The Latin word spiritus (denominative from spirare 'blow', 'breathe') describes any stream of air, also the breathing in and out of life-giving air, and hence even life itself. Thus in Cicero (Rosc. Am. 72) spiritus is what is common to all living beings. Unlike Greek pneûma, spiritus has a more anthropological/moral accentuation and it also describes self-reliance, positively as courage…
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Büchli, Jörg (Zürich),
“Spiritus”, in:
Brill’s New Pauly, Antiquity volumes edited by: Hubert Cancik and , Helmuth Schneider, English Edition by: Christine F. Salazar, Classical Tradition volumes edited by: Manfred Landfester, English Edition by: Francis G. Gentry.
Consulted online on 21 April 2021 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/1574-9347_bnp_e1119460>