batch.motif.greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg-l5010-l5026
---
record_id: batch.motif.greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg-l5010-l5026
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
passage_locator:
label: THE CROW AND THE RAVEN / THE WITCH / THE OLD MAN AND DEATH / THE MISER; lines
5010-5026
start: '5010'
end: '5026'
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: A miser converts his possessions into one lump of gold, buries it secretly,
and visits it daily without using it. A servant discovers the hiding place, steals
the gold, and the miser laments. A neighbour tells him to put a brick in the hole
and look at it instead, since the unused gold had been no practical benefit to
him.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: The miser sells everything he has and melts his hoard of gold into a single
lump.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The miser secretly buries the lump of gold in a field.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: The miser visits the buried treasure daily and spends time looking at it.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: One of the miser's men notices the repeated visits, watches him, discovers
the secret, and later steals the buried gold.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:5
text: After finding the treasure gone, the miser tears his hair and groans over
the loss.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:6
text: A neighbour says the miser can put a brick into the hole and look at it daily,
because the gold had been of no earthly use to him.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Miser
description: A man who sells all his possessions, turns his gold into one lump,
hides it, visits it, and laments when it is stolen.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:4
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: One of the miser's men
description: A man associated with the miser who discovers the secret hiding place
and steals the gold.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Neighbour
description: A neighbour who sees the miser mourning and advises him to replace
the gold with a brick because the gold had been unused.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
roles:
- id: role:1
label: Hoarder of unused wealth
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: He converts all he has into a lump of gold, buries it, and only looks at
it.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: role:2
label: Victim of theft
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: His buried gold is stolen, and he mourns its loss.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: role:3
label: Thief of hidden treasure
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: He watches, discovers the hiding place, digs up the gold, and steals it.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:4
label: Practical commentator
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: He tells the miser that a brick would serve as well as the unused gold.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: Buried gold lump
literal_form: A single lump of gold hidden in a field
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- id: sym:2
label: Hole in the field
literal_form: The place where the gold was buried and later removed
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:5
- id: sym:3
label: Brick substitute
literal_form: A brick proposed as a replacement object to put in the hole
associated_figures:
- fig:3
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Secret burial of wealth
summary: The miser liquidates his possessions into a lump of gold and buries it
secretly in a field.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Repeated visits to hidden treasure
summary: The miser visits the hidden gold every day and spends time looking at it.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: scene:3
label: Discovery and theft
summary: One of the miser's men notices the visits, discovers the secret, and steals
the buried gold at night.
figure_refs:
- fig:2
- fig:1
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: scene:4
label: Lament and corrective speech
summary: The miser mourns the stolen treasure, and a neighbour tells him that a
brick in the hole would leave him no worse off because the gold was never used.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
- sym:3
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: Unused hoarded wealth is equivalent to worthless substitute
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The neighbour explicitly argues that a brick would serve as well as the buried
gold because the miser never used the gold.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
confidence: high
cautions: This is a fable moral pattern rather than one of the supplied mythological
motif-family taxonomy labels.
- id: motif:2
label: Secret treasure discovered and stolen by observer
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: A servant notices the miser's repeated visits, watches him, discovers the
secret, and steals the buried gold.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
confidence: high
cautions: The passage presents this as a plot event within a moral fable; no broader
comparative link is asserted by the passage.
- id: motif:3
label: Possession without use brings no benefit
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The closing speech states that the miser was not worse off without the gold
because, even when he had it, it was of no earthly use to him.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
confidence: medium
cautions: The association with the broad supplied taxonomy family 'wisdom' is interpretive
and should be reviewed.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 5010-5013
quote_or_summary: The miser sells everything, melts his gold into one lump, and
secretly buries it in a field.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 5013-5015
quote_or_summary: He goes every day to look at the buried treasure and sometimes
spends long periods gloating over it.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 5015-5019
quote_or_summary: One of his men notices the visits, watches him, discovers the
secret, and later digs up and steals the gold at night.
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 5019-5021
quote_or_summary: The miser returns, finds the treasure gone, and mourns by tearing
his hair and groaning.
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 5021-5026
quote_or_summary: The neighbour says to put a brick in the hole and look at it daily,
because the gold was of no earthly use to him.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short quote summarized from public domain text.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: high
notes: The passage is brief and internally clear. Motif taxonomy mapping is limited
because most supplied motif families are mythological rather than fable-specific.
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 provided passage text was used; although the locator label names several fables, the supplied passage contains only 'THE MISER'.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg__l5010-l5026
passage_sha256=8e8ab758d79974016104f2d6a5462023942ca7e7230ba7db33c4536e048ec732