For a long period of time, we believed in a natural ranking order in the world around us, also known as the great chain of being, or "Scala naturae" in Latin, a top-down structure that normally starts with God at the very top, followed by angels, noblemen, common people, animals, and so on.
很长一段时间里， 我们相信我们所置身的 这个世界的自然秩序， 也称作“生存巨链”， 或拉丁文里的“自然级别” 一般以神为顶点 而开端自上而下 下面是天使、贵族、 平民、动物等。