batch.motif.greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg-l4339-l4350
---
record_id: batch.motif.greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg-l4339-l4350
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
passage_locator:
label: THE RIVERS AND THE SEA / THE LION IN LOVE / THE BEE-KEEPER / THE WOLF AND
THE HORSE; lines 4339-4350
start: '4339'
end: '4350'
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: There is no virtue in giving to others what is useless to oneself.
summary: A wolf who cannot eat oats presents his leaving a field of oats untouched
as a generous act for a horse; the horse exposes the gift as no sacrifice, and
the fable states that giving away what one cannot use is not virtuous.
language: English
quote_policy: quoted
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: A wolf comes upon a field of oats while wandering, but he cannot eat the oats.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: A horse comes along as the wolf is leaving the field.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: The wolf tells the horse that he has left the oats untouched for the horse's
sake and will enjoy hearing the horse eat them.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: The horse replies that if wolves could eat oats, the wolf would not have favored
his ears over his belly.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:5
text: The stated moral says there is no virtue in giving others what is useless
to oneself.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Wolf
description: A wolf on his rambles who finds oats, cannot eat them, and claims to
have left them for the horse.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Horse
description: A horse who arrives at the field of oats and answers the wolf's claim.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
roles:
- id: role:1
label: giver of a useless gift
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The wolf claims generosity in leaving oats untouched, although the passage
states he is unable to eat them.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:4
- id: role:2
label: skeptical recipient
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The horse challenges the wolf's claimed generosity by pointing out that the
wolf would have eaten the oats if he could.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: oats
literal_form: a field of oats / ripe grain
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Wolf offers unusable oats to Horse
summary: The wolf finds oats he cannot eat, tells a horse he has left them for him,
and the horse replies that the wolf would have eaten them if able.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: false generosity with what is useless to the giver
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The narrative and moral both focus on a claimed gift that costs the giver
nothing because the item is unusable to him.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
confidence: high
cautions: The available taxonomy only offers a broad 'wisdom' family; the more specific
fable motif is not represented by a supplied taxonomy ID.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: 4339-4342
quote_or_summary: A wolf wandering comes to a field of oats, cannot eat them, and
is leaving when a horse arrives.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary generated from supplied passage.
- id: ev:2
type: quote
locator: 4342-4345
quote_or_summary: '"For your sake I have left it untouched"; the wolf says he will
enjoy hearing the horse munch the ripe grain.'
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short quotation from supplied passage.
- id: ev:3
type: quote
locator: 4345-4348
quote_or_summary: '"If wolves could eat oats... you would hardly have indulged your
ears at the cost of your belly."'
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short quotation from supplied passage.
- id: ev:4
type: quote
locator: '4350'
quote_or_summary: '"There is no virtue in giving to others what is useless to oneself."'
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short quotation from supplied passage.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: high
comparison_claims: uncertain
notes: The passage is short and explicit in its moral. No comparison claims were
added because the passage does not itself support contact, inheritance, or cross-tradition
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: |-
Only the supplied passage text was used; the wider locator label names other fables, but the provided passage contains only 'THE WOLF AND THE HORSE'.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg__l4339-l4350
passage_sha256=ee5dc0d113625a57d8c53f33783806c667b26f91af0cbd2236e247db5b6b910f