168. We also need to realize that the purpose is the sum and substance of the means and also the sum and substance of the result. This is why we call the purpose, the means, and the result the first, intermediate, and final ends. For the purpose to be the sum and substance of the means, though, there needs to be something from the purpose in which it exists; and for it to be the sum and substance of the result there must be something from the purpose through the means in which it exists. A purpose cannot exist in itself alone, but must exist in something that takes place because of it, something in which it can dwell with its total being, something which it can accomplish by its effort as long as it lasts. The reality in which it "lasts" is that final end that is called its result.

329. We can tell what a useful function is from the goal of the creation of the universe. The goal of the creation of the universe is to bring about an angelic heaven; and since an angelic heaven is the goal, so is humanity or the human race, since that is where heaven comes from. It follows, then, that everything that has been created is an intermediate goal, and that the functions are useful in the sequence, on the level, and in the specific way that they relate to humanity, and through humanity to the Lord.