Thus Spoke Zarathustra · Chapter
LXIV: The Leech explained
Zarathustra, lost in thought, accidentally treads upon a man lying in a swamp.
What happens
Zarathustra, lost in thought, accidentally treads upon a man lying in a swamp. The man, initially enraged, reveals himself as the spiritually conscientious one who has devoted his life to studying the brain of the leech. Recognizing Zarathustra, he praises him as a 'great conscience-leech.' Zarathustra invites him to his cave for healing and further conversation, but is called away by a cry of distress.
Themes in this chapter
Critique of Herd Morality
The conscientious one's rejection of 'semi-spiritual' and 'hazy' knowledge reflects a disdain for the herd's superficial intellectualism.
Will to Power and Creation
The conscientious one's intense, self-sacrificing pursuit of knowledge ('with mine own blood have I increased mine own knowledge') exemplifies the will to power through intellectual creation.
Characters to notice
- Zarathustra
Accidentally treads upon the conscientious man, then sympathetically invites him to his cave.
- The Conscientious in Spirit
The trodden one who dedicates himself to rigorous study of the leech's brain, embodying intellectual honesty and severity.
Key passages
“Better know nothing than half-know many things! Better be a fool on one's own account, than a sage on other people's approbation!”
It is preferable to be completely ignorant than to have superficial knowledge; better to be an independent fool than a wise person who relies on others' approval.
The conscientious one articulates his rigorous intellectual standard, valuing depth over breadth and autonomy over conformity.
“Spirit is life which itself cutteth into life”
The intellect is a form of life that actively dissects and engages with existence itself.
Zarathustra's earlier teaching, which inspired the conscientious one's approach to knowledge as a painful but necessary self-examination.