batch.motif.comparative-golden-bough-volume-2-frazer-gutenberg-l8277-l8286
---
record_id: batch.motif.comparative-golden-bough-volume-2-frazer-gutenberg-l8277-l8286
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-2-frazer.md
passage_locator:
label: 'The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 2 of 2) / CONTENTS;
lines 8277-8286'
start: '8277'
end: '8286'
translation: 'The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 2 of 2)'
notes: Generated from OpenAI Batch run motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority;
human review required.
canonical_text:
quote: ''
summary: Frazer closes his farewell to Nemi by contrasting the vanished temple of
Diana and absent King of the Wood with the still-green woods, distant Christian
church bells, and the formula declaring the king dead and the king alive.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: The speaker looks back at Nemi and says the lake and surroundings are little
changed from the period when Diana and Virbius received worship in the sacred
grove.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The temple of Diana is said to have disappeared.
category: object
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: The King of the Wood is said no longer to stand sentinel over the Golden Bough.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: Nemi’s woods are still green.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:5
text: At evening, church bells from Albano, and perhaps Rome, may be heard ringing
the Angelus across the Campagnan marshes.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:6
text: The passage ends with the French formula, “Le roi est mort, vive le roi!”
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Diana
description: A deity formerly receiving homage from worshippers in the sacred grove
at Nemi.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Virbius
description: A figure formerly receiving homage from worshippers in the sacred grove
at Nemi alongside Diana.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: worshippers
description: Those who formerly gave homage to Diana and Virbius in the sacred grove.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: King of the Wood
description: A figure said no longer to stand sentinel over the Golden Bough.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
roles:
- id: role:1
label: recipients of homage
assigned_to:
- fig:1
- fig:2
basis: The passage says Diana and Virbius received homage from worshippers in the
sacred grove.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:2
label: worshippers
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The passage names worshippers who gave homage to Diana and Virbius.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:3
label: sentinel over the Golden Bough
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: The passage says the King of the Wood no longer stands sentinel over the
Golden Bough.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: sacred grove
literal_form: grove at Nemi where homage was formerly given to Diana and Virbius
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs:
- tree
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:2
label: Golden Bough
literal_form: the Golden Bough watched by the King of the Wood in the passage’s
retrospective description
associated_figures:
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs:
- tree
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:3
label: green woods of Nemi
literal_form: woods that remain green despite the vanished temple and absent King
of the Wood
associated_figures: []
taxonomy_refs:
- tree
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:4
label: church bells ringing the Angelus
literal_form: evening bells from Albano and perhaps Rome ringing the Angelus
associated_figures: []
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Farewell view of Nemi
summary: The speaker surveys Nemi, noting continuity in the lake and landscape while
recalling the former worship of Diana and Virbius in the sacred grove.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Vanished cult and absent guardian
summary: The passage states that Diana’s temple has disappeared and that the King
of the Wood no longer guards the Golden Bough.
figure_refs:
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: scene:3
label: Continuing landscape and Christian soundscape
summary: The woods remain green, and evening church bells ring the Angelus from
surrounding cities across the marshes.
figure_refs: []
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: scene:4
label: Royal succession formula
summary: The passage closes with a formula announcing that the king is dead and
that the king lives.
figure_refs: []
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: sacred grove and guarded bough
taxonomy_refs:
- sacred_tree_axis
basis: The passage links a sacred grove, the Golden Bough, and the King of the Wood
as its former sentinel.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage does not explain the grove or bough as a cosmic axis; the
taxonomy reference is based only on sacred tree imagery and guardianship.
- id: motif:2
label: death and succession of the king
taxonomy_refs:
- royal_legitimacy
basis: The final formula states, “The king is dead, long live the king,” after noting
that the King of the Wood no longer stands sentinel.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage gives a literary closing formula rather than a narrated succession
ritual.
- id: motif:3
label: continuity of sacred landscape after cultic disappearance
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The temple and former guardian are gone, but the lake, woods, and evening
religious soundscape remain.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
confidence: medium
cautions: This is a thematic pattern in the passage, not a named taxonomy motif.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: The passage itself juxtaposes the older Nemi cultic setting of Diana, Virbius,
the sacred grove, and the Golden Bough with the later Christian Angelus bells
heard from Albano and perhaps Rome.
claim_level: same_function
target: older grove worship at Nemi and later Christian evening soundscape
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: low
limitations: The passage notes juxtaposition and continuity of place, but it does
not explicitly argue that the rites or institutions are historically continuous
or functionally identical.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: 8277-8280
quote_or_summary: The lake and surroundings at Nemi are described as little changed
from the days when Diana and Virbius received worshippers’ homage in the sacred
grove.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-2-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary used.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: 8280-8283
quote_or_summary: The temple of Diana has disappeared, and the King of the Wood
no longer stands sentinel over the Golden Bough.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-2-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary used.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: 8283-8285
quote_or_summary: Nemi’s woods remain green, and evening church bells from Albano,
and perhaps Rome, ring the Angelus across the Campagnan marshes.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-2-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary used.
- id: ev:4
type: quote
locator: '8286'
quote_or_summary: "“Le roi est mort, vive le roi!”"
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-2-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short quote used.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: low
notes: The passage is clear, but it is a reflective conclusion rather than a mythic
narrative, so motif assignments and comparison claims are necessarily cautious.
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: |-
Extraction uses only the supplied passage and metadata.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:comparative-golden-bough-volume-2-frazer-gutenberg__l8277-l8286
passage_sha256=b12a3adfc2e224ddcb38cdf1ad2ab54b09e60b9e81aec11c3a0a1fef8c086cc1