batch.motif.greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg-l2455-l2478

---
record_id: batch.motif.greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg-l2455-l2478
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
passage_locator:
  label: THE MICE AND THE WEASELS / THE PEACOCK AND JUNO / THE BEAR AND THE FOX /
    THE ASS AND THE OLD PEASANT; lines 2455-2478
  start: '2455'
  end: '2478'
  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 one fable, a Bear boasts of his refinement and aversion to dead bodies,
    and a Fox exposes the danger posed by the Bear to the living. The moral states
    that a hypocrite deceives only himself. In another fable, an old Peasant sees
    armed men approaching and urges his Ass to flee; the Ass reasons that capture
    will not make his burdens heavier and therefore does not care if he is taken.
  language: English
  quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
  text: The Bear boasts about generous feelings and refinement compared with other
    animals.
  category: speech
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:1
- id: obs:2
  text: The passage notes a tradition that a Bear will never touch a dead body.
  category: attribute
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:1
- id: obs:3
  text: The Fox hears the Bear and responds that, when hungry, the Bear should attend
    to the dead and leave the living alone.
  category: speech
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:1
- id: obs:4
  text: The stated moral says that a hypocrite deceives no one but himself.
  category: speech
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:2
- id: obs:5
  text: An old Peasant sits in a meadow while his Ass grazes nearby.
  category: setting
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:3
- id: obs:6
  text: The Peasant sees armed men approaching stealthily.
  category: action
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:3
- id: obs:7
  text: The Peasant urges the Ass to flee with him to avoid capture by the enemy.
  category: speech
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:3
- id: obs:8
  text: The Ass asks whether captors would make him carry heavier loads than he currently
    carries.
  category: speech
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:4
- id: obs:9
  text: After the Peasant answers no, the Ass says capture would not leave him worse
    off.
  category: speech
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:4
figures:
- id: fig:1
  name_or_label: Bear
  description: An animal who boasts of generosity and refinement and is associated
    with a tradition of not touching dead bodies.
  role_refs:
  - role:1
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:1
  - ev:2
- id: fig:2
  name_or_label: Fox
  description: An animal who hears the Bear’s boast and answers with a pointed remark
    about the Bear harming the living.
  role_refs:
  - role:2
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:1
- id: fig:3
  name_or_label: old Peasant
  description: A human master sitting in a meadow, watching his Ass, who sees armed
    men and urges flight.
  role_refs:
  - role:3
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:3
  - ev:4
- id: fig:4
  name_or_label: Ass
  description: A grazing animal who responds lazily to the Peasant and reasons that
    capture will not worsen his load-bearing condition.
  role_refs:
  - role:4
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:3
  - ev:4
- id: fig:5
  name_or_label: armed men / enemy
  description: Armed men approaching stealthily, identified by the Peasant as the
    enemy who may capture him and the Ass.
  role_refs:
  - role:5
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:3
roles:
- id: role:1
  label: boaster exposed as hypocrite
  assigned_to:
  - fig:1
  basis: The Bear claims refinement, while the Fox’s reply and the stated moral frame
    the boast as hypocritical.
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:1
  - ev:2
- id: role:2
  label: witty critic
  assigned_to:
  - fig:2
  basis: The Fox answers the Bear’s self-praise with a remark that exposes the Bear’s
    threat to the living.
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:1
- id: role:3
  label: master seeking escape
  assigned_to:
  - fig:3
  basis: The Peasant warns of capture and urges the Ass to flee with him.
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:3
- id: role:4
  label: burden-bearing servant animal
  assigned_to:
  - fig:4
  basis: The Ass evaluates capture in terms of whether he will have to carry heavier
    loads.
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:4
- id: role:5
  label: approaching captors
  assigned_to:
  - fig:5
  basis: The armed men approach stealthily and are described as an enemy likely to
    capture the Peasant and Ass.
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:3
symbols:
- id: sym:1
  label: dead body
  literal_form: dead body
  associated_figures:
  - fig:1
  - fig:2
  taxonomy_refs: []
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:1
- id: sym:2
  label: loads
  literal_form: loads carried by the Ass
  associated_figures:
  - fig:3
  - fig:4
  taxonomy_refs: []
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:4
- id: sym:3
  label: armed approach
  literal_form: armed men stealthily approaching
  associated_figures:
  - fig:3
  - fig:4
  - fig:5
  taxonomy_refs: []
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:3
scenes:
- id: scene:1
  label: Bear’s boast answered by Fox
  summary: The Bear praises his own refined and generous nature; the Fox replies that
    he wishes the hungry Bear would focus on the dead rather than the living, and
    the attached moral identifies hypocrisy.
  figure_refs:
  - fig:1
  - fig:2
  symbol_refs:
  - sym:1
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:1
  - ev:2
- id: scene:2
  label: Ass refuses urgency under threat of capture
  summary: The Peasant sees armed men approaching and urges the Ass to flee, but the
    Ass concludes that capture will not worsen his burdens and therefore is indifferent.
  figure_refs:
  - fig:3
  - fig:4
  - fig:5
  symbol_refs:
  - sym:2
  - sym:3
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:3
  - ev:4
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
  label: hypocritical self-praise exposed by a sharp reply
  taxonomy_refs:
  - wisdom
  basis: The Bear’s claim to refinement is undercut by the Fox’s comment and by the
    explicit moral about hypocrisy.
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:1
  - ev:2
  confidence: high
  cautions: The available taxonomy has only broad motif-family labels; “wisdom” is
    used because the fable teaches through a moralizing exchange.
- id: motif:2
  label: servant indifferent to change of masters when burdens remain the same
  taxonomy_refs:
  - wisdom
  basis: The Ass judges the threat of capture by whether he will be made to carry
    heavier loads and concludes he will not be worse off.
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:3
  - ev:4
  confidence: medium
  cautions: The passage gives no explicit final moral for this fable in the supplied
    text; motif wording is derived from the dialogue only.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
  type: summary
  locator: lines 2455-2462
  quote_or_summary: A Bear boasts of generous feelings and refinement; the passage
    notes a tradition that a Bear will not touch a dead body; a Fox replies that he
    wishes the hungry Bear would attend to the dead and leave the living alone.
  source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
  rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:2
  type: quote
  locator: line 2464
  quote_or_summary: "“A hypocrite deceives no one but himself.”"
  source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
  rights_note: Public domain source; short quotation.
- id: ev:3
  type: summary
  locator: lines 2468-2473
  quote_or_summary: An old Peasant sits in a meadow watching his grazing Ass, sees
    armed men stealthily approaching, and urges the Ass to flee so they will not be
    captured by the enemy.
  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: lines 2473-2478
  quote_or_summary: The Ass asks whether captors would make him carry heavier loads;
    when the Peasant says no, the Ass says he does not mind being taken because he
    will not be worse off.
  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: high
  notes: Extraction is limited to the supplied passage. Motif candidates are broad
    and require human review against a fuller motif index. No comparison claims were
    made because the passage does not itself support a specific cross-text comparison.
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: |-
  The supplied locator label mentions additional fables, but the provided passage text includes only “THE BEAR AND THE FOX” and “THE ASS AND THE OLD PEASANT”; extraction is based only on the provided passage text.
  batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
  custom_id=motif_extract:greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg__l2455-l2478
  passage_sha256=92fc3ea27346c467433d288fda3fa8b77ce0e4333ccd2156d5dc510b2c6e2ae5