batch.motif.persian-sadi-gulistan-ross-gutenberg-l2587-l2713
---
record_id: batch.motif.persian-sadi-gulistan-ross-gutenberg-l2587-l2713
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/persian/project-gutenberg/gulistan-sadi-ross.md
passage_locator:
label: CHAPTER III / XVIII / XXVII / CHAPTER IV; lines 2587-2713
start: '2587'
end: '2713'
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 sequence of anecdotes and maxims on the benefit of silence, restraint
in speech, secrecy, knowing when not to answer, avoiding repetition, not interrupting,
preserving royal confidence, and using wit under hardship.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: The narrator advises restraint in speech because conversation contains both
good and bad, while rivals notice what is bad.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: A friend replies that enemies interpret virtue as a blemish, using images
of a rose seen as a thorn and sunlight appearing dim to a mole.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: A merchant who loses a thousand dinars orders his son not to mention the loss,
saying secrecy avoids both financial loss and neighbors' reproach.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: A learned but silent youth says he avoids speaking because he fears being
questioned about what he does not know and being shamed.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:5
text: A Sufi hammering nails into his sandal is mistaken by a cavalry officer for
someone able to shoe a horse.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:6
text: A learned man ends a debate with an atheist by throwing down his shield and
fleeing when he cannot convince him.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:7
text: The learned man says his learning rests on the Koran and traditions, which
his opponent does not accept.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:8
text: Sahban Wabil is described as so eloquent that he could speak for a year without
repeating the same word in the same sense.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:9
text: A sage says a speech has a beginning and an end, and that a prudent person
waits for an interval of silence before speaking.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:10
text: Husan Maimandi refuses to divulge what Sultan Mahmud whispered to him, explaining
that the king spoke in confidence.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:11
text: A prospective buyer rejects a house recommendation by saying the defect of
the house is that the recommender is its neighbor.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:12
text: A poet praises a robber chief but is stripped of his clothes and driven from
the village in the cold.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: obs:13
text: When dogs bark at the naked poet, he tries to pick up a stone, but the frost-bound
ground prevents him.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: obs:14
text: The robber chief hears the poet's witty complaint, smiles, calls him back,
restores his clothes, and gives him a fur robe and money.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Narrator
description: Speaker who advocates prudent restraint in words and later gives a
sharp reply about a house and its neighbor.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:8
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Narrator's friend
description: Friend who answers that rivals or enemies do not perceive a person's
good qualities fairly.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Merchant
description: A merchant who loses a thousand dinars and tells his son to keep the
matter secret.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Merchant's son
description: Son who agrees not to mention the loss and asks the reason for secrecy.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Sensible youth
description: A youth learned in arts and sciences who remains silent among learned
people.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Father of the youth
description: Father who asks why his son does not speak about what he knows.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: Sufi
description: A Sufi hammering nails into his sandal sole.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: Cavalry officer
description: Officer who takes the Sufi by the sleeve and orders him to shoe his
horse.
role_refs:
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:9
name_or_label: Learned disputant
description: A respectable learned man who debates an atheist but then flees the
dispute.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: fig:10
name_or_label: Atheist disputant
description: Opponent in discussion who does not accept the learned man's religious
authorities.
role_refs:
- role:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: fig:11
name_or_label: Sahban Wabil
description: An eloquent speaker esteemed as unrivalled in speech.
role_refs:
- role:10
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: fig:12
name_or_label: Sage
description: A sage who comments that interrupting another speaker reveals ignorance.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: fig:13
name_or_label: Husan Maimandi
description: Prime minister who refuses to reveal a confidential royal communication.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: fig:14
name_or_label: Sultan Mahmud
description: King who whispers to Husan Maimandi about a state affair.
role_refs:
- role:11
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: fig:15
name_or_label: Courtiers
description: Courtiers who ask Husan Maimandi what the king whispered to him.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: fig:16
name_or_label: Jewish neighbor
description: An old housekeeper in the street who recommends a house as faultless.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: fig:17
name_or_label: Poet
description: A poet who praises a robber chief, is stripped and expelled, then receives
his clothes and gifts after a witty complaint.
role_refs:
- role:6
- role:12
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: fig:18
name_or_label: Chief of robbers
description: Leader who first orders the poet stripped and expelled, then shows
compassion and rewards him.
role_refs:
- role:13
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: fig:19
name_or_label: Village dogs
description: Dogs that bark at the naked poet as he leaves the village.
