batch.motif.persian-sadi-gulistan-ross-gutenberg-l2238-l2348
---
record_id: batch.motif.persian-sadi-gulistan-ross-gutenberg-l2238-l2348
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/persian/project-gutenberg/gulistan-sadi-ross.md
passage_locator:
label: XXXVII / XXXIX / XLVIII / CHAPTER III; lines 2238-2348
start: '2238'
end: '2348'
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: A series of moral anecdotes contrasts temperance with excess, honor with
material dependency, cheerful petition with degrading begging, independent labor
with obligation, and prophetic prayer for a destitute dervish. The passage includes
imprisoned dervishes, a father advising moderation in eating, a wounded youth
refusing help from a miser, a learned man losing reputation by asking for support,
a dervish refusing to ask a sour-faced rich man, Hatim Tayi praising an independent
wood-cutter, and Moses praying for a nearly naked dervish buried in sand.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: Two dervishes from Khorasan travel together; one is spare and eats only every
other night, while the other is robust and eats three meals daily.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The two dervishes are arrested at a city gate on suspicion of spying and confined
in a place whose entrance is sealed with mud.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: After a fortnight, the robust eater is found dead and the abstemious dervish
alive and well.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:4
text: A wise man explains the survival by reference to habitual temperance and patience
under lack of food.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:5
text: A philosopher warns his son against excess eating, and the son replies that
hunger can kill.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:6
text: The father cites a Koranic command to eat and drink without excess and presents
both voracity and extreme depletion as harmful.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:7
text: A young man wounded in battle with the Tartars is told that a stingy merchant
possesses a mummy antidote that might help him.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:8
text: The wounded youth refuses to ask the stingy merchant, saying that asking such
a man would itself be a deadly poison.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:9
text: The passage states that even the water of immortality would not be worth buying
at the price of reputation.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:10
text: A learned man with a large family and small means seeks support from a great
man and later feels that the increase in subsistence costs him reputation.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:11
text: A dervish in need of money is brought to a wealthy person, sees his sullen
face, says nothing, and returns home.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:12
text: Hatim Tayi says he once sacrificed forty camels and invited Arab tribal chiefs
to a feast.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:13
text: A wood-cutter refuses to attend Hatim Tayi’s feast, saying that one who can
eat the bread of his own labor will not become obliged to Hatim.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:14
text: Moses sees a dervish who has buried his body in sand for lack of clothing
and prays to God for the man’s subsistence.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Spare dervish of Khorasan
description: A moderate dervish who breaks his fast only every other night and survives
confinement without food.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Robust dervish of Khorasan
description: An intemperate dervish who eats three meals a day and dies during sealed
confinement.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Wise man
description: A wise man who explains why the abstemious dervish survived and the
voracious eater died.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Philosopher father
description: A philosopher who admonishes his son against excessive eating and teaches
moderation.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Philosopher’s son
description: The son who argues that hunger can kill and hears his father’s counsel
on moderation.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Wounded young man
description: A spirited youth grievously wounded in battle who refuses to request
an antidote from a miser.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: Stingy merchant
description: A merchant reputed for extreme stinginess who possesses a stock of
mummy antidote.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: Learned man with a large family
description: A learned man with many dependents and small means who asks a great
man for assistance.
role_refs:
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: fig:9
name_or_label: Great man
description: A high-status man who previously esteemed the learned man but thinks
his begging discreditable.
role_refs:
- role:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: fig:10
name_or_label: Dervish needing money
description: A dervish with a pressing need for money who declines to ask a sour-faced
rich man.
role_refs:
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: fig:11
name_or_label: Sullen rich person
description: A very rich person seen sitting with a hanging lip and sullen discontent.
role_refs:
- role:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: fig:12
name_or_label: Introducing friend
description: A person who offers to introduce the needy dervish to the rich man
and brings him to the dwelling.
role_refs:
- role:10
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: fig:13
name_or_label: Hatim Tayi
description: A famously generous host who sacrifices forty camels and invites chiefs
to a feast, then praises a wood-cutter’s independence.
role_refs:
- role:11
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: fig:14
name_or_label: Wood-cutter
description: A laborer carrying a tied fagot who refuses Hatim Tayi’s feast to avoid
obligation.
role_refs:
- role:12
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: fig:15
name_or_label: Prophet Moses
description: Moses sees a destitute dervish and prays to God for his subsistence.
role_refs:
- role:13
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: fig:16
name_or_label: Most High God
description: The divine being to whom Moses prays for the dervish’s subsistence.
role_refs:
- role:14
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: fig:17
name_or_label: Destitute dervish in sand
description: A dervish who lacks clothing, has buried his body in sand, and asks
Moses to pray for subsistence.
