batch.motif.comparative-golden-bough-volume-1-frazer-gutenberg-l213-l254
---
record_id: batch.motif.comparative-golden-bough-volume-1-frazer-gutenberg-l213-l254
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
passage_locator:
label: CONTENTS / DEDICATION. / WILLIAM ROBERTSON SMITH / PREFACE.; lines 213-254
start: '213'
end: '254'
translation: 'The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2)'
notes: Generated from OpenAI Batch run motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority;
human review required.
canonical_text:
quote: "“the central idea of my essay—the conception of the slain god”"
summary: The author acknowledges intellectual debts and practical assistance, especially
to W. Robertson Smith, whose views on sacrifice and whose conception of the slain
god influenced the book. The author also thanks other scholars and assistants
for ethnological sources, communications, botanical consultation, a cover drawing
of the Golden Bough, and index compilation.
language: English
quote_policy: quoted
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: The speaker says he owes much to Mannhardt and still more to W. Robertson
Smith.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The speaker says E. B. Tylor's works first excited his interest in the early
history of society.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: The speaker attributes his step from interest to systematic study to the influence
of W. Robertson Smith.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:4
text: The passage states that Smith's views of sacrifice marked a new departure
in the historical study of religion.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:5
text: The passage states that the central idea of the essay is the conception of
the slain god, derived directly from Smith, according to the speaker.
category: other
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:6
text: The speaker says Smith is not responsible for the general explanation offered
for the custom of slaying the god.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:7
text: The passage mentions a drawing of the Golden Bough on the cover, made by J.
H. Middleton.
category: object
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: obs:8
text: A. Rogers compiled the index.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: speaker / author
description: The first-person writer of the preface who acknowledges debts, influence,
and assistance.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: W. Robertson Smith
description: The speaker's friend and professor, credited with major intellectual
influence, views on sacrifice, and the conception of the slain god.
role_refs:
- role:2
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Mannhardt
description: A person to whom the speaker says he owes much.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Dr. E. B. Tylor
description: Author whose works first excited the speaker's interest in the early
history of society.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Professor G. A. Wilken of Leyden
description: Scholar whose works directed the speaker to original authorities on
the Dutch East Indies.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Rev. Walter Gregor
description: Person who provided interesting communications acknowledged elsewhere.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: Mr. Francis Darwin
description: Person who allowed the speaker to consult him on botanical questions.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: Professor J. H. Middleton
description: Friend who drew the Golden Bough on the cover and showed interest and
sympathy in the book's progress.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: fig:9
name_or_label: Mr. A. Rogers
description: Person from the University Library, Cambridge, who compiled the index.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- id: fig:10
name_or_label: the slain god
description: A conceptual figure named as the central idea of the essay.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
roles:
- id: role:1
label: acknowledging author
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The passage is written in the first person and lists debts, influences, and
assistance.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:8
- ev:9
- ev:10
- id: role:2
label: intellectual influence
assigned_to:
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
basis: The passage credits these figures with influence, intellectual debt, or initial
inspiration.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:5
- id: role:3
label: source for sacrifice and slain-god conception
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: Smith's views on sacrifice are cited, and the conception of the slain god
is said to be derived from him.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: role:4
label: provider of scholarly assistance
assigned_to:
- fig:5
- fig:6
- fig:7
basis: These figures are thanked for directing the author to authorities, sending
communications, or consultation.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: role:5
label: cover illustrator and encourager
assigned_to:
- fig:8
basis: Middleton is credited with drawing the Golden Bough and encouraging the author.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: role:6
label: index compiler
assigned_to:
- fig:9
basis: The index is said to have been compiled by A. Rogers.
