batch.motif.persian-sadi-gulistan-ross-gutenberg-l1301-l1320
---
record_id: batch.motif.persian-sadi-gulistan-ross-gutenberg-l1301-l1320
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/persian/project-gutenberg/gulistan-sadi-ross.md
passage_locator:
label: XXXIII / XXXIV / XXXVII / XXXVIII; lines 1301-1320
start: '1301'
end: '1320'
translation: The Persian Literature, Volume 2, The Gulistan
notes: Generated from OpenAI Batch run motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority;
human review required.
canonical_text:
quote: ''
summary: In one anecdote, Nushirowan the Just refuses to rejoice at an enemy's death
because he too is mortal. In another, Abu-zarchamahr explains that ministers should
speak only when needed, as physicians prescribe only to the sick, but silence
would be blameworthy if a blind man were walking into a pit.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: A person tells Nushirowan that God has removed one of Nushirowan's enemies
from the world.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: Nushirowan responds that he has no reason to exult in a rival's death because
his own life will not last forever.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: At the court of Kisra or Nushirowan, a cabinet council debates a state affair.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:4
text: Abu-zarchamahr, seated as president, remains silent during the council discussion.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:5
text: When asked why he does not join the discussion, Abu-zarchamahr compares ministers
to physicians who prescribe medicine only to the sick.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:6
text: Abu-zarchamahr says it would be wrong to remain silent if he saw a blind man
walking into a pit.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Nushirowan the Just
description: Ruler addressed about the death of an enemy; also identified with Kisra
in the following court scene.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Unnamed announcer
description: Person who reports that God has removed Nushirowan's enemy from the
world.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Unnamed enemy or rival
description: A man described as Nushirowan's enemy or rival, said to have died.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Abu-zarchamahr
description: President of the cabinet council who remains silent and explains when
speech is appropriate.
role_refs:
- role:5
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Cabinet council members
description: Participants in a court debate who ask Abu-zarchamahr why he is silent.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Blind man
description: Hypothetical figure used by Abu-zarchamahr as someone walking into
a pit.
role_refs:
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
roles:
- id: role:1
label: just ruler
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The passage names him Nushirowan the Just.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:2
label: speaker on mortality
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: He states that he should not rejoice at another's death because his own life
is temporary.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:3
label: announcer
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: This figure announces the death of Nushirowan's enemy.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:4
label: dead rival
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The man is described as an enemy or rival whose death is reported.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: role:5
label: council president
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: Abu-zarchamahr is described as sitting as president at the cabinet council.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:6
label: prudent counselor
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: He explains that counsel should not be offered when existing opinions are
already judicious, but should be given to prevent harm.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: role:7
label: deliberating ministers
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: The council debates a state affair and questions Abu-zarchamahr's silence.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: role:8
label: hypothetical endangered person
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: The blind man is used as an example of someone walking into a pit and requiring
warning.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: medicine
literal_form: medicine prescribed by a physician
associated_figures:
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: sym:2
label: sick man
literal_form: sick man receiving medicine
associated_figures:
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: sym:3
label: blind man and pit
literal_form: a blind man walking into a pit
associated_figures:
- fig:4
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Nushirowan refuses to rejoice at an enemy's death
summary: A report of an enemy's death is brought to Nushirowan, who answers that
another person's death gives him no cause for exultation because he also is mortal.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: scene:2
label: Abu-zarchamahr explains prudent silence in council
summary: During a cabinet debate, Abu-zarchamahr remains silent until asked why;
he says a minister should speak only when needed, like a physician treating sickness,
though silence would be blameworthy if someone were headed toward danger.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:4
- fig:5
- fig:6
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: wisdom in remembering mortality
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: Nushirowan's reply treats the death of an enemy as a reminder that his own
life is finite rather than as an occasion for triumph.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
confidence: high
cautions: The motif is ethical and proverbial rather than mythic narrative in a
strict sense.
- id: motif:2
label: wise counselor speaks only when needed
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: Abu-zarchamahr explains that ministers should not add speech when judgment
is already sound, but must warn when harm is imminent.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
confidence: high
cautions: The passage presents a courtly wisdom anecdote; no broader mythological
comparison is explicitly supported.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 1301-1306, section XXXVII
quote_or_summary: A person reports to Nushirowan the Just that God has removed from
the world a man who was Nushirowan's enemy.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/persian/project-gutenberg/gulistan-sadi-ross.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:2
type: quote
locator: lines 1306-1309, section XXXVII
quote_or_summary: '"In the death of a rival I have no room for exultation, since
my life also is not to last forever."'
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/persian/project-gutenberg/gulistan-sadi-ross.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short quotation.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 1311-1315, section XXXVIII
quote_or_summary: At the court of Kisra or Nushirowan, a cabinet council debates
a state affair while Abu-zarchamahr, seated as president, remains silent.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/persian/project-gutenberg/gulistan-sadi-ross.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 1315-1319, section XXXVIII
quote_or_summary: Asked why he does not join the discussion, Abu-zarchamahr says
ministers are like physicians, and a physician prescribes medicine only to a sick
man; if others' opinions are judicious, he need not obtrude a word.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/persian/project-gutenberg/gulistan-sadi-ross.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:5
type: quote
locator: lines 1319-1320, section XXXVIII
quote_or_summary: '"were I to see a blind man walking into a pit, I would be much
to blame if I remained silent."'
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/persian/project-gutenberg/gulistan-sadi-ross.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short quotation.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: high
notes: Literal extraction is straightforward. Motif labels are limited to wisdom
themes supported by the passage; no cross-tradition comparison is made.
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 and metadata were used.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:persian-sadi-gulistan-ross-gutenberg__l1301-l1320
passage_sha256=9bfcd25706d9ac4edd5fc9f03fd18b16fe2729f112e297a0cf1003f08bff68fe