View source for Microcosm–macrocosm analogy

{{Short description|Analogy between man and cosmos}}
{{Redirect-multi|2|Macrocosm|Macrocosmos|other uses|Macrocosm (disambiguation)}}
[[File:Robert Fludd 1.gif|thumb|upright=1.6|Illustration of the analogy between the human body and a [[Geocentric model|geocentric]] cosmos: the head is analogous to the {{lang|la|[[Empyrean|cœlum empyreum]]}}, closest to the [[divine light]] of God; the chest to the {{lang|la|[[Aether (classical element)|cœlum æthereum]]}}, occupied by the [[classical planets]] (wherein the [[heart]] is analogous to the [[sun]]); the [[abdomen]] to the {{lang|la|[[sublunary sphere|cœlum elementare]]}}; the legs to the dark earthy mass ({{lang|la|molis terreæ}}) which supports this universe.{{efn|From [[Robert Fludd]]'s {{lang|la|Utriusque cosmi maioris scilicet et minoris metaphysica, physica atque technica historia}}, 1617–21}}]]
The '''microcosm–macrocosm analogy''' (or, equivalently, '''macrocosm–microcosm analogy''') refers to a historical view that posited a structural similarity between the [[human being]] (the [[wikt:microcosm|microcosm]], i.e., the ''small order'' or the ''small universe'') and the [[cosmos]] as a whole (the [[wikt:macrocosm|macrocosm]], i.e., the ''great order'' or the ''great universe'').{{efn|The terms microcosm and macrocosm derive from [[ancient Greek]] {{lang|grc|μικρὸς κόσμος}} ({{Transliteration|grc|mikròs kósmos}}) and {{lang|grc|μακρὸς κόσμος}} ({{Transliteration|grc|makròs kósmos}}), which may mean 'small universe' and 'great universe', but whose primary meaning is 'small order' and 'great order', respectively (see [[wikt:κόσμος#Ancient Greek|wiktionary]]; cf. {{harvnb|Allers|1944|loc=pp. 320–321, note 5}}).}} Given this fundamental analogy, truths about the nature of the cosmos as a whole may be inferred from truths about human nature, and vice versa.<ref>On the macrocosm and the microcosm in general, see, e.g., {{harvnb|Conger|1922}}; {{harvnb|Allers|1944}}; {{harvnb|Barkan|1975}}.</ref>

One important corollary of this view is that the cosmos as a whole may be considered to be alive, and thus to have a mind or soul (the [[Anima mundi|world soul]]), a position advanced by [[Plato]] in his ''[[Timaeus (dialogue)|Timaeus]]''.<ref>See {{harvnb|Olerud|1951}}.</ref> Moreover, this cosmic mind or soul was often thought to be divine, most notably by the [[Stoic physics#Soul|Stoics]] and those who were influenced by them, such as the authors of the ''[[Hermetica]]''.<ref>On the Stoics, see {{harvnb|Hahm|1977|loc=63ff.}}; on the ''Hermetica'', see {{harvnb|Festugière|1944–1954|loc=vol. I, pp. 92–94, 125–131}}.</ref> Hence, it was sometimes inferred that the human mind or soul was divine in nature as well.

Apart from this important psychological and noetic (i.e., related to the [[nous|mind]]) application, the analogy was also applied to [[Human body|human physiology]].<ref>See, e.g., {{harvnb|Kranz|1938|pp=130–133}}.</ref> For example, the [[Philosophical cosmology|cosmological]] functions of the [[Classical planet|seven classical planets]] were sometimes taken to be analogous to the physiological functions of human [[Organ (anatomy)|organs]], such as the [[heart]], the [[spleen]], the [[liver]], the [[stomach]], etc.{{efn|See the illustration shown on the right (from [[Robert Fludd]]'s {{lang|la|Utriusque cosmi maioris scilicet et minoris metaphysica, physica atque technica historia}}, 1617–21), which correlates the sun (considered to be a planet in the [[geocentric model]]) with the heart.}}

The view itself is ancient, and may be found in many philosophical systems world-wide, for example in [[ancient Mesopotamia]],<ref>{{harvnb|Svärd|Nokso-Koivisto|2014}}.</ref> in [[ancient Iran]],<ref>{{harvnb|Götze|1923}}; {{harvnb|Duchesne-Guillemin|1956}}.</ref> or in ancient [[Chinese philosophy]].<ref>{{harvnb|Raphals|2015–2020}}.</ref> However, the terms microcosm and macrocosm refer more specifically to the analogy as it was developed in [[ancient Greek philosophy]] and its [[Medieval philosophy|medieval]] and [[Renaissance philosophy|early modern]] descendants.