role_refs:
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
roles:
- id: role:1
label: fellow traveler and prisoner
assigned_to:
- fig:1
- fig:2
basis: The two Khorasan dervishes are fellow-companions on a journey and are confined
together after arrest.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:2
label: temperate survivor
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The spare, abstemious dervish survives the fortnight of confinement.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:3
label: intemperate victim of deprivation
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The robust eater is described as intemperate and is found dead after lack
of food.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:4
label: moral interpreter or instructor
assigned_to:
- fig:3
- fig:4
basis: Both the wise man and the philosopher explain or teach a moral lesson about
moderation.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: role:5
label: questioning pupil
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: The son challenges his father’s warning about excess by invoking the danger
of hunger.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:6
label: honor-preserving sufferer
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: The wounded youth refuses possible healing from a miser because the request
would degrade him.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:7
label: miserly potential benefactor
assigned_to:
- fig:7
basis: The merchant has a possible remedy but is characterized by extreme stinginess.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:8
label: needy petitioner or potential petitioner
assigned_to:
- fig:8
- fig:10
- fig:17
basis: These figures are described as needing subsistence, money, or aid.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:7
- id: role:9
label: high-status or wealthy potential patron
assigned_to:
- fig:9
- fig:11
basis: Both figures are approached or considered for material assistance because
of status or wealth.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: role:10
label: intermediary
assigned_to:
- fig:12
basis: The friend takes the needy dervish by the hand and introduces him to the
rich man’s dwelling.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: role:11
label: generous host
assigned_to:
- fig:13
basis: Hatim Tayi provides a large feast after sacrificing forty camels.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: role:12
label: independent laborer
assigned_to:
- fig:14
basis: The wood-cutter prefers bread earned by his own labor to accepting Hatim’s
feast.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: role:13
label: prophetic intercessor
assigned_to:
- fig:15
basis: Moses prays to God on behalf of the destitute dervish.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: role:14
label: divine addressee for provision
assigned_to:
- fig:16
basis: Moses addresses God in prayer for the dervish’s subsistence.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: sealed confinement
literal_form: A place whose entrance is built up with mud
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:2
label: food and fasting
literal_form: Breaking fast every other night, three meals daily, hunger, bread,
and preserved foods
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:4
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: sym:3
label: healing antidote
literal_form: A stock of mummy antidote held by a stingy merchant
associated_figures:
- fig:6
- fig:7
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:4
label: water of immortality
literal_form: The water of immortality imagined as purchasable at the price of reputation
associated_figures:
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:5
label: sour face
literal_form: A hanging lip and sullen countenance
associated_figures:
- fig:10
- fig:11
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: sym:6
label: forty camels and feast
literal_form: Forty sacrificed camels and a feast for Arab tribal chiefs
associated_figures:
- fig:13
- fig:14
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: sym:7
label: bread of one’s own industry
literal_form: Bread earned by the wood-cutter’s own labor
associated_figures:
- fig:14
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: sym:8
label: sand covering the body
literal_form: A dervish’s body buried in sand for lack of clothing
associated_figures:
- fig:17
- fig:15
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Imprisoned dervishes and survival through temperance
summary: Two dervishes are sealed in confinement; the intemperate eater dies, and
the abstemious one survives, prompting a wise man’s explanation.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Father teaches moderation in eating
summary: A philosopher warns his son that both excess and extreme deprivation are
dangerous and cites a command against excess.
figure_refs:
- fig:4
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: scene:3
label: Wounded youth refuses help from a miser
summary: A wounded young man refuses to ask a stingy merchant for an antidote, preferring
honor over aid that would degrade him.
figure_refs:
- fig:6
- fig:7
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: scene:4
label: Learned man’s subsistence and reputation
summary: A learned man asks a great man for support and later judges that the increase
in material means diminished his reputation.
figure_refs:
- fig:8
- fig:9
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: scene:5
label: Dervish refuses a sour-faced patron
summary: A needy dervish is introduced to a wealthy man, sees his sullen expression,
and leaves without making the request.
figure_refs:
- fig:10
- fig:11
- fig:12
symbol_refs:
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: scene:6
label: Hatim Tayi and the independent wood-cutter
summary: Hatim Tayi invites chiefs to a feast after sacrificing forty camels, but
a wood-cutter refuses the feast to avoid obligation and is praised by Hatim as
superior in independence.
figure_refs:
- fig:13
- fig:14
symbol_refs:
- sym:6
- sym:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: scene:7
label: Moses prays for a destitute dervish
summary: Moses sees a dervish buried in sand for lack of clothing; the dervish asks
him to pray for subsistence, and Moses does so.
figure_refs:
- fig:15
- fig:16
- fig:17
symbol_refs:
- sym:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: Temperance preserves life under hardship
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The abstemious dervish survives sealed confinement without food, and the
wise man explicitly attributes this to habitual temperance and patience.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
confidence: high
cautions: This is a didactic moral motif rather than a mythic narrative complex.
