batch.motif.greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg-l1301-l1320
---
record_id: batch.motif.greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg-l1301-l1320
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
passage_locator:
label: THE BOYS AND THE FROGS / THE NORTH WIND AND THE SUN / THE MISTRESS AND HER
SERVANTS / THE GOODS AND THE ILLS; lines 1301-1320
start: '1301'
end: '1320'
translation: Aesop's Fables; a new translation
notes: Generated from OpenAI Batch run motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority;
human review required.
canonical_text:
quote: ''
summary: In the youth of the world, Goods and Ills were both present in human affairs.
Human foolishness allowed Ills to multiply and threaten to drive Goods from earth.
Goods went to heaven and appealed to Jupiter, who protected them by decreeing
that they should visit humans singly, unseen, and rarely. The fable explains why
Ills are common and near, while Goods are rare and come from heaven one by one.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: Goods and Ills are described as entering equally into human concerns in the
youth of the world.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The equal presence of Goods and Ills prevents humans from being either altogether
blessed or wholly miserable.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: The foolishness of mankind is said to cause Ills to multiply in number and
increase in strength.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: Ills threaten to deprive Goods of their share in human affairs and banish
them from earth.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:5
text: Goods go to heaven and complain to Jupiter about their treatment.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:6
text: Goods ask Jupiter for protection from Ills and for advice about their intercourse
with humans.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:7
text: Jupiter grants the Goods protection and issues a decree about how they should
approach humans in the future.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:8
text: Jupiter decrees that Goods should go among humans singly, unobserved, and
at infrequent and unexpected intervals.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:9
text: The earth is said to be full of Ills, which come and go freely and remain
near.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:10
text: Goods are said to come one by one and to travel from heaven, so they are rarely
seen.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Goods
description: Personified beneficial forces initially sharing human affairs with
Ills; later they flee to heaven and appeal to Jupiter.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Ills
description: Personified harmful forces that multiply, increase in strength, and
become common on earth.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:5
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Mankind / men
description: Humans whose foolishness is said to allow Ills to multiply; human affairs
are the sphere affected by Goods and Ills.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:4
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Jupiter
description: Divine figure in heaven who hears the Goods’ complaint, grants protection,
and issues a decree.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
roles:
- id: role:1
label: beneficial personifications
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Goods are contrasted with Ills and are associated with blessing and beneficial
presence in human affairs.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:2
label: harmful hostile personifications
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: Ills multiply, strengthen, attack or threaten Goods, and fill the earth.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:5
- id: role:3
label: petitioners seeking divine protection
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Goods go to heaven, complain to Jupiter, and pray for protection and advice.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:4
label: human recipients and causal agents
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: Human concerns are affected by Goods and Ills, and mankind’s foolishness
is named as the cause of the Ills’ increase.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: role:5
label: divine protector and decreer
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: Jupiter grants protection and decrees the future manner in which Goods will
visit humans.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: heaven
literal_form: heaven
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:5
- id: sym:2
label: earth
literal_form: earth
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:5
- id: sym:3
label: one-by-one visitation
literal_form: Goods coming singly and at infrequent, unexpected intervals
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: sym:4
label: multitude of Ills
literal_form: Ills multiplied greatly and filling the earth
associated_figures:
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:5
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Initial balance of Goods and Ills
summary: At an early time in the world, Goods and Ills both enter human affairs,
preventing complete happiness or complete misery.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Ills multiply through human foolishness
summary: Because of mankind’s foolishness, Ills become more numerous and stronger,
threatening to exclude Goods from human affairs and earth.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: scene:3
label: Goods appeal to Jupiter in heaven
summary: Goods go to heaven, complain to Jupiter about their treatment, and request
protection and guidance.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: scene:4
label: Jupiter’s decree
summary: Jupiter grants protection and decrees that Goods will no longer appear
openly together, but only singly, unseen, rarely, and unexpectedly.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: scene:5
label: Present condition of human life
summary: The fable concludes that Ills are plentiful and near on earth, while Goods
are rare because they come one by one from heaven.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
- sym:3
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: personified opposition of good and harm
taxonomy_refs:
- duality
basis: The passage presents Goods and Ills as opposing personified forces in human
affairs, initially balanced and later unevenly distributed.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:5
confidence: medium
cautions: The taxonomy ref is broad; the passage is a moralizing fable rather than
a developed cosmological dualism.
- id: motif:2
label: divine decree explaining present human condition
taxonomy_refs:
- divine_judgment
basis: Jupiter responds to the Goods’ petition by issuing a decree that explains
why Goods are rare among humans and Ills are common.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
confidence: medium
cautions: The decree is protective and etiological; it is not explicitly a judgment
of guilt or punishment.
- id: motif:3
label: ascent to heaven for divine appeal
taxonomy_refs:
- ascent
basis: Goods leave the earthly sphere and go to heaven to complain to Jupiter and
seek protection.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
confidence: low
cautions: The movement to heaven is brief and functional, not a full ascent narrative.
- id: motif:4
label: foolishness as cause of suffering
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The passage attributes the multiplication and strengthening of Ills to mankind’s
foolishness.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
confidence: low
cautions: The available taxonomy ref is general; the passage emphasizes folly more
than a wisdom quest or teaching figure.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: 1301-1305
quote_or_summary: In the youth of the world, Goods and Ills entered human concerns
equally, so Goods did not make humans wholly blessed and Ills did not make them
wholly miserable.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: 1305-1310
quote_or_summary: Because of mankind’s foolishness, Ills multiplied and strengthened
until they seemed likely to drive Goods out of human affairs and banish them from
earth.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: 1310-1314
quote_or_summary: Goods went to heaven, complained to Jupiter, and asked him for
protection from Ills and advice about how to deal with humans.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: 1314-1318
quote_or_summary: Jupiter granted protection and decreed that Goods should no longer
go among humans openly together, but singly, unobserved, and at rare unexpected
intervals.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: 1318-1320
quote_or_summary: The fable concludes that earth is full of Ills, which come and
go freely, while Goods come one by one from heaven and are seldom seen.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: uncertain
notes: Literal extraction is straightforward from the provided passage. Motif taxonomy
mappings are broad and should be reviewed. No comparison claims were made because
the passage itself does not compare this fable to another text or tradition.
reviewer_status:
status: needs_review
reviewer: ''
reviewed_at: ''
notes: Machine-generated draft from OpenAI Batch; not human-reviewed.
extracted_by: openai_batch:gpt-5.5
extracted_at: '2026-04-28'
notes: |-
Only the supplied passage text was used; despite the locator label listing multiple fables, the provided passage contains “THE GOODS AND THE ILLS” only.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg__l1301-l1320
passage_sha256=f9a973879f54e16ae8879baaa800d16443275d40a59b8d20eef242ee00b1256f