58. As for the other constituents of the universe that differ in nature from angels and people-such as those which are of a lower order than people in the animal kingdom, and those which are of a lower order than these in the plant kingdom, and those which are of a still lower order in the mineral kingdom-that they are also recipients of the Divine love and wisdom of the human God cannot yet be explained to the intellect. For more must first be said about degrees of life and about the degrees in recipients of life. Conjunction with these depends on the uses they serve; for all good and useful forms originate solely as the result of a like conjunction with God, but one that differs in accordance with degrees. In its descent this conjunction becomes progressively such that no element of freedom remains, owing to an absence of any element of reason, and consequently its recipients have nothing of any apparent life in them. But still they are recipients. Because they are recipients, they are also reactive, for as recipients they are containing vessels. As for conjunction with forms of use that are not good, this we will discuss after we have demonstrated the origin of evil.