batch.motif.greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg-l3853-l3869
---
record_id: batch.motif.greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg-l3853-l3869
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
passage_locator:
label: THE ASTRONOMER / THE LABOURER AND THE SNAKE / THE CAGE-BIRD AND THE BAT /
THE ASS AND HIS PURCHASER; lines 3853-3869
start: '3853'
end: '3869'
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: A man is known by the company he keeps.
summary: A prospective buyer tests an ass by placing it among other asses. When
the ass chooses to stand beside the laziest and greediest animal, the buyer returns
it, saying its chosen companion reveals its nature.
language: English
quote_policy: quoted
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: A man wants to buy an ass and arranges to take a likely-looking animal home
on trial.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: At home, the man places the trial ass in a stable with his other asses.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: The newcomer looks around and chooses a place next to the laziest and greediest
beast in the stable.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:4
text: The man puts a halter on the ass, leads it away, and returns it to its owner.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:5
text: The owner is surprised that the ass has been returned so soon and asks whether
it has already been tested.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:6
text: The purchaser says he does not need further tests because he can judge the
ass from the companion it chose.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:7
text: The passage ends with the moral that a man is known by the company he keeps.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: purchaser
description: A man who wants to buy an ass and tests it at home.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:4
- ev:6
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: owner
description: The ass’s owner, who allows the man to take the ass home on trial and
later receives it back.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: trial ass
description: A likely-looking ass taken home on trial; it chooses a place next to
the laziest and greediest beast.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: other asses
description: The asses already in the purchaser’s stable.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: laziest and greediest beast
description: The stable animal beside which the newcomer chooses to stand.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
roles:
- id: role:1
label: prospective buyer
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: He wants to buy an ass and arranges a trial.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:2
label: judge by association
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: He decides the ass’s character from the companion it chooses.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: role:3
label: seller or owner
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: He owns the ass and receives it back after the trial.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:4
- id: role:4
label: tested animal
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The ass is taken home on trial and evaluated by its choice of companion.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:6
- id: role:5
label: stable companions
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: They are the other asses among whom the trial ass is placed.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:6
label: bad companion
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: This beast is described as the laziest and greediest in the stable.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: ass
literal_form: Ass
associated_figures:
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: sym:2
label: stable
literal_form: stable
associated_figures:
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: sym:3
label: chosen companion
literal_form: place next to the laziest and greediest beast
associated_figures:
- fig:3
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:6
- id: sym:4
label: halter
literal_form: halter
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Trial purchase arranged
summary: A man at market arranges with an owner to take an ass home on trial before
buying it.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Ass placed among stable animals
summary: The man brings the ass home and puts it in his stable with his other asses.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: scene:3
label: Choice of companion
summary: The trial ass looks around and chooses to stand beside the laziest and
greediest beast.
figure_refs:
- fig:3
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: scene:4
label: Ass returned after judgment
summary: The man returns the ass to its owner and explains that the animal’s chosen
companion is enough to judge it.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:3
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: scene:5
label: Stated moral
summary: The fable states that a person is known by the company he keeps.
figure_refs: []
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: character revealed by chosen companions
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The purchaser judges the ass by the companion it selects, and the closing
moral states that a person is known by the company he keeps.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
confidence: high
cautions: The available taxonomy has only a broad “wisdom” family; the more specific
companion-based moral is not separately listed.
- id: motif:2
label: test revealing hidden nature
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The purchaser’s trial does not involve work or strength but reveals the ass’s
character through its immediate association with a lazy and greedy animal.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:6
confidence: medium
cautions: This is a practical moral pattern rather than a named mythic motif in
the supplied taxonomy.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: 3853-3857
quote_or_summary: A man who wants to buy an ass goes to market and arranges with
the owner to take a likely-looking animal home on trial.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; summary created for extraction.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: 3858-3859
quote_or_summary: After reaching home, the man puts the ass into his stable with
his other asses.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; summary created for extraction.
- id: ev:3
type: quote
locator: 3860-3862
quote_or_summary: The newcomer “chose a place next to the laziest and greediest
beast in the stable.”
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; short quotation used for evidence.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: 3862-3864
quote_or_summary: Seeing the choice, the man puts a halter on the ass, leads it
away, and hands it back to its owner.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; summary created for extraction.
- id: ev:5
type: quote
locator: 3864-3866
quote_or_summary: The owner asks, “Why, do you mean to say you have tested him already?”
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; short quotation used for evidence.
- id: ev:6
type: quote
locator: 3866-3868
quote_or_summary: The purchaser replies that he can see what kind of beast it is
“from the companion he chose for himself.”
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; short quotation used for evidence.
- id: ev:7
type: quote
locator: '3869'
quote_or_summary: "“A man is known by the company he keeps.”"
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; short quotation used for evidence.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: uncertain
notes: The plot and stated moral are explicit. Motif assignment is limited to the
broad supplied taxonomy category “wisdom”; no external motif index or comparison
is used.
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 added because the passage itself supports a moral pattern but not a specific cross-textual or historical comparison.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg__l3853-l3869
passage_sha256=997a7443cb3ed09554f6350eb00e68a2d615ef9e758f7226dedf9e0682c7dc49