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- id: role:7
label: central conceptual figure
assigned_to:
- fig:10
basis: The slain god is named as the central idea of the essay.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: sacrifice
literal_form: views of sacrifice and the custom of slaying the god
associated_figures:
- fig:2
- fig:10
taxonomy_refs:
- sacrifice
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:6
- id: sym:2
label: slain god
literal_form: the conception of the slain god
associated_figures:
- fig:2
- fig:10
taxonomy_refs:
- sacrifice
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: sym:3
label: Golden Bough drawing
literal_form: drawing of the Golden Bough on the cover
associated_figures:
- fig:8
taxonomy_refs:
- tree
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Acknowledgment of intellectual debts
summary: The speaker describes debts to Mannhardt, Tylor, and especially W. Robertson
Smith, emphasizing Smith's influence on systematic study, sacrifice, and the slain-god
conception.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:10
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: scene:2
label: Acknowledgment of scholarly and production assistance
summary: The speaker thanks Wilken, Gregor, Darwin, Middleton, and Rogers for sources,
communications, botanical consultation, cover art, encouragement, and the index.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:5
- fig:6
- fig:7
- fig:8
- fig:9
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
- ev:9
- ev:10
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: sacrifice and slaying of a god
taxonomy_refs:
- sacrifice
basis: The passage explicitly names sacrifice and the custom of slaying the god
as central to the book's argument.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
confidence: high
cautions: This preface states a scholarly concept rather than narrating a mythic
episode.
- id: motif:2
label: slain god as central religious-comparative pattern
taxonomy_refs:
- sacrifice
basis: The author identifies the conception of the slain god as the central idea
of the essay.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage does not describe death, return, resurrection, or ritual details;
it only names the concept.
- id: motif:3
label: Golden Bough as named cover image
taxonomy_refs:
- sacred_tree_axis
basis: The passage mentions a drawing of the Golden Bough adorning the cover.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
confidence: low
cautions: The passage gives no mythic or ritual function for the Golden Bough; the
taxonomy link is based only on the literal bough/tree image and requires review.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: quote
locator: lines 213-214
quote_or_summary: "“Much as I owe to Mannhardt, I owe still more to my friend Professor
W. Robertson Smith.”"
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short excerpt.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 214-216
quote_or_summary: The speaker says E. B. Tylor's works first excited his interest
in the early history of society.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 216-219
quote_or_summary: The speaker says the move from lively interest to systematic study
was due to W. Robertson Smith's influence.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 223-227
quote_or_summary: Smith's views of sacrifice, in the Encyclopaedia Britannica and
The Religion of the Semites, are said to mark a new departure in the historical
study of religion.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:5
type: quote
locator: lines 227-229
quote_or_summary: "“the central idea of my essay—the conception of the slain god—is
derived directly, I believe, from my friend.”"
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short excerpt.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: lines 229-232
quote_or_summary: The speaker adds that Smith is not responsible for the general
explanation offered for the custom of slaying the god.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: lines 238-241
quote_or_summary: Wilken's works helped direct the speaker to original authorities
on the Dutch East Indies.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:8
type: summary
locator: lines 241-248
quote_or_summary: Gregor provided communications, Darwin was consulted on botanical
questions, and manuscript authorities are answers to circulated ethnological questions.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:9
type: summary
locator: lines 250-253
quote_or_summary: The cover drawing of the Golden Bough is credited to J. H. Middleton,
whose interest and sympathy helped the author.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:10
type: quote
locator: lines 254-254
quote_or_summary: "“The Index has been compiled by Mr. A. Rogers, of the University
Library, Cambridge.”"
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short excerpt.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: high
notes: The passage is a preface/acknowledgment rather than a mythic narrative. Explicit
concepts of sacrifice and the slain god support limited motif extraction; symbolic
interpretation of the Golden Bough is tentative.
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: |-
No comparison claims were added because the passage does not itself compare a specific mythic episode across traditions.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:comparative-golden-bough-volume-1-frazer-gutenberg__l213-l254
passage_sha256=5d641168a495e7a5f32bc489fb7d56e62c3e2ece25eb98bb31ddcd396433e5f2