batch.motif.greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg-l5195-l5207
---
record_id: batch.motif.greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg-l5195-l5207
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
passage_locator:
label: THE RUNAWAY SLAVE / THE HUNTER AND THE WOODMAN / THE SERPENT AND THE EAGLE
/ THE ROGUE AND THE ORACLE; lines 5195-5207
start: '5195'
end: '5207'
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: '"whether the thing that you hold in your hand be alive or dead is a matter
that depends entirely on your own will."'
summary: A rogue tries to discredit the Oracle at Delphi by hiding a bird and planning
to make its state contradict the oracle's answer. The oracle replies that whether
the bird is alive or dead depends on the rogue's own will.
language: English
quote_policy: quoted
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: A rogue lays a wager that he can prove the Oracle at Delphi untrustworthy.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The rogue goes to the temple on the appointed day with a small bird hidden
under his cloak.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: The rogue asks whether the thing in his hand is alive or dead.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: The rogue plans to display the bird alive if the oracle says it is dead, and
to kill it if the oracle says it is alive.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:5
text: The oracle answers that the bird's being alive or dead depends entirely on
the rogue's own will.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Rogue
description: A person who wagers that he can prove the Oracle at Delphi untrustworthy
and brings a concealed bird to the temple.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Oracle at Delphi
description: The oracle consulted by the rogue; it gives an answer that avoids the
rogue's planned contradiction.
role_refs:
- role:3
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:4
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Small bird
description: A small bird held in the rogue's hand and concealed under the folds
of his cloak.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
roles:
- id: role:1
label: wager-maker
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: He lays a wager about proving the oracle untrustworthy.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:2
label: deceptive tester
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: He conceals the bird and prepares opposite outcomes to falsify either answer.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: role:3
label: oracular respondent
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The oracle provides the answer to the inquiry.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:4
label: successful counter-deceiver
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The oracle's reply prevents the rogue from proving a false answer.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:5
label: concealed test object
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The bird is hidden in the rogue's hand and used as the object of the alive-or-dead
question.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: concealed bird
literal_form: small bird hidden under a cloak and held in the hand
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: sym:2
label: Delphic oracle
literal_form: Oracle at Delphi in a temple setting
associated_figures:
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:4
- id: sym:3
label: alive-or-dead choice
literal_form: the bird's possible states of being alive or dead
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Wager to discredit the oracle
summary: The rogue wagers that he will prove the Oracle at Delphi untrustworthy
by obtaining a false reply.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Concealed bird test at the temple
summary: The rogue brings a hidden bird to the temple and asks whether it is alive
or dead, intending to manipulate the result after the oracle answers.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: scene:3
label: Oracle returns responsibility to the questioner
summary: The oracle replies that the bird's life or death depends entirely on the
rogue's own will.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: oracle outwits deceptive test
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The oracle responds to a trap question with an answer that exposes the questioner's
control over the outcome.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
confidence: high
cautions: The passage is a brief fable and does not elaborate a broader divine or
philosophical doctrine beyond the oracle's clever reply.
- id: motif:2
label: trickster's plan turned back on himself
taxonomy_refs:
- trickster_boundary
basis: The rogue's proposed deception depends on his own later action, and the oracle's
answer makes that responsibility explicit.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:4
confidence: medium
cautions: The rogue is not explicitly named a trickster; the label is inferred from
his deceptive wager and trap question.
- id: motif:3
label: life and death dependent on human will
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The oracle states that the bird's state, alive or dead, depends on the will
of the person holding it.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
confidence: medium
cautions: The motif is local to the fable's setup and should not be generalized
without additional comparative evidence.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: The episode can be cautiously compared to a wisdom-contest pattern in which
a supposedly superior respondent defeats a deceptive test by reframing the question.
claim_level: same_function
target: wisdom motif family
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: The supplied passage supports only a functional comparison; it does
not provide evidence for historical contact, common inheritance, or a named external
analogue.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 5195-5198
quote_or_summary: A rogue wagers that he can prove the Oracle at Delphi untrustworthy
by procuring a false reply.
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 5198-5202
quote_or_summary: He goes to the temple with a small bird concealed under his cloak
and asks whether what he holds is alive or dead.
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 5202-5205
quote_or_summary: If the oracle says the bird is dead, he will show it alive; if
the oracle says it is alive, he will wring its neck and show it dead.
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 5205-5207
quote_or_summary: '"whether the thing that you hold in your hand be alive or dead
is a matter that depends entirely on your own will."'
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: medium
notes: The literal action and roles are explicit. Motif labels are concise analytical
candidates and should be reviewed against the broader Atlas taxonomy.
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; no external Aesop variants or comparative parallels were added.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg__l5195-l5207
passage_sha256=d55aa4939bbc167c18e8a338e9f0a880bf6f103ece45fc19054e3f5c69a79fed