(c. 334–262 BCE), founder of the Stoic school of philosophy.
Antiquity Among
ancient Greek and
Hellenistic philosophers, notable proponents of the microcosm–macrocosm analogy included
Anaximander (),
Plato (), the
Hippocratic authors (late 5th or early 4th century BCE and onwards), and the
Stoics (3rd century BCE and onwards). In later periods, the analogy was especially prominent in the works of those philosophers who were heavily influenced by
Platonic and Stoic thought, such as
Philo of Alexandria (), the authors of the early Greek
Hermetica (), and the
Neoplatonists (3rd century CE and onwards). The analogy was also employed in
late antique and early medieval religious literature, such as in the
Bundahishn, a
Zoroastrian encyclopedic work, and the
Avot de-Rabbi Nathan, a Jewish
Rabbinical text.
Middle Ages Medieval philosophy was generally dominated by
Aristotle, who – despite having been the first to coin the term "microcosm" – had posited a fundamental and insurmountable difference between the region below the Moon (the
sublunary world, consisting of the
four elements) and the region above the Moon (the superlunary world, consisting of a
fifth element). Nevertheless, the microcosm–macrocosm analogy was adopted by a wide variety of medieval thinkers working in different linguistic traditions: the concept of microcosm was known in
Arabic as , in
Hebrew as , and in
Latin as or . The analogy was elaborated by
alchemists such as those writing under the name of
Jabir ibn Hayyan (), by the anonymous
Shi'ite philosophers known as the
Ikhwān al-Ṣafāʾ ("The Brethren of Purity", ), by Jewish theologians and philosophers such as
Isaac Israeli (),
Saadia Gaon (882/892–942),
Ibn Gabirol (11th century), and
Judah Halevi (), by
Victorine monks such as
Godfrey of Saint Victor (born 1125, author of a treatise called
Microcosmus), by the
Andalusian mystic
Ibn Arabi (1165–1240), by the German cardinal
Nicholas of Cusa (1401–1464), and by numerous others. (1494–1541)
Renaissance The revival of
Hermeticism and
Neoplatonism in the
Renaissance, both of which had reserved a prominent place for the microcosm–macrocosm analogy, also led to a marked rise in popularity of the latter. Some of the most notable proponents of the concept in this period include
Marsilio Ficino (1433 – 1499),
Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa (1486–1535),
Francesco Patrizi (1529–1597),
Giordano Bruno (1548–1600), and
Tommaso Campanella (1568–1639). It was also central to the new medical theories propounded by the Swiss physician
Paracelsus (1494–1541) and his many
followers, most notably
Robert Fludd (1574–1637).
Andreas Vesalius (1514–1564) in his anatomy text
De fabrica wrote that the human body "in many respects corresponds admirably to the universe and for that reason was called the little universe by the ancients." ==In Judaism== Analogies between microcosm and macrocosm are found throughout the history of
Jewish philosophy. According to this analogy, there is a structural similarity between the human being (the
microcosm, from , ) and the
cosmos as a whole (the
macrocosm, from ). The view was elaborated by the Jewish philosopher
Philo (c. 20 BCE–50 CE), who adopted it from
Hellenistic philosophy. Similar ideas can also be found in early
rabbinical literature. In the Middle Ages, the analogy became a prominent theme in the works of most Jewish philosophers.
Rabbinical literature In the
Avot de-Rabbi Natan (compiled c. 700–900), human parts are compared with parts belonging to the larger world: the hair is like a forest, the lungs like the wind, the loins like counsellors, the stomach like a mill, etc.
Middle Ages The microcosm–macrocosm analogy was a common theme among medieval Jewish philosophers, just as it was among the
Arabic philosophers who were their peers. Especially influential concerning the microcosm–macrocosm analogy were the
Epistles of the Brethren of Purity, an encyclopedic work written in the 10th century by an anonymous group of
Shi'i Muslim philosophers. Having been brought to
al-Andalus at an early date by the
hadith scholar and
alchemist Maslama al-Majriti of the
Umayyad state of Córdoba (died 964), the
Epistles were of central importance to
Sephardic philosophers such as
Bahya ibn Paquda (c. 1050–1120),
Judah Halevi (c. 1075–1141),
Joseph ibn Tzaddik (died 1149), and
Abraham ibn Ezra (c. 1090–1165). Nevertheless, the analogy was already in use by earlier Jewish philosophers. In his commentary on the
Sefer Yetzirah ("Book of Creation"),
Saadia Gaon (882/892–942) put forward a set of analogies between the cosmos, the
Tabernacle, and the human being. Saadia was followed in this by a number of later authors, such as Bahya ibn Paquda, Judah Halevi, and Abraham ibn Ezra. The analogy was linked to the ancient theme of "
know thyself" (Greek: γνῶθι σεαυτόν,
gnōthi seauton) by the physician and philosopher
Isaac Israeli (c. 832–932), who suggested that by knowing oneself, a human being may gain knowledge of all things. This theme of self-knowledge returned in the works of Joseph ibn Tzaddik, who added that in this way humans may come to know God himself. The macrocosm was also associated with the divine by Judah Halevi, who saw God as the spirit, soul, mind, and life that animates the universe, while according to
Maimonides (1138–1204), the relationship between God and the universe is analogous to the relationship between the intellect and the human being. ==See also==