batch.motif.comparative-golden-bough-volume-1-frazer-gutenberg-l2973-l3029
---
record_id: batch.motif.comparative-golden-bough-volume-1-frazer-gutenberg-l2973-l3029
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
passage_locator:
label: CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF
THE SOUL. / HEINE.; lines 2973-3029
start: '2973'
end: '3029'
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: "“until at the moment that he ascends the throne he is lost in the ocean
of rites and taboos.”"
summary: Frazer compares taboos and detailed ritual restrictions attached to sacred
kings and priests in Loango, Egypt, Rome, and Nemi, then argues that such burdensome
observances could weaken or split royal and priestly authority.
language: English
quote_policy: quoted
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: The passage says that more powerful kings of Loango are bound by more taboos
regulating actions such as walking, standing, eating, drinking, sleeping, and
waking.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The heir to the Loango throne is described as subject to restraints from infancy,
with abstinences and ceremonies increasing until accession.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: The kings of Egypt are described as worshipped as gods and as having their
daily life regulated in detail by fixed rules.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: The passage lists actions and contacts forbidden to the Flamen Dialis, including
riding or touching a horse, seeing an armed army, wearing an unbroken ring, having
knots on garments, and touching or naming certain animals or foods.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:5
text: The Flamen Dialis is associated with rules concerning sacred fire, the burial
of cut hair and nails under a lucky tree, avoidance of dead bodies, and the treatment
of bonds brought into his house.
category: object
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:6
text: The Flaminica is described as observing nearly the same rules as the Flamen
Dialis and additional rules concerning stairs, combing her hair, shoe leather,
thunder, and expiatory sacrifice.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:7
text: The passage states that burdensome observances could lead men to refuse office,
become reclusive and ineffective, or contribute to separation between spiritual
and temporal power.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Kings of Loango
description: Supernaturally endowed kings whose power is linked with an increasing
number of taboos regulating daily acts.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Heir to the throne of Loango
description: A royal heir subject to restraints from infancy and to increasing abstinences
and ceremonies before accession.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Kings of Egypt
description: Kings worshipped as gods and governed by precise rules for official
duties and daily life.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Flamen Dialis
description: Roman priest whose life is governed by many taboos and ritual restrictions.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Virbius at Nemi
description: A deity or cult figure whose worship at Nemi is said to have been conducted
by a Flamen.
role_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: King of the Wood
description: A figure who may possibly have been the Flamen conducting the worship
of Virbius at Nemi, according to the passage.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: Flaminica
description: The wife of the Flamen Dialis, required to observe nearly the same
rules and additional restrictions.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: Old royal house
description: A royal line described as retaining purely religious functions when
civil government passes to others.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: fig:9
name_or_label: Younger and more vigorous race
description: A group described as receiving civil government when spiritual and
temporal powers separate.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
roles:
- id: role:1
label: taboo-bound sacred ruler
assigned_to:
- fig:1
- fig:3
basis: Both Loango and Egyptian kings are described as powerful or divine rulers
whose daily conduct is regulated by taboos or fixed rules.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: role:2
label: initiated royal heir under increasing restraints
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The Loango heir is subject to restraints from infancy and increasing observances
before accession.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:3
label: divinized king
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The Egyptian kings are described as worshipped as gods.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:4
label: taboo-bound priest
assigned_to:
- fig:4
- fig:6
basis: The Flamen Dialis is the principal example of priestly taboos, and the King
of the Wood is said possibly to have been such a Flamen.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: role:5
label: ritually restricted priestly wife
assigned_to:
- fig:7
basis: The Flaminica observes nearly the same rules as the Flamen and additional
rules of her own.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: role:6
label: religious remnant of kingship
assigned_to:
- fig:8
basis: The old royal house retains purely religious functions after civil government
passes away from it.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: role:7
label: holder of civil power without old sacred office
assigned_to:
- fig:9
basis: Civil government passes into the hands of a younger and more vigorous race
while the old royal house keeps religious functions.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: sacred fire retained in priestly house
literal_form: sacred fire
associated_figures:
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs:
- fire
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: sym:2
label: lucky tree for buried cuttings
literal_form: tree under which the Flamen's cut hair and nails are buried
associated_figures:
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs:
- tree
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: sym:3
label: bronze knife used for hair cutting
literal_form: bronze knife
associated_figures:
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: sym:4
label: bonds removed in the priestly house
literal_form: cords or bonds drawn up through a roof hole and let down into the
street
associated_figures:
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: sym:5
label: expiatory sacrifice after thunder
literal_form: sacrifice offered by the Flaminica after hearing thunder
associated_figures:
- fig:7
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Increasing taboos of Loango kingship
summary: The Loango king and heir are described as subject to taboos and observances
that increase with royal power and culminate at accession.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Regulated daily life of Egyptian kings
summary: Egyptian kings are presented as divine rulers whose duties, movements,
diet, sleep, bathing, judgment, and domestic acts are fixed by rule.
figure_refs:
- fig:3
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: scene:3
label: Priestly taboos of the Flamen Dialis
summary: The Flamen Dialis is described as forbidden or required in relation to
horses, army sight, rings, knots, sacred fire, certain foods and animals, a vine,
bed feet, hair cutting, dead bodies, holy-day work, uncovered exposure, and bonds
brought into his house.