role_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
roles:
- id: role:1
label: advocate of silence
assigned_to:
- fig:1
- fig:5
basis: These figures explicitly defend restraint or silence as prudent.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- id: role:2
label: interpreter of hostile perception
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The friend explains how rivals see good qualities as faults.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:3
label: keeper of a secret
assigned_to:
- fig:3
- fig:13
basis: The merchant conceals a financial loss, and Husan Maimandi conceals the king's
communication.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:7
- id: role:4
label: questioner
assigned_to:
- fig:4
- fig:6
- fig:15
basis: These figures ask for reasons, speech, or secret information.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:7
- id: role:5
label: learned person
assigned_to:
- fig:5
- fig:9
- fig:12
basis: The youth is educated, the disputant is respectable for learning, and the
sage gives instruction.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:6
- id: role:6
label: speaker of cutting wit
assigned_to:
- fig:1
- fig:16
- fig:17
basis: The house anecdote and robber anecdote turn on sharp or witty speech.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:9
- id: role:7
label: misread craftsman
assigned_to:
- fig:7
basis: The Sufi's sandal repair is taken as evidence that he can shoe a horse.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:8
label: coercive misinterpreter
assigned_to:
- fig:8
basis: The officer assumes the Sufi can shoe a horse and takes him by the sleeve.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:9
label: unpersuaded opponent
assigned_to:
- fig:10
basis: The atheist does not accept the learned man's religious premises.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:10
label: exemplary eloquent speaker
assigned_to:
- fig:11
basis: Sahban Wabil is described as unrivalled in eloquence.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: role:11
label: royal source of confidence
assigned_to:
- fig:14
basis: The king privately communicates a state affair to his minister.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: role:12
label: injured supplicant
assigned_to:
- fig:17
basis: The poet is stripped, cold, and asks only for his own garments to be returned.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: role:13
label: violent patron turned benefactor
assigned_to:
- fig:18
basis: The robber chief first harms the poet, then restores his clothes and gives
gifts.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: prudent silence
literal_form: restraint from speaking, waiting for silence, and non-disclosure
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:5
- fig:12
- fig:13
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: sym:2
label: hostile eye
literal_form: the rival's or enemy's eye that sees virtue as blemish
associated_figures:
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:3
label: rose and thorn image
literal_form: a rose appearing as a thorn to rivals
associated_figures:
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:4
label: sun and mole image
literal_form: the fountain of the sun appearing dim to a purblind mole
associated_figures:
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:5
label: lost dinars
literal_form: one thousand dinars lost by the merchant
associated_figures:
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:6
label: sandal and horse-shoeing confusion
literal_form: nails hammered into a sandal sole taken as a sign of ability to shoe
a horse
associated_figures:
- fig:7
- fig:8
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:7
label: thrown-down shield
literal_form: a shield thrown down when the learned man flees debate
associated_figures:
- fig:9
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: sym:8
label: king's secret
literal_form: a whispered state affair kept confidential
associated_figures:
- fig:13
- fig:14
- fig:15
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: sym:9
label: bound stones and loose dogs
literal_form: village dogs let loose while stones are fixed in frost-bound earth
associated_figures:
- fig:17
- fig:18
- fig:19
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: sym:10
label: restored garments and added gifts
literal_form: the poet's clothes, a fur robe, and money
associated_figures:
- fig:17
- fig:18
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Rivals hear only faults
summary: The narrator recommends restraint in speech, and his friend expands the
point by saying enemies perceive virtue as fault.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
- sym:3
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Merchant conceals a loss
summary: A merchant tells his son not to reveal the loss of a thousand dinars so
that reproach will not be added to financial loss.
figure_refs:
- fig:3
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: scene:3
label: Youth avoids exposure through silence
summary: A learned youth refuses to speak for fear of being questioned beyond his
knowledge; the Sufi anecdote illustrates how disclosure may draw unwanted demands.
figure_refs:
- fig:5
- fig:6
- fig:7
- fig:8
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: scene:4
label: Unanswerable opponent
summary: A learned man withdraws from debate with an atheist because the opponent
does not accept his authorities, and the maxim advises not answering such a person.
figure_refs:
- fig:9
- fig:10
symbol_refs:
- sym:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: scene:5
label: Eloquence without repetition
summary: Sahban Wabil is praised for extraordinary verbal variety, followed by a
maxim warning against repeating even pleasing speech.
figure_refs:
- fig:11
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: scene:6
label: Do not interrupt another speaker
summary: A sage says that beginning to speak before another has finished reveals
ignorance, because speech has its proper beginning and end.
figure_refs:
- fig:12
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: scene:7
label: Minister keeps royal confidence
summary: Courtiers ask Husan Maimandi what Sultan Mahmud whispered, but he refuses
because the king trusted him not to reveal it.
figure_refs:
- fig:13
- fig:14
- fig:15
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: scene:8
label: House fault is the neighbor
summary: A neighbor praises a house as faultless, and the narrator replies that
the neighbor himself is its defect.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:16
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: scene:9
label: Poet's wit restores his clothes
summary: A poet is stripped by a robber chief, complains wittily about loose dogs
and bound stones, and is rewarded with restored clothing, fur, and money.
figure_refs:
- fig:17
- fig:18
- fig:19
symbol_refs:
- sym:9
- sym:10
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: wisdom of silence and measured speech
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: Multiple anecdotes present silence, delay, non-interruption, and non-disclosure
as prudent conduct.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:6
- ev:7
confidence: high
cautions: The passage is didactic prose rather than a mythic narrative; the taxonomy
link is to a broad wisdom motif family.