In contemporary usage, the terms microcosm and macrocosm are also employed to refer to any smaller system that is representative of a larger one, and vice versa.

==History==
[[File:Paolo Monti - Servizio fotografico (Napoli, 1969) - BEIC 6353768.jpg|thumb|upright=0.75|[[Zeno of Citium]] (c. 334–262 BCE), founder of the Stoic school of philosophy.]]

=== Antiquity ===
Among [[Ancient Greek philosophy|ancient Greek]] and [[Hellenistic philosophy|Hellenistic]] philosophers, notable proponents of the microcosm–macrocosm analogy included [[Anaximander]] ({{circa|610|546 BCE}}),<ref>See, e.g., {{harvnb|Allers|1944}}.</ref> [[Plato]] ({{circa|428 or 424|348 BCE|lk=no}}),<ref>See especially {{harvnb|Olerud|1951}}.</ref> the [[Hippocratic Corpus|Hippocratic authors]] (late 5th or early 4th century BCE and onwards),<ref>See {{harvnb|Kranz|1938}}; {{harvnb|Schluderer|2018}}.</ref> and the [[Stoic physics|Stoics]] (3rd century BCE and onwards).<ref>See {{harvnb|Hahm|1977|loc=63ff.}}</ref> In later periods, the analogy was especially prominent in the works of those philosophers who were heavily influenced by [[Platonism|Platonic]] and Stoic thought, such as [[Philo of Alexandria]] ({{circa|20 BCE|50 CE|lk=no}}),<ref>See, e.g., {{harvnb|Runia|1986|loc=pp. 87, 133, 157, 211, 259, 278, 282, 315, 324, 339, 388, 465–466}}.</ref> the authors of the early Greek ''[[Hermetica]]'' ({{circa|100 BCE–300 CE|lk=no}}),<ref>See {{harvnb|Festugière|1944–1954|loc=vol. I, pp. 92–94, 125–131}}.</ref> and the [[Neoplatonism|Neoplatonists]] (3rd century CE and onwards).<ref>See, e.g., {{harvnb|Wilberding|2006|pp=53–56}}.</ref> The analogy was also employed in [[late antique]] and early medieval religious literature, such as in the ''[[Bundahishn]]'', a [[Zoroastrianism|Zoroastrian]] encyclopedic work, and the ''[[Avot de-Rabbi Nathan]]'', a Jewish [[Rabbinic literature|Rabbinical text]].<ref>{{harvnb|Kraemer|2007}}; {{harvnb|Jacobs|Broydé|1906}}.</ref>

=== Middle Ages ===
[[Medieval philosophy]] was generally dominated by [[Aristotelianism|Aristotle]], who &ndash; despite having been the first<ref>{{harvnb|Kraemer|2007|p=178}}.</ref> to coin the term "microcosm" &ndash; had posited a fundamental and insurmountable difference between the region below the Moon (the [[Sublunary sphere|sublunary world]], consisting of the [[Classical element#Greece|four elements]]) and the region above the Moon (the superlunary world, consisting of a [[Aether (classical element)|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 {{Transliteration|ar|ʿālam ṣaghīr}}, in [[Hebrew]] as {{Transliteration|he|olam katan}}, and in [[Latin]] as {{lang|la|microcosmus}} or {{lang|la|minor mundus}}.<ref>{{harvnb|Kraemer|2007|p=178}}; on the Latin terminology, see {{harvnb|Finckh|1999|p=12}}.</ref> The analogy was elaborated by [[alchemy|alchemists]] such as those writing under the name of [[Jabir ibn Hayyan]] ({{circa|850–950 CE}}),<ref>{{harvnb|Kraus|1942–1943|loc=vol. II, pp. 47, 50}}.</ref> by the anonymous [[Shi'ite]] philosophers known as the [[Encyclopedia of the Brethren of Purity|Ikhwān al-Ṣafāʾ]] ("The Brethren of Purity", {{circa|900–1000|lk=no}}),<ref>See, e.g., {{harvnb|Widengren|1980}}; {{harvnb|Nokso-Koivisto|2014}}; {{harvnb|Krinis|2016}}.</ref> by Jewish theologians and philosophers such as [[Isaac Israeli ben Solomon|Isaac Israeli]] ({{circa|832|932|lk=no}}), [[Saadia Gaon]] (882/892–942), [[Solomon ibn Gabirol|Ibn Gabirol]] (11th century), and [[Judah Halevi]] ({{circa|1075–1141|lk=no}}),<ref>{{harvnb|Jacobs|Broydé|1906}}; {{harvnb|Kraemer|2007}}.</ref> by [[School of Saint Victor|Victorine]] monks such as [[Godfrey of Saint Victor]] (born 1125, author of a treatise called ''Microcosmus''), by the [[Al-Andalus|Andalusian]] mystic [[Ibn Arabi]] (1165–1240),<ref>{{harvnb|Aminrazavi|2009–2021}}.</ref> by the German cardinal [[Nicholas of Cusa]] (1401–1464),<ref>{{harvnb|Miller|2009–2017}}.</ref> and by numerous others.

