels; had feeling, understandingIncorporated features of lower classes—thus a “microcosm”Could fall to the level of beast (free will)

Higher Sensitive ClassBelow human (no reason; no soul)Hierarchy within each subset: Highest mammal? Highest fish? Highest bird?What specialties would various animals have that human beings do not have?

Lower Sensitive classHave life and feelingCreatures having touch but no feeling or memory (parasites or shellfish, for example)Creatures having movement but not hearing, such as ants

Vegetative ClassExistence and life, but no feeling, understanding, movementHighest tree?Highest flower?

InanimateElements, liquids and metalsNo sensation, but durable for centuriesWater higher than earthFour elements: earth, air, fire, waterHighest mineral?

Order and Chaos So long as every member of every class followed its specialty, stayed within its realm, order reigned in a sort of cosmic danceWhich being would violate this order, do you suppose?

DisruptionOnce man disrupted the order through sin or crime…This unnatural disturbance shook the chain and disrupted every other class, especially if the human was high in his class (king or prince)

In the MeantimeChaos-disorder-corruption is reflected in all other realms (spirits wandering; corruption; madness)Order must be restoredTruth must be revealed

Elizabethan to ModernThis medieval view of order was coming under question with scientific discoveries, but it continues to be implied in literatureBrief reference to one part of this world view implies the entire chain of being and its implicationsVestiges of the chain and its underlying philosophy persist (DNA visual from science blog)

Modern VariationsThis came from a current spiritual website (www.cacradicalgrace.org/conferences/gcob )Sets out idea of interrelationships in ecology-environmentSimplicity-balance