The Great Chain of Being. The top of the chain represents perfection in the highest degree. Most believers in the chain call this God.The chain in its entirety represents all degrees of perfection from the highest and fullest to the lowest and least; it is complete. Hence the universe would not be complete if the chain did not extend all the way to the bottom or if it had gaps in it.The universe is more perfect (in the sense that it is more complete) if all degrees of perfection are represented in it than if only the highest is represented. This explains why a perfect God would create an imperfect world. It was not a mistake or an imperfection; on the contrary. The most perfect (complete) universe must contain every kind of imperfect thing. Hence imperfect things are not evidence of the imperfection of creation. / http://legacy.earlham.edu/~peters/courses/re/chain.htm