batch.motif.greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg-l4982-l4993
---
record_id: batch.motif.greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg-l4982-l4993
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
passage_locator:
label: THE FOX AND THE LEOPARD / THE FOX AND THE HEDGEHOG / THE CROW AND THE RAVEN
/ THE WITCH; lines 4982-4993
start: '4982'
end: '4993'
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: "“You say you can avert the anger of the gods. How comes it, then, that you
have failed to disarm the enmity of men?”"
summary: A witch claims secret charms can avert divine anger and earns money from
this claim. She is accused of black magic, brought before judges, found guilty,
condemned to death, and mocked by a judge for being unable to avert human hostility.
language: English
quote_policy: quoted
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: A witch professes that she can avert the anger of the gods by secret charms.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The witch makes a brisk trade and a fat livelihood from her claimed ability.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: Certain persons accuse the witch of black magic and bring her before judges.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: The accusers demand that the witch be put to death for dealings with the Devil.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:5
text: The witch is found guilty and condemned to death.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:6
text: A judge asks why, if she can avert divine anger, she has failed to disarm
human enmity.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Witch
description: A woman identified as a witch who claims secret charms can avert the
anger of the gods and who is later condemned to death.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: certain persons
description: Persons who accuse the witch of black magic and carry her before the
judges.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: judges
description: Judicial figures before whom the witch is brought; they find her guilty
and condemn her to death.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: one judge
description: A judge who addresses the condemned witch with a pointed question as
she leaves the dock.
role_refs:
- role:4
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: gods
description: Divine beings whose anger the witch claims she can avert.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:4
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Devil
description: A being mentioned in the accusation that the witch has dealings with
the Devil.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
roles:
- id: role:1
label: claimed magical practitioner
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The witch professes to avert divine anger by secret charms.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:2
label: condemned defendant
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: She is found guilty and condemned to death.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:3
label: accusers
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: They accuse her and bring her before the judges.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:4
label: judicial authority
assigned_to:
- fig:3
- fig:4
basis: The judges receive the accused woman, find her guilty, and condemn her.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: role:5
label: ironic questioner
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: One judge challenges the witch’s claim by asking why she could not disarm
human enmity.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:6
label: invoked divine powers
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: The gods are named as the beings whose anger the witch claims to avert.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:7
label: accusatory supernatural association
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: The Devil is mentioned as the being with whom the witch is accused of dealing.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: secret charms
literal_form: charms possessed as a secret by the witch
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:2
label: dock
literal_form: the dock from which the condemned witch is leaving
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Claimed charm trade
summary: The witch claims secret charms can avert the anger of the gods and profits
from that claim.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Accusation and judgment
summary: Accusers bring the witch before judges, charge her with black magic and
dealings with the Devil, and she is condemned to death.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:6
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: scene:3
label: Judge’s ironic challenge
summary: As the witch leaves the dock, a judge asks why she could not avert human
enmity if she could avert divine anger.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:4
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: secret charms claimed to avert divine anger
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The witch claims exclusive secret charms that can avert the anger of the
gods.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
confidence: high
cautions: The passage reports the claim but does not confirm that the charms work.
- id: motif:2
label: magical claim exposed by inability to escape human judgment
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The judge’s question contrasts the witch’s claimed power over divine anger
with her failure to avoid human enmity and legal punishment.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
confidence: medium
cautions: The taxonomy link to wisdom rests on the judge’s pointed moral reasoning;
the passage itself does not name wisdom as a theme.
- id: motif:3
label: accusation of black magic leading to condemnation
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The witch is accused of black magic and dealings with the Devil, brought
before judges, found guilty, and condemned to death.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
confidence: high
cautions: The passage does not describe the legal process beyond accusation, conviction,
and sentence.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 4982-4986
quote_or_summary: A witch claims she alone possesses secret charms able to avert
the anger of the gods and earns a living from this claim.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 4986-4989
quote_or_summary: Certain persons accuse the witch of black magic, carry her before
judges, and demand death for dealings with the Devil.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 4990-4991
quote_or_summary: The witch is found guilty and condemned to death.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary.
- id: ev:4
type: quote
locator: lines 4991-4993
quote_or_summary: "“You say you can avert the anger of the gods. How comes it, then,
that you have failed to disarm the enmity of men?”"
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: Literal extraction is straightforward. Motif labels are descriptive and require
human review, especially the optional taxonomy reference to wisdom. No comparison
claims are made because the provided passage does not itself support a 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; although the locator label names several fables, the provided passage contains only “THE WITCH.”
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg__l4982-l4993
passage_sha256=078cf30dff4720b7ddca63567c8ceb5a38990619a2a3a809bed8126497ad9f51