LXIV. The Leech

And Zarathustra went thoughtfully on, further and lower down, through forests and past moory bottoms; as it happeneth, however, to every one who meditateth upon hard matters, he trod thereby unawares upon a man. And lo,…

Lost in thought, Zarathustra steps on a man lying hidden in a swamp and strikes him in his fright. He laughs at his own folly, offers a parable of the startled dog and wanderer, and invites the bleeding man to his cave to tend his wounds.

When however the trodden one had heard the name of Zarathustra he was transformed. “What happeneth unto me!” he exclaimed, “WHO preoccupieth me so much in this life as this one man, namely Zarathustra, and that one…

Hearing the name Zarathustra, the man is transformed. He had lain in the swamp as bait for leeches, and now praises Zarathustra as the finest leech, the 'great conscience-leech'. Zarathustra is pleased and asks who he is.

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!

He calls himself the spiritually conscientious one and says he learned his rigour from Zarathustra. He wants only firm basis, however small, and sees nothing great or small in true knowing.

Because THOU once saidest, O Zarathustra: ‘Spirit is life which itself cutteth into life’;—that led and allured me to thy doctrine.

He claims mastery of one small world, the brain of the leech, and is proud of it. He casts everything else aside, hates the hazy and visionary, and wants to be severe and honest where he knows and blind where he does not.

—“As the evidence indicateth,” broke in Zarathustra; for still was the blood flowing down on the naked arm of the conscientious one. For there had ten leeches bitten into it. “O thou strange fellow, how much doth this…

Ten leeches are seen on his bleeding arm, which Zarathustra takes as evidence of the man's devotion. He invites him to the cave as a guest and promises amends for the trampling. A cry of distress calls Zarathustra away.