Spirit is life which itself cutteth into life: by its own torture doth it increase its own knowledge,—did ye know that before?
Zarathustra defines spirit as life that cuts into life and increases its knowledge by its own torture.
- Scholars, poets and the knowersA famous definition of spirit as life's self-wounding knowledge, in contrast to the scholars' cold, secondhand learning.
- Self-overcomingSpirit grows by torturing itself, cutting into its own life.