[[File:Paracelsus.jpg|thumb|upright=0.75|left|[[Paracelsus]] (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), [[Franciscus Patricius|Francesco Patrizi]] (1529–1597), [[Giordano Bruno]] (1548–1600), and [[Tommaso Campanella]] (1568–1639).<ref>See the discussion in {{harvnb|Allers|1944|pp=386–401}}.</ref> It was also central to the new medical theories propounded by the Swiss physician [[Paracelsus]] (1494–1541) and his many [[Paracelsianism|followers]], most notably [[Robert Fludd]] (1574–1637).<ref>{{harvnb|Debus|1965|loc=pp. 19, 41–42, 86, 114–123, ''et passim''}}.</ref> [[Andreas Vesalius]] (1514–1564) in his anatomy text [[De humani corporis fabrica|''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."<ref>{{harvnb|O'Malley|1964|p=324}}.</ref>
{{Clear}}

==In Judaism==<!-- [[Microcosm–macrocosm analogy in Jewish philosophy]] redirects here: when changing this section heading, please also change the target of the redirect. -->
{{Jewish philosophy|expanded=Topics}}
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 [[Wiktionary:microcosm|microcosm]], from {{langx|grc-x-koine|μικρὸς κόσμος|mikròs kósmos}}, {{langx|he|עולם קטן|ʻolam qāṭān|small universe}}) and the [[cosmos]] as a whole (the [[Wiktionary:macrocosm|macrocosm]], from {{langx|grc-x-koine|μακρὸς κόσμος|makròs kósmos|great universe|links=no}}).<ref>The Greek terms may mean 'small universe' and 'great universe', but their primary meaning is 'small order' and 'great order', respectively (see [[Wiktionary:κόσμος#Ancient Greek|wiktionary]]; cf. {{harvnb|Allers|1944|loc=pp. 320-321, note 5}}). The terms also occur in medieval Arabic sources as ''ʿālam ṣaghīr'' and in medieval Latin sources as ''microcosmus'' or ''minor mundus'' (see {{harvnb|Kraemer|2007}}; on the Latin terminology, see {{harvnb|Finckh|1999|p=12}}).</ref>

The view was elaborated by the Jewish philosopher [[Philo]] (c. 20 BCE–50 CE), who adopted it from [[Hellenistic philosophy]].<ref>See, e.g., {{harvnb|Runia|1986|loc=pp. 87, 133, 157, 211, 259, 278, 282, 315, 324, 339, 388, 465-466}}.</ref> 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.<ref>{{harvnb|Jacobs|Broydé|1906}}.</ref>

