There are three main tiers to Plotinus’ metaphorical fountain, each one in some sense ‘overflowing’ to produce what is below it. Below the spout-like One comes the level of Intellect, and below that comes the level of Soul. At the level of Intellect we find Plato’s ideal Forms, which are also regarded as living intelligences of some sort. Intellect is an overflowing of the One, and Soul is an overflowing of Intellect. Soul can itself be divided into several subsidiary tiers, the lowest of which creates or overflows into the visible universe. Matter on earth is the lowest of the low. It is furthest from the One, which Plotinus also calls the Good, and this means that it is evil. Evil is a purely negative concept for Plotinus, connoting the furthest possible distance from the One or Good. Anthony Gottlieb, The Dream of Reason: A History of Western Philosophy from the Greeks to the Renaissance, loc. 6152. Kindle Edition