there is an idea that there is a corresponding similarity in pattern, nature, or structure between human beings and the universe. this concept is found throughout the history of thought from ancient times through the renaissance, and in various religious traditions including buddhism and the upanishads. similar concepts were held by hermetic philosophers like paracelsus, and by baruch spinoza, leibniz, and later by friedrich schelling (1775-1854). paracelsus believed that there is a structural similarity between the human being and the cosmos as a whole. with this introduction, the name paracelsus reminds you: