batch.motif.greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg-l1881-l1895

---
record_id: batch.motif.greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg-l1881-l1895
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
passage_locator:
  label: THE THIEVES AND THE COCK / THE FARMER AND FORTUNE / JUPITER AND THE MONKEY
    / FATHER AND SONS; lines 1881-1895
  start: '1881'
  end: '1895'
  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: Union is strength.
  summary: A father whose sons quarrel uses a bundle of sticks to show that united
    things resist breaking, while separated sticks are easily broken. He tells his
    sons that unity will make them stronger than their enemies, while division will
    leave them vulnerable.
  language: English
  quote_policy: quoted
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
  text: A man has several sons who are always quarrelling with one another.
  category: relationship
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:1
- id: obs:2
  text: The man cannot persuade the sons to live together in harmony by ordinary efforts.
  category: action
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:1
- id: obs:3
  text: The man asks the sons to fetch a bundle of sticks.
  category: action
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:2
- id: obs:4
  text: Each son tries to break the bundle across his knee, and all fail.
  category: action
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:2
- id: obs:5
  text: The man undoes the bundle and gives the sons the sticks one by one.
  category: action
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:3
- id: obs:6
  text: The sons can break the separated sticks without difficulty.
  category: action
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:3
- id: obs:7
  text: The man tells the sons that united they will be stronger than their enemies,
    but divided they will be weak and vulnerable to attack.
  category: speech
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:4
- id: obs:8
  text: The passage ends with the moral that union is strength.
  category: speech
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:5
figures:
- id: fig:1
  name_or_label: certain man / father
  description: A man with several sons who tries to stop their quarrelling and teaches
    them by means of sticks.
  role_refs:
  - role:1
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:1
  - ev:2
  - ev:3
  - ev:4
- id: fig:2
  name_or_label: several sons
  description: The man’s sons, who quarrel with one another and participate in the
    stick-breaking demonstration.
  role_refs:
  - role:2
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:1
  - ev:2
  - ev:3
- id: fig:3
  name_or_label: enemies / attackers
  description: Potential enemies mentioned in the father’s warning about what may
    happen if the sons separate.
  role_refs:
  - role:3
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:4
roles:
- id: role:1
  label: instructor through demonstration
  assigned_to:
  - fig:1
  basis: The father arranges the bundle-of-sticks test and explains its lesson to
    the sons.
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:2
  - ev:3
  - ev:4
- id: role:2
  label: quarrelling learners
  assigned_to:
  - fig:2
  basis: The sons quarrel, fail to break the bundled sticks, and easily break the
    separate sticks.
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:1
  - ev:2
  - ev:3
- id: role:3
  label: hypothetical adversaries
  assigned_to:
  - fig:3
  basis: The father speaks of enemies or attackers who could overcome the sons if
    they are divided.
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:4
symbols:
- id: sym:1
  label: bundle of sticks
  literal_form: A bundle of sticks that the sons cannot break when kept together.
  associated_figures:
  - fig:1
  - fig:2
  taxonomy_refs: []
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:2
- id: sym:2
  label: separated sticks
  literal_form: Individual sticks from the undone bundle, easily broken one by one.
  associated_figures:
  - fig:1
  - fig:2
  taxonomy_refs: []
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:3
scenes:
- id: scene:1
  label: Quarrelling sons
  summary: The father has several sons who continually quarrel, and he cannot make
    them live in harmony.
  figure_refs:
  - fig:1
  - fig:2
  symbol_refs: []
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:1
- id: scene:2
  label: Bundle test
  summary: The father asks for a bundle of sticks and has each son try to break it;
    all fail.
  figure_refs:
  - fig:1
  - fig:2
  symbol_refs:
  - sym:1
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:2
- id: scene:3
  label: Separated sticks test
  summary: The father separates the bundle and gives the sticks individually to the
    sons, who can break them easily.
  figure_refs:
  - fig:1
  - fig:2
  symbol_refs:
  - sym:2
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:3
- id: scene:4
  label: Lesson on unity
  summary: The father explains that unity will make the sons stronger than enemies,
    while separation will make them vulnerable; the moral states that union is strength.
  figure_refs:
  - fig:1
  - fig:2
  - fig:3
  symbol_refs:
  - sym:1
  - sym:2
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:4
  - ev:5
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
  label: Unity taught by the unbreakable bundle
  taxonomy_refs:
  - wisdom
  basis: The passage uses a practical demonstration with bundled and separated sticks
    to teach the moral that union gives strength.
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:2
  - ev:3
  - ev:4
  - ev:5
  confidence: high
  cautions: The taxonomy reference is broad; the passage is a moral fable rather than
    an explicitly sacred or mythic episode.
- id: motif:2
  label: Division brings vulnerability to enemies
  taxonomy_refs:
  - wisdom
  basis: The father warns that if the sons quarrel and separate, their weakness will
    put them at the mercy of attackers.
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:4
  confidence: high
  cautions: This is stated as a practical moral lesson within the fable.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
  type: summary
  locator: lines 1881-1885
  quote_or_summary: A man has several sons who continually quarrel, and he cannot
    get them to live together harmoniously.
  source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
  rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary used.
- id: ev:2
  type: summary
  locator: lines 1885-1888
  quote_or_summary: The father has the sons fetch a bundle of sticks and invites each
    to break it across his knee; all try and fail.
  source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
  rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary used.
- id: ev:3
  type: summary
  locator: lines 1888-1889
  quote_or_summary: The father undoes the bundle and hands the sticks to the sons
    one by one; they break them without difficulty.
  source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
  rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary used.
- id: ev:4
  type: quote
  locator: lines 1889-1894
  quote_or_summary: "“united you will be more than a match for your enemies: but if
    you quarrel and separate, your weakness will put you at the mercy of those who
    attack you.”"
  source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
  rights_note: Public domain source; short excerpt used.
- id: ev:5
  type: quote
  locator: line 1895
  quote_or_summary: "“Union is strength.”"
  source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
  rights_note: Public domain source; short excerpt used.
confidence:
  extraction: high
  motif_candidates: high
  comparison_claims: uncertain
  notes: Extraction is based directly on the supplied passage. No comparison claims
    are made because the passage itself does not compare the 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 Father and Sons passage was used, despite the broader locator label listing adjacent fables.
  batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
  custom_id=motif_extract:greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg__l1881-l1895
  passage_sha256=622baedf40b3f301672e823670d5157707ea7d584e0ced063bee215af732a003