batch.motif.greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg-l2665-l2685
---
record_id: batch.motif.greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg-l2665-l2685
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
passage_locator:
label: THE RICH MAN AND THE TANNER / THE WOLF, THE MOTHER, AND HER CHILD / THE OLD
WOMAN AND THE WINE-JAR / THE LIONESS AND THE VIXEN; lines 2665-2685
start: '2665'
end: '2685'
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, an old woman finds an empty wine jar that still smells of
fine wine and infers the excellence of the former contents from the remaining
scent. In another, a vixen boasts of her litter and mocks a lioness for having
only one young; the lioness answers that her single offspring is a lion. The stated
moral is that quality matters more than quantity.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: An old woman picked up an empty wine jar that had once contained rare and
costly wine.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The wine jar still retained traces of the wine's smell.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: The old woman repeatedly smelled the jar and praised the wine that must have
left such a scent.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: A lioness and a vixen discussed their young and their qualities.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:5
text: The vixen said her litter of cubs was a joy to see and noted that the lioness
never had more than one.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:6
text: The lioness replied that her one offspring was a lion.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:7
text: 'The passage states the moral: quality, not quantity.'
category: other
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: old Woman
description: An old woman who finds and smells an empty wine jar.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Lioness
description: A mother lioness who has one young and answers the vixen's criticism.
role_refs:
- role:2
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:5
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Vixen / Fox
description: A mother fox who boasts of her litter and comments on the lioness having
only one young.
role_refs:
- role:3
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: lioness's offspring
description: The lioness's single young, identified as a lion.
role_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: vixen's cubs
description: The vixen's litter of cubs, described by her as a joy to see.
role_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
roles:
- id: role:1
label: observer of residual value
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The old woman infers the quality of the former wine from the scent left in
the empty jar.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: role:2
label: defender of quality over quantity
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The lioness answers that her single offspring is a lion, matching the stated
moral.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: role:3
label: boaster of numerous offspring
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The vixen praises her litter and comments maliciously on the lioness having
only one young.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:4
label: animal mother
assigned_to:
- fig:2
- fig:3
basis: The lioness and vixen talk about their young as mothers.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: wine jar
literal_form: empty Wine-jar
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: sym:2
label: remaining scent
literal_form: traces of exquisite bouquet left in the empty jar
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: sym:3
label: single lion offspring
literal_form: one young lion
associated_figures:
- fig:2
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: sym:4
label: litter of cubs
literal_form: the vixen's litter of cubs
associated_figures:
- fig:3
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:6
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Old woman smells the empty wine jar
summary: An old woman finds an empty jar that once held costly wine, smells the
remaining bouquet, and praises the former liquid by its lingering scent.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: scene:2
label: Lioness answers the vixen
summary: A vixen boasts about her litter and criticizes the lioness for having only
one young; the lioness replies that her single offspring is a lion.
figure_refs:
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: value inferred from a remaining trace
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The old woman judges the excellence of the absent wine from the scent that
remains in the empty jar.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
confidence: medium
cautions: The available taxonomy has no exact reference for residual scent or inferred
value; 'wisdom' is a broad fit.
- id: motif:2
label: quality over quantity
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The vixen contrasts her many cubs with the lioness's single offspring, and
the explicit moral states 'Quality, not quantity.'
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
confidence: high
cautions: This is an ethical maxim rather than a mythic motif in the narrower sense.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 2665-2670
quote_or_summary: An old woman picks up an empty wine jar that once held rare and
costly wine and still retains traces of its bouquet.
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: lines 2670-2673
quote_or_summary: She smells it repeatedly and says, "how delicious must have been
the liquid" that left such a smell.
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 2676-2679
quote_or_summary: A lioness and a vixen talk as mothers about their young, describing
their health, growth, coats, and resemblance to their parents.
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 2679-2682
quote_or_summary: The fox says her litter of cubs is a joy to see and maliciously
observes that the lioness never has more than one.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:5
type: quote
locator: lines 2682-2684
quote_or_summary: The lioness replies, "No... but that one's a lion."
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short quotation.
- id: ev:6
type: quote
locator: line 2685
quote_or_summary: '"Quality, not quantity."'
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short quotation.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: uncertain
notes: Extraction is limited to the supplied passage text, which contains two fables
despite the broader passage label mentioning four. Motif mapping is broad because
the available taxonomy does not include precise fable-type categories.
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: |-
No comparison claims were made because the supplied passage itself does not support a specific comparison to another tradition or motif family beyond broad wisdom-motif categorization.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg__l2665-l2685
passage_sha256=cc8056dedefd7390d69959fd92238b5054a8015ed46b7e6d773926be20172f42