- id: motif:2
label: Moderation between excess and deprivation
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The philosopher teaches that both voracious eating and extreme depletion
are harmful, citing a religious command not to eat and drink to excess.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
confidence: high
cautions: The passage frames the motif as ethical instruction.
- id: motif:3
label: Honor preferred to life-preserving aid
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
- sacred_exchange
basis: The wounded youth refuses a possible antidote from a miser, and the passage
states that even the water of immortality should not be bought with reputation.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
confidence: medium
cautions: The exchange is moral and social; the sacred_exchange taxonomy is only
partially supported by the immortality image and reputation-for-life contrast.
- id: motif:4
label: Material help can diminish reputation
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
- sacred_exchange
basis: The learned man gains subsistence from a great man but concludes that the
aid reduced his reputation, and that starving would be better than disgraceful
begging.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
confidence: medium
cautions: The motif concerns patronage and honor rather than an explicitly sacred
transaction.
- id: motif:5
label: Refusal to petition an unkind patron
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The needy dervish turns away from a wealthy man after seeing his sullen face,
preferring not to expose his sorrows to an unsympathetic countenance.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
confidence: high
cautions: This is a compact ethical anecdote, not a developed mythic pattern.
- id: motif:6
label: Independence through one’s own labor
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
- sacred_exchange
basis: The wood-cutter refuses Hatim Tayi’s feast because one who can eat bread
from his own labor should not incur obligation to a benefactor.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
confidence: medium
cautions: The obligation motif overlaps with exchange, but the passage emphasizes
independence rather than ritual exchange.
- id: motif:7
label: Prophetic intercession for a destitute ascetic
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: A destitute dervish asks Moses to pray that God provide subsistence, and
Moses prays accordingly.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
confidence: medium
cautions: The excerpt ends before any outcome of the prayer, so only the request
and intercession can be extracted.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: 2238-2253
quote_or_summary: Two Khorasan dervishes, one abstemious and one voracious, are
sealed in confinement; after a fortnight the voracious man is dead and the abstemious
one alive, and a wise man explains this by habitual temperance.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/persian/project-gutenberg/gulistan-sadi-ross.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary supplied.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: 2255-2271
quote_or_summary: A philosopher admonishes his son against excess eating; the son
objects that hunger can kill; the father cites a Koranic command to eat and drink
without excess and teaches moderation.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/persian/project-gutenberg/gulistan-sadi-ross.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary supplied.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: 2273-2294
quote_or_summary: A wounded youth is told of a miserly merchant’s mummy antidote
but refuses to ask for it; the passage says reputation is worth more than even
the water of immortality.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/persian/project-gutenberg/gulistan-sadi-ross.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary supplied.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: 2296-2311
quote_or_summary: A learned man with a large family and small means asks a great
man for help; he receives some increase in subsistence but feels his reputation
has been diminished by begging.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/persian/project-gutenberg/gulistan-sadi-ross.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary supplied.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: 2313-2324
quote_or_summary: A dervish needing money is introduced to a very rich person, sees
his hanging lip and sullen discontent, says nothing, and returns home.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/persian/project-gutenberg/gulistan-sadi-ross.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary supplied.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: 2330-2342
quote_or_summary: Hatim Tayi recounts sacrificing forty camels and inviting tribal
chiefs to a feast; a wood-cutter refuses to attend, preferring bread earned by
his own labor to obligation.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/persian/project-gutenberg/gulistan-sadi-ross.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary supplied.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: 2344-2348
quote_or_summary: Moses sees a dervish who has buried his body in sand for lack
of clothing; the dervish asks him to pray for subsistence, and Moses prays to
God for him.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/persian/project-gutenberg/gulistan-sadi-ross.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary supplied.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: uncertain
notes: Extraction is based only on the supplied passage. Motif candidates are mostly
ethical-didactic and only partly overlap with the available mythological taxonomy.
No comparison claims were made because the passage itself does not support external
comparison.
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: |-
The final Moses anecdote is incomplete in the supplied range; no outcome beyond the prayer has been inferred.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:persian-sadi-gulistan-ross-gutenberg__l2238-l2348
passage_sha256=5d89ad37c51088a949af5b1d6b7b3c11e7ba55d8c51be59e7327213ab79553c5