- id: motif:2
label: speech brings exposure to shame or danger
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The youth fears being questioned beyond his knowledge; the Sufi anecdote
warns that revealed ability invites burdens; the minister is warned not to risk
his head with a king's secret.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:7
confidence: medium
cautions: This is a practical moral pattern within anecdotes, not a supernatural
or ritual motif.
- id: motif:3
label: wit softens a violent patron
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The poet's witty complaint causes the robber chief to smile, feel compassion,
and return his garments with gifts.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
confidence: medium
cautions: Supported by one anecdote only; no broader comparison is asserted.
- id: motif:4
label: refusal to debate the unpersuadable
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The learned man withdraws from disputation because his opponent rejects the
authorities on which his learning rests, and the maxim recommends silence.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
confidence: medium
cautions: The motif is ethical and rhetorical rather than mythological.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 2587-2604; Chapter IV, I
quote_or_summary: The narrator recommends prudent restraint in words because rivals
notice only faults; his friend replies that hostile eyes see virtue as blemish,
a rose as thorn, and sunlight as dim.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/persian/project-gutenberg/gulistan-sadi-ross.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 2605-2618; Chapter IV, II
quote_or_summary: A merchant loses a thousand dinars and tells his son not to mention
it, explaining that secrecy avoids both the loss itself and neighbors' reproach.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/persian/project-gutenberg/gulistan-sadi-ross.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 2619-2635; Chapter IV, III
quote_or_summary: A learned youth stays silent for fear of shame if questioned beyond
his knowledge; an embedded anecdote tells of a Sufi repairing a sandal who is
ordered by a cavalry officer to shoe a horse.
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 2636-2648; Chapter IV, IV
quote_or_summary: A learned man cannot convince an atheist, throws down his shield,
flees, and says his learning is based on authorities the opponent rejects; the
maxim advises not answering such a person.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/persian/project-gutenberg/gulistan-sadi-ross.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: lines 2650-2661; Chapter IV, VI
quote_or_summary: Sahban Wabil is praised for speaking at length without repeating
a word in the same sense; the moral says pleasing speech should not be repeated
like a sweetmeat eaten once.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/persian/project-gutenberg/gulistan-sadi-ross.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: lines 2662-2670; Chapter IV, VII
quote_or_summary: A sage says a person shows ignorance by speaking before another
has finished, because a speech has a beginning and an end and the prudent wait
for silence.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/persian/project-gutenberg/gulistan-sadi-ross.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: lines 2671-2682; Chapter IV, VIII
quote_or_summary: Courtiers ask Husan Maimandi what Sultan Mahmud whispered about
a state affair; he refuses because the king communicated in confidence, and the
maxim warns not to risk one's head by revealing a king's secret.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/persian/project-gutenberg/gulistan-sadi-ross.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:8
type: summary
locator: lines 2683-2691; Chapter IV, IX
quote_or_summary: A Jewish old housekeeper recommends a house as faultless; the
narrator replies that its fault is having him as neighbor, though after his death
it may be worth more.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/persian/project-gutenberg/gulistan-sadi-ross.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:9
type: summary
locator: lines 2692-2713; Chapter IV, X
quote_or_summary: A poet praises a robber chief but is stripped and expelled; cold
and barked at by dogs, he cannot pick up a stone from the frozen ground and jokes
that villagers loose dogs and tie stones; the chief smiles, restores his clothes,
and adds a fur robe and money.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/persian/project-gutenberg/gulistan-sadi-ross.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: uncertain
notes: The extraction is based only on the supplied passage. Motif candidates are
broad ethical and wisdom patterns rather than mythic structures. No comparison
claims were made because the passage itself does not support a comparison to another
corpus or tradition.
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: |-
Available taxonomy reference used only where directly supported: wisdom. No available symbol taxonomy refs such as cave, fire, milk, mountain, serpent, tree, or water are literally present as central passage symbols.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:persian-sadi-gulistan-ross-gutenberg__l2587-l2713
passage_sha256=3df86c1bf1160173dfa9469d57ab977834ea2454eab6ff8c1419423d68d32bb3