figure_refs:
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
- sym:3
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: scene:4
label: Rules of the Flaminica
summary: The Flaminica is described as subject to parallel and additional ritual
restrictions, including a required expiatory sacrifice if she hears thunder.
figure_refs:
- fig:7
symbol_refs:
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: scene:5
label: Political effect of burdensome observance
summary: The passage says that heavy ritual restrictions can cause refusal of office,
reclusive weakness, loss of practical sovereignty, or separation between religious
and civil power.
figure_refs:
- fig:8
- fig:9
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: taboo-bound sacred ruler
taxonomy_refs:
- royal_legitimacy
basis: The passage compares Loango and Egyptian kings whose royal or divine status
is accompanied by detailed restraints governing daily behavior.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
confidence: high
cautions: The available taxonomy has no exact taboo-kingship category; royal_legitimacy
is an approximate broader reference.
- id: motif:2
label: ritual restriction of priestly office
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The Flamen Dialis and Flaminica are presented through detailed lists of forbidden
actions, contacts, and required ritual responses.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
confidence: high
cautions: This is a ritual pattern rather than a narrative myth motif.
- id: motif:3
label: sacred fire guarded by ritual restriction
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The Flamen Dialis may not allow any fire except sacred fire to be taken out
of his house.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage states the rule but does not elaborate a mythic narrative
around the fire.
- id: motif:4
label: burdensome sacred office causing political separation
taxonomy_refs:
- royal_legitimacy
basis: Frazer states that excessive ritual obligations can weaken officeholders
and lead to separation of spiritual and temporal powers.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
confidence: medium
cautions: This is Frazer's comparative interpretation of social-political effects,
not an emic myth episode.
- id: motif:5
label: expiatory sacrifice after taboo breach or ominous event
taxonomy_refs:
- sacrifice
basis: The Flaminica becomes tabooed if she hears thunder until she offers an expiatory
sacrifice.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage gives a single ritual rule; it does not narrate the sacrifice
in detail.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: The passage explicitly treats Loango kings, Egyptian kings, and the Roman
Flamen Dialis as comparable examples of royal or priestly offices governed by
extensive taboos.
claim_level: same_function
target: taboo-bound sacred kings and priests across Loango, Egypt, Rome, and Nemi
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: high
limitations: The comparison is Frazer's scholarly framing and does not by itself
establish historical contact or common inheritance.
- id: claim:2
claim: The passage cautiously links the cult of Virbius at Nemi and the King of
the Wood to the Roman Flamen model by suggesting that the Nemi officiant may have
resembled the Flamen Dialis.
claim_level: same_function
target: Nemi worship of Virbius and Roman Flamen Dialis ritual office
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: The passage uses tentative language, saying the Flamen at Nemi may
possibly have been the King of the Wood and may have resembled the Roman Flamen.
- id: claim:3
claim: The passage proposes a functional pattern in which ritual burdens attached
to sacred office can reduce effective governance and separate religious from civil
authority.
claim_level: same_function
target: separation of spiritual and temporal power after burdensome observance
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: This is a generalized causal interpretation in the comparative argument,
not a direct claim about a single named tradition.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 2973-2982
quote_or_summary: Loango kings are described as supernaturally endowed; greater
royal power entails more taboos regulating all actions, and the heir undergoes
increasing restraints until accession.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary provided.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 2982-2998
quote_or_summary: Egyptian kings are described as worshipped as gods, with fixed
rules governing official duties, daily routines, diet, wine, walking, bathing,
sleep, judgment, and domestic acts.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary provided.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 2998-3004
quote_or_summary: Frazer introduces the Flamen Dialis as an example of priestly
taboos and notes its relevance because worship of Virbius at Nemi was conducted
by a Flamen, possibly the King of the Wood.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary provided.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 3004-3020
quote_or_summary: The Flamen Dialis is subject to numerous restrictions involving
horses, armies, rings, knots, sacred fire, food, animals, vines, bed feet, hair
and nails, dead bodies, holy-day work, uncovered air, and bonds brought into his
house.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary provided.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: lines 3020-3029
quote_or_summary: The Flaminica observes nearly the same rules as the Flamen and
additional rules involving stairs, hair combing, shoe leather, thunder, and expiatory
sacrifice.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary provided.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: lines 3030-3041
quote_or_summary: Burdensome royal or priestly observances are said to cause refusal
of office, reclusive weakness, loss of practical sovereignty, or separation between
religious and civil power.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary provided.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: medium
notes: Literal extraction is strong because the passage explicitly lists figures
and restrictions. Motif taxonomy mapping is less exact because available categories
do not include a specific taboo-bound sacred office motif.
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: |-
Line locator supplied as 2973-3029, but the final paragraph on effects appears within the provided passage text beyond that nominal range; evidence locators preserve the supplied line context approximately.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:comparative-golden-bough-volume-1-frazer-gutenberg__l2973-l3029
passage_sha256=fc6f3a82083085722219df08ef9dcf85a6247fb9d76d1749cbc0614312e71854