batch.motif.sufi-al-ghazzali-confessions-field-gutenberg-l425-l457
---
record_id: batch.motif.sufi-al-ghazzali-confessions-field-gutenberg-l425-l457
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/confessions-al-ghazzali-field.md
passage_locator:
label: C. F. / THE CONFESSIONS OF AL GHAZZALI / THE SUBTERFUGES OF THE SOPHISTS
/ THE DIFFERENT KINDS OF SEEKERS AFTER TRUTH; lines 425-457
start: '425'
end: '457'
translation: The Confessions of Al Ghazzali
notes: Generated from OpenAI Batch run motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority;
human review required.
canonical_text:
quote: ''
summary: The narrator explains the seriousness of seeking truth, says God healed
him of a malady, classifies seekers after truth into scholastic theologians, philosophers,
and Sufis, and resolves to investigate these paths after finding blind belief
impossible to regain once it has been lost.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: The narrator states that his purpose is to make others understand the earnestness
required in searching for truth.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The passage says primary assumptions are always present to the mind and elude
grasp if deliberately sought.
category: other
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: The narrator says God, through mercy, healed him of a malady.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: 'The narrator divides seekers after truth into three groups: scholastic theologians,
philosophers, and Sufis.'
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: obs:5
text: Scholastic theologians are described as following theory and speculation.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:6
text: Philosophers are described as relying on formal logic.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:7
text: Sufis are described as calling themselves the elect of God and possessors
of intuition and knowledge of truth by ecstasy.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:8
text: The narrator reasons that truth must be found among the three classes devoted
to seeking it, otherwise hope of attaining it must be abandoned.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:9
text: The narrator says that after blind belief has been surrendered, it is impossible
to return to it in its former state.
category: other
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:10
text: The passage compares shattered blind belief to glass fragments that cannot
be reunited except by being cast into a furnace and refashioned.
category: object
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:11
text: The narrator resolves to investigate scholastic theology, philosophical systems,
and finally Sufism.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Narrator
description: The first-person speaker who searches for truth, reports being healed,
classifies seekers, and undertakes investigations.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: God
description: The divine figure said to have healed the narrator of a malady through
abundant mercy.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Scholastic theologians
description: One group of seekers after truth, described as following theory and
speculation.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Philosophers
description: One group of seekers after truth, described as relying on formal logic.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Sufis
description: One group of seekers after truth, described as calling themselves the
elect of God and possessors of intuition and knowledge of truth by ecstasy.
role_refs:
- role:4
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
roles:
- id: role:1
label: truth-seeker
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The speaker frames his work as a search for truth and resolves to investigate
multiple systems.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:5
- id: role:2
label: classifier of seekers
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The speaker divides those engaged in the search for truth into three groups.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: role:3
label: merciful healer
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: God is said to have healed the speaker of a malady through mercy.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:4
label: class of truth-seekers
assigned_to:
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:5
basis: Each group is named as a type among those engaged in the search for truth.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: role:5
label: claimants to intuition and ecstatic knowledge
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: The Sufis are described as calling themselves possessors of intuition and
knowledge of truth by means of ecstasy.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: truth
literal_form: truth as the object of search
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:4
- id: sym:2
label: paths of investigation
literal_form: paths and systems followed in sequence
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: sym:3
label: shattered glass
literal_form: glass fragments used as a comparison for lost blind belief
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: sym:4
label: furnace of refashioning
literal_form: furnace into which shattered glass would need to be cast and refashioned
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Statement on the search for truth
summary: The narrator explains that earnest search for truth may lead to unexpected
results and discusses the elusiveness of primary assumptions when they are made
the object of search.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Healing and classification of seekers
summary: 'After saying God healed him of a malady, the narrator identifies three
groups engaged in the search for truth: scholastic theologians, philosophers,
and Sufis.'
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: scene:3
label: Irrecoverable loss of blind belief
summary: The narrator reasons that truth must lie among the three classes if it
is attainable, and says blind belief cannot be restored once its unconsciousness
has been lost, using an image of broken glass and refashioning in a furnace.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:3
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: scene:4
label: Order of investigation
summary: 'The narrator resolves to pursue the paths in order: scholastic theology,
philosophical systems, and finally Sufism.'
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: quest for truth or wisdom
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
- mystical_quest
basis: The passage repeatedly frames the narrator and the three groups as engaged
in a search for truth, culminating in a deliberate investigation of successive
paths.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:4
- ev:5
confidence: high
cautions: The passage is autobiographical and doctrinal rather than a mythic narrative;
the motif label should be treated as an abstract pattern.
- id: motif:2
label: irreversible loss of naive belief
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The speaker says blind belief cannot be resumed once surrendered and compares
it to shattered glass needing to be refashioned in a furnace.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
confidence: medium
cautions: No supplied taxonomy family directly corresponds to this image; it is
recorded as a local candidate motif only.
- id: motif:3
label: divine healing before inquiry
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The narrator says God healed him of a malady before he classified and investigated
seekers after truth.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:5
confidence: medium
cautions: The nature of the malady is not specified in this passage excerpt.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 425-432
quote_or_summary: The narrator says his object is to make others understand the
earnest search for truth, and discusses primary assumptions as always present
but elusive when sought.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/confessions-al-ghazzali-field.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:2
type: quote
locator: lines 436-439
quote_or_summary: "“When God in the abundance of His mercy had healed me of this
malady, I ascertained that those who are engaged in the search for truth may be
divided into three groups.”"
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/confessions-al-ghazzali-field.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short excerpt.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 441-448
quote_or_summary: The three groups are scholastic theologians, philosophers, and
Sufis; they are associated respectively with theory and speculation, formal logic,
and claims to divine election, intuition, and ecstatic knowledge of truth.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/confessions-al-ghazzali-field.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 450-455
quote_or_summary: The narrator says truth must be among the three classes if attainable;
once blind belief is surrendered, it cannot be regained, and is compared to shattered
glass that would need refashioning in a furnace.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/confessions-al-ghazzali-field.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: lines 455-457
quote_or_summary: The narrator determines to follow the paths and investigate scholastic
theology, philosophical systems, and finally Sufism.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/confessions-al-ghazzali-field.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: uncertain
notes: Literal classification and sequence are explicit. Motif labels are abstracted
from doctrinal-autobiographical prose rather than mythic narrative. No comparison
claims are made because the passage itself does not compare to another tradition
or motif family beyond its own categories.
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: |-
Used only the supplied passage and metadata; taxonomy references limited to available motif families where directly supportable.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:sufi-al-ghazzali-confessions-field-gutenberg__l425-l457
passage_sha256=6f1601da505dce1dc6dd3e0999972ce246c5e3f832d70698602eaba4b1130ae8