===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'a Islam|Shi'i Muslim]] philosophers.<ref>{{harvnb|Jacobs|Broydé|1906}}; {{harvnb|Kraemer|2007}}. On the microcosm–macrocosm analogy in the ''Epistles of the Brethren of Purity'', see e.g., {{harvnb|Widengren|1980}}; {{harvnb|Nokso-Koivisto|2014}}; {{harvnb|Krinis|2016}}.</ref> Having been brought to [[al-Andalus]] at an early date by the [[hadith scholar]] and [[Alchemy and chemistry in the medieval Islamic world|alchemist]] [[Maslama al-Majriti]] of the [[Umayyad state of Córdoba]] (died 964),<ref>{{harvnb|De Callataÿ|Moureau|2017}}.</ref> the ''Epistles'' were of central importance to [[Sephardic Jews|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).<ref>The ''Epistles of the Brethren of Purity'' were of much less importance to [[Maimonides]] (1138–1204), who also ignored Joseph ibn Tzaddik's work on the microcosm–macrocosm analogy; see {{harvnb|Kraemer|2007}}.</ref>

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.<ref name="auto">{{harvnb|Kraemer|2007}}.</ref> Saadia was followed in this by a number of later authors, such as Bahya ibn Paquda, Judah Halevi, and Abraham ibn Ezra.<ref name="auto"/>

Whereas the physiological application of the analogy in the rabbinical work ''Avot de-Rabbi Natan'' had still been relatively simple and crude, much more elaborate versions of this application were given by Bahya ibn Paquda and Joseph ibn Tzaddik (in his ''Sefer ha-Olam ha-Katan'', "Book of the Microcosm"), both of whom compared human parts with the heavenly bodies and other parts of the cosmos at large.<ref>{{harvnb|Jacobs|Broydé|1906}}; {{harvnb|Kraemer|2007}}. Physiological applications of the microcosm–macrocosm analogy are also found and in, a.o., the [[Hippocratic Corpus]] (see {{harvnb|Kranz|1938|pp=130–133}}), and in the Zoroastrian work [[Bundahishn]] (see {{harvnb|Kraemer|2007}}).</ref>

The analogy was linked to the ancient theme of "[[know thyself]]" (Greek: γνῶθι σεαυτόν, ''gnōthi seauton'') by the physician and philosopher [[Isaac Israeli ben Solomon|Isaac Israeli]] (c. 832–932), who suggested that by knowing oneself, a human being may gain knowledge of all things.<ref name="auto"/> 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.<ref name="auto"/> 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.<ref name="auto"/>

==See also==
{{Columns-list|colwidth=20em|
* [[As above, so below]]
* [[Correspondence (theology)|Correspondence]]
* [[Great chain of being|Great chain of being (''Scala naturae'')]]
* [[Hermeticism]]
* [[Macranthropy]]
* [[Panpsychism]]
* [[Paracelsus#Hermeticism|Paracelsus and microcosm-macrocosm]]
* [[Timaeus (dialogue)|Plato's ''Timaeus'']]
* [[Robert Fludd#Macrocosm–microcosm relationship|Robert Fludd and microcosm–macrocosm]]
* [[Stoic physics|Stoic cosmology and psychology]]
* [[Geist#Weltgeist|Weltgeist]]
* [[Anima mundi|World soul (''Anima mundi'')]]
}}

==Notes==
{{Notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
{{sfn whitelist|CITEREFKraemer2007}}

===General overviews===
{{Collier's poster|Microcosm and Macrocosm}}
The following works contain general overviews of the microcosm–macrocosm analogy:
* {{cite journal|last=Allers|first=Rudolf|author-link=Rudolf Allers|year=1944|title=Microcosmus: From Anaximandros to Paracelsus|journal=Traditio|volume=2|pages=319–407|doi=10.1017/S0362152900017219|jstor=27830052|s2cid=149312818 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/27830052|url-access=subscription}}
* {{cite book|last=Barkan|first=Leonard|author-link=Leonard Barkan|year=1975|title=Nature's Work of Art: The Human Body as Image of the World|location=London/New Haven|publisher=Yale University Press|isbn=978-0300016949}}
* {{cite book|last=Conger|first=George Perrigo|year=1922|title=Theories of Macrocosms and Microcosms in the History of Philosophy|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aWQ-AAAAYAAJ|location=New York|publisher=Columbia University Press|isbn=978-1290429832}}
* {{cite encyclopedia|last1=Jacobs|first1=Joseph|author1-link=Joseph Jacobs|last2=Broydé|first2=Isaac|author2-link=Isaac Broydé|year=1906|title=Microcosm|editor1-last=Singer|editor1-first=Isidore|editor1-link=Isidore Singer|editor2-last=Funk|editor2-first=Isaac K.|editor2-link=Isaac K. Funk|editor3-last=Vizetelly|editor3-first=Frank H.|encyclopedia=Jewish Encyclopedia|location=New York|publisher=Funk & Wagnalls|volume=8|pages=544–545|url=https://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/10798-microcosm}}
* {{cite EJ|last1=Kraemer|first1=Joel|title=Microcosm|volume=14|pages=178–179|url=https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/microcosm}}

