batch.motif.persian-sadi-gulistan-ross-gutenberg-l1965-l1995
---
record_id: batch.motif.persian-sadi-gulistan-ross-gutenberg-l1965-l1995
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/persian/project-gutenberg/gulistan-sadi-ross.md
passage_locator:
label: XXVII / XXVIII / XXXIII / XXXIV; lines 1965-1995
start: '1965'
end: '1995'
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: such as are recluses do not take money; and such as take money are not anchorites
summary: A king vows to distribute money to recluses if an important affair succeeds.
After the affair succeeds, he sends a favorite servant with a bag of coins, but
the servant returns saying he found no recluses because true recluses do not accept
money. The king acknowledges the force of the servant’s judgment. A learned man
then explains when consecrated bread or alms may be lawfully taken and when collection
for endowment is forbidden.
language: English
quote_policy: quoted
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: A king makes a vow to distribute a sum of money among recluses if an important
affair succeeds.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: After the affair succeeds, the king gives a bag of dinars to a favorite servant
to distribute among anchorites.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: The servant searches for the whole day and returns the money bag to the king
in the evening.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:4
text: The servant says that true recluses do not take money, and those who take
money are not anchorites.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:5
text: The king says he knows four hundred recluses in the city and later tells his
courtiers that the servant has justice on his side.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:6
text: A learned man is asked for his opinion about consecrated bread or almsgiving.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:7
text: The learned man answers that receiving alms to compose the mind and promote
devotion is lawful, but collecting for an endowment is forbidden.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: king
description: A sovereign who has an important affair, makes an almsgiving vow, and
later judges the servant's reply before his courtiers.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:5
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: favorite servant
description: A discreet and considerate young man sent to distribute the king's
coins among anchorites; he returns the money and explains that true recluses do
not take money.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: recluses or anchorites
description: Religious persons named as the intended recipients of the king's gift;
the passage distinguishes those who accept money from true anchorites.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: courtiers
description: The king addresses them when commenting on the servant's judgment about
the recluses.
role_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: profoundly-learned man
description: A learned man asked to judge consecrated bread or almsgiving; he gives
a conditional ruling.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: questioners
description: Unspecified people who ask the learned man his opinion.
role_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: monks and holy men
description: Religious persons mentioned in the learned man's answer concerning
legitimate and illegitimate receipt of consecrated bread or alms.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
roles:
- id: role:1
label: vow-making patron
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The king promises a distribution to recluses if his affair prospers and later
provides money for the distribution.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: role:2
label: discerning messenger
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The servant is sent to distribute coins but returns them after judging that
true recluses would not take money.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: role:3
label: ascetic recipient or non-recipient
assigned_to:
- fig:3
- fig:7
basis: Recluses, anchorites, monks, and holy men are discussed as persons whose
acceptance or refusal of money or bread defines their religious conduct.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:7
- id: role:4
label: judge of the servant's claim
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The king smiles and says the servant has justice on his side.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: role:5
label: religious-ethical authority
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: The learned man gives a ruling on when consecrated bread or alms may be taken.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: almsgiving coins
literal_form: bag of dinars; dirams and dinars
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: sym:2
label: consecrated bread or alms
literal_form: consecrated bread; almstaking
associated_figures:
- fig:5
- fig:7
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: sym:3
label: religious retirement
literal_form: religious retirement of good and holy men
associated_figures:
- fig:7
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: The king's vow and the servant's return
summary: A king vows money to recluses after success in an important affair. When
the affair succeeds, a servant is sent with a bag of coins, but returns it, saying
true recluses do not take money.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: scene:2
label: The learned ruling on alms
summary: A learned man is asked about consecrated bread or almsgiving and answers
that it is lawful when it supports composure and devotion, but forbidden when
collected for endowment.
figure_refs:
- fig:5
- fig:6
- fig:7
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: discernment of genuine asceticism
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The servant distinguishes true recluses from those who accept money, and
the king acknowledges that the servant's judgment is just.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
confidence: high
cautions: This is an ethical-wisdom motif rather than a mythic narrative motif in
a narrow sense.
- id: motif:2
label: conditional sacred exchange through vow and almsgiving
taxonomy_refs:
- sacred_exchange
basis: The king makes a vow to give wealth to religious recluses if his affair succeeds,
and the later discussion evaluates legitimate and illegitimate receipt of alms.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:7
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage treats the exchange satirically and ethically; it does not
present a direct divine transaction.
- id: motif:3
label: renunciation tested by material gifts
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The proposed recipients' status as true recluses is tested by whether they
will accept money or seek material support.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:7
confidence: medium
cautions: The test is inferred from the servant's reasoning and the learned man's
ruling, not staged as a formal ordeal.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 1965-1970
quote_or_summary: The king has an important affair and says that if it prospers
he will distribute a certain sum in dirams among recluses.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/persian/project-gutenberg/gulistan-sadi-ross.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short summary.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 1970-1974
quote_or_summary: After the affair is accomplished, the king gives a bag of dinars
to a favorite servant to distribute among anchorites.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/persian/project-gutenberg/gulistan-sadi-ross.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short summary.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 1974-1977
quote_or_summary: The servant wanders all day, returns in the evening, kisses the
money bag, and lays it before the king, saying he found no recluses.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/persian/project-gutenberg/gulistan-sadi-ross.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short summary.
- id: ev:4
type: quote
locator: lines 1977-1981
quote_or_summary: '"such as are recluses do not take money; and such as take money
are not anchorites!"'
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/persian/project-gutenberg/gulistan-sadi-ross.md
rights_note: Public domain source; brief quotation.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: lines 1978-1987
quote_or_summary: The king says he knows four hundred recluses in the city, then
tells his courtiers that although the servant seems spiteful toward God's worshippers,
he has justice on his side.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/persian/project-gutenberg/gulistan-sadi-ross.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short summary.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: lines 1988-1991
quote_or_summary: A profoundly learned man is asked his opinion of consecrated bread
or almsgiving.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/persian/project-gutenberg/gulistan-sadi-ross.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short summary.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: lines 1991-1995
quote_or_summary: The learned man says taking it to compose the mind and promote
devotion is lawful, but monks collecting for endowment is forbidden; holy men
receive such bread for religious retirement.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/persian/project-gutenberg/gulistan-sadi-ross.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short summary.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: high
notes: The passage clearly supports ethical and ascetic-renunciation patterns. No
explicit cross-text comparison is present, so comparison claims are omitted.
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 provided passage and metadata were used. Available taxonomy references were applied only where directly supported.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:persian-sadi-gulistan-ross-gutenberg__l1965-l1995
passage_sha256=4f706548b380ec5d2f5351b99aa42645dd2439d5678f630c773d1c01d76d7dd0