397. People know that innocence produces the same effects, also through contact, in animals and birds as in people. It produces the same effects for the reason that everything that emanates from the Lord, in an instant pervades the universe (see above, nos. 388-390); and because it passes through degrees and through continuous intermediary means, it extends therefore not only to animals, but also on beyond to plants and minerals (no. 389). It even extends into the earth itself, which is the mother of all plants and minerals; for in springtime it is in a state prepared for the reception of seeds, as though in a womb, and when it has received them, it becomes, so to speak, pregnant with them, cherishes them, carries them, gives birth to them, nurses them, feeds them, clothes them, raises them, protects them, and loves, as it were, the offspring from them; and so on. Since the atmosphere of procreation extends thus far, what of it then would not extend to animals of every kind, even to worms? It is an established fact that, as the earth is the common mother of plants, there is also in every beehive a common mother of the bees.