===Other sources cited===
* {{cite encyclopedia|last=Aminrazavi|first=Mehdi|year=2009–2021|title=Mysticism in Arabic and Islamic Philosophy|encyclopedia=The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy ''(Spring 2021 Edition)''|editor-last=Zalta|editor-first=Edward N.|url=https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2021/entries/arabic-islamic-mysticism/}}
* {{cite journal|last1=De Callataÿ|first1=Godefroid|last2=Moureau|first2=Sébastien|year=2017|title=A Milestone in the History of Andalusī Bāṭinism: Maslama b. Qāsim al-Qurṭubī's Riḥla in the East|journal=Intellectual History of the Islamicate World|volume=5|issue=1|pages=86–117|doi=10.1163/2212943X-00501004}}
* {{cite book|last=Debus|first=Allen G.|author-link=Allen G. Debus|year=1965|title=The English Paracelsians|location=London|publisher=Oldbourne|isbn=978-0444999610}}
* {{cite journal|last=Duchesne-Guillemin|first=Jacques|author-link=Jacques Duchesne-Guillemin|year=1956|title=Persische weisheit in griechischem gewande?|journal=Harvard Theological Review|volume=49|issue=2|pages=115–122|doi=10.1017/S0017816000028169|jstor=1508803|s2cid=164108095 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/1508803|language=de|url-access=subscription}}
* {{cite book |last=Festugière |first=André-Jean |author-link=André-Jean Festugière |year=1944–1954 |title=La Révélation d'Hermès Trismégiste |series=Vol. I–IV |location=Paris |publisher=Gabalda |isbn=978-2251326740|language=fr}}
* {{cite book|last1=Finckh|first1=Ruth|year=1999|title=Minor Mundus Homo: Studien zur Mikrokosmos-Idee in der mittelalterlichen Literatur|location=Göttingen|publisher=Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht|isbn=3525205791|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=n7d-ZEQ5spIC|language=de}}
* {{cite journal|last=Götze|first=Albrecht|author-link=Albrecht Goetze|year=1923|title=Persische Weisheit in griechischem Gewande: Ein Beitrag zur Geschichte der Mikrokosmos-Idee|journal=Zeitschrift für Indologie und Iranistik|volume=2|pages=60–98, 167–177|url=http://menadoc.bibliothek.uni-halle.de/dmg/periodical/titleinfo/152131|language=de}}
* {{cite book|last=Hahm|first=David E.|year=1977|title=The Origins of Stoic Cosmology|location=Columbus|publisher=Ohio State University Press|isbn=978-0814202531}}
* {{cite journal|last=Kranz|first=Walther|author-link=Walther Kranz|year=1938|title=Kosmos und Mensch in der Vorstellung frühen Griechentums|journal=Nachrichten von der Gesellschaft der Wissenschaften zu Göttingen, Philologisch-historische Klasse|volume=2|issue=7|pages=121–161|oclc=905422149|language=de}}
* {{Cite book|last=Kraus|first=Paul|author-link=Paul Kraus (Arabist)|year=1942–1943|title=Jâbir ibn Hayyân: Contribution à l'histoire des idées scientifiques dans l'Islam. I. Le corpus des écrits jâbiriens. II. Jâbir et la science grecque|publisher=[[Institut Français d'Archéologie Orientale]]|location=Cairo|oclc=468740510|isbn=978-3487091150|language=fr}}
* {{cite book|last=Krinis|first=Ehud|year=2016|chapter=The Philosophical and Theosophical Interpretations of the Microcosm–Macrocosm Analogy in Ikhwān al-ṣafā’ and Jewish Medieval Writings|editor1-last=Amir-Moezzi|editor1-first=Mohammad Ali|editor2-last=De Cillis|editor2-first=Maria|editor3-last=De Smet|editor3-first=Daniel|editor4-last=Mir-Kasimov|editor4-first=Orkhan|title=L'Ésotérisme shi'ite, ses racines et ses prolongements – Shi'i Esotericism: Its Roots and Developments|series=Bibliothèque de l'Ecole des Hautes Etudes, Sciences Religieuses|volume=177|location=Turnhout|publisher=Brepols|pages=395–409|doi=10.1484/M.BEHE-EB.4.01178|isbn=978-2503568744}}
* {{cite encyclopedia|last=Miller|first=Clyde Lee|year=2009–2017|title=Cusanus, Nicolaus [Nicolas of Cusa]|encyclopedia=The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy ''(Summer 2017 Edition)''|editor-last=Zalta|editor-first=Edward N.|url=https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/sum2017/entries/cusanus/}}
* {{cite thesis|last=Nokso-Koivisto|first=Inka|year=2014|title=Microcosm–Macrocosm Analogy in Rasāʾil Ikhwān aṣ-Ṣafāʾ and Certain Related Texts|type=Unpubl. PhD diss.|location=University of Helsinki|hdl=10138/136006|url=http://hdl.handle.net/10138/136006}}
* {{cite book|last=Olerud|first=Anders|year=1951|title=L'idée de macrocosmos et de microcosmos dans le 'Timée' de Platon: Étude de mythologie comparée|location=Uppsala|publisher=Almqvist & Wiksell|oclc=680524865|language=fr}}
* {{Cite book|last=O'Malley|first=Charles Donald|author-link=Charles Donald O'Malley|year=1964|title=Andreas Vesalius of Brussels, 1514–1564|location=Berkeley|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=978-0930405557|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HCA6wGaU8PUC&q=little+universe}}
* {{cite encyclopedia|last=Raphals|first=Lisa|year=2015–2020|title=Chinese Philosophy and Chinese Medicine|encyclopedia=The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy ''(Winter 2020 Edition)''|editor-last=Zalta|editor-first=Edward N.|url=https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2020/entries/chinese-phil-medicine/}}
* {{cite book|last=Runia|first=David T.|author-link=David T. Runia|year=1986|title=Philo of Alexandria and the ''Timaeus'' of Plato|location=Leiden|publisher=Brill|isbn=978-9004074774}}
* {{cite journal|last=Schluderer|first=Laura Rosella|year=2018|title=Imitating the Cosmos: The Role of Microcosm–Macrocosm Relationships in the Hippocratic Treatise On Regimen|journal=Classical Quarterly|volume=68|issue=1|pages=31–52|doi=10.1017/S0009838818000149|doi-access=free}}
* {{cite book|last1=Svärd|first1=Saana|last2=Nokso-Koivisto|first2=Inka|year=2014|chapter=The Microcosm–Macrocosm Analogy in Mesopotamian and Medieval Arabic History of Science|editor1-last=Lindstedt|editor1-first=Ilkka|editor2-last=Hämeen-Anttila|editor2-first=Jaakko|editor3-last=Mattila|editor3-first=Raija|editor4-last=Rollinger|editor4-first=Robert|editor4-link=Robert Rollinger|title=Case Studies in Transmission. The Intellectual Heritage of the Ancient and Mediaeval Near East, 1|location=Münster|publisher=Ugarit-Verlag|pages=159–187|isbn=978-3868351248}}
* {{cite journal|last=Widengren|first=G.|year=1980|title=Macrocosmos-microcosmos speculation in the Rasa'il Ikhwan al-safa and some Hurufi texts|journal=Archivio di Filosofia|volume=48|pages=297–312}}
* {{cite book|last=Wilberding|first=James|year=2006|title=Plotinus' Cosmology: A Study of Ennead II.1 (40). Text, Translation, and Commentary|location=Oxford|publisher=Oxford University Press
|isbn=978-0199277261}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Microcosm-macrocosm analogy}}
[[Category:Ancient Greek physics]]
[[Category:Metaphysics of religion]]
[[Category:Esoteric cosmology]]
[[Category:Hermeticism]]
[[Category:Stoicism]]
[[Category:Paracelsus]]
[[Category:Philosophical analogies]]
[[Category:Jewish philosophy]]