batch.motif.persian-sadi-gulistan-ross-gutenberg-l4288-l4309
---
record_id: batch.motif.persian-sadi-gulistan-ross-gutenberg-l4288-l4309
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/persian/project-gutenberg/gulistan-sadi-ross.md
passage_locator:
label: XXXIV / XXXVI / XXXVII / XXXVIII; lines 4288-4309
start: '4288'
end: '4309'
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: The passage presents maxims contrasting patience with hurry through a desert-travel
example, then counsels silence for the ignorant through images of the tongue,
an empty nut, and a fool trying to teach an ass to speak. A wise man advises the
fool to learn silence from the ass instead.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: Patience is said to accomplish its object, while hurry is said to lead to
ruin.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: In a desert example, a deliberate man outstrips a man who had hurried on.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: A fast steed is described as breaking down in speed, while a camel-driver
continues with his beast to the journey’s end.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:4
text: Silence is described as the best thing for an ignorant man.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:5
text: The tongue is described as capable of making a man contemptible through abuse.
category: object
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:6
text: Levity in a nut is presented as a sign that it is empty.
category: object
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:7
text: A fool spends his time trying to instruct an ass.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:8
text: A wise man tells the fool that the brute cannot learn speech from him and
that he should learn silence from the brute.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:9
text: The passage advises arranging speech with judgment or sitting silent like
a brute.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: deliberate man
description: A man in the desert who proceeds deliberately and outstrips the hurried
man.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: hurried man
description: A man in the desert who hurries on but is outstripped.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: wing-footed steed
description: A fast steed that is broken down by its speed.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: camel-driver
description: A driver who jogs on with his beast to the end of the journey.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: camel-driver’s beast
description: The beast with which the camel-driver continues to the journey’s end.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: ignorant man
description: A man for whom silence is described as beneficial.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: fool
description: A fool who attempts to instruct an ass and is advised to learn silence.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: ass
description: The animal that the fool attempts to instruct; it is described as unable
to learn speech from him.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:9
name_or_label: wise man
description: A man who admonishes the fool and advises him to learn silence from
the ass.
role_refs:
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
roles:
- id: role:1
label: patient or deliberate completer of a journey
assigned_to:
- fig:1
- fig:4
basis: The deliberate traveler outstrips the hurried one, and the camel-driver continues
to the end of the journey.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:2
label: hasty traveler
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The hurried man is outstripped in the desert example.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:3
label: over-fast mount that fails
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The steed is broken down by its speed.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:4
label: steady journey animal
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: The camel-driver’s beast continues with him to the journey’s end.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:5
label: person needing silence
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: Silence is described as the best thing for an ignorant man.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:6
label: misdirected instructor
assigned_to:
- fig:7
basis: The fool attempts to instruct an ass and devotes his time to the attempt.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:7
label: animal model of silence
assigned_to:
- fig:8
basis: The wise man says the brute cannot learn speech and that the fool should
learn silence from it.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:8
label: admonishing wise counselor
assigned_to:
- fig:9
basis: The wise man questions the fool and gives corrective advice.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: desert journey
literal_form: desert travel in which a deliberate man outstrips a hurried man
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:2
label: broken fast steed
literal_form: wing-footed steed broken down by speed
associated_figures:
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:3
label: steady camel journey
literal_form: camel-driver jogging on with his beast to the journey’s end
associated_figures:
- fig:4
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:4
label: guarded tongue
literal_form: tongue in the mouth, to be kept under watch when eloquence is lacking
associated_figures:
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:5
label: empty nut
literal_form: a nut whose levity indicates emptiness
associated_figures: []
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:6
label: silent ass
literal_form: ass or brute from whom the fool is told to learn silence
associated_figures:
- fig:7
- fig:8
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Deliberate traveler and hurried traveler in the desert
summary: The passage contrasts patience and hurry by reporting that a deliberate
man in the desert outstripped a hurried man, and by contrasting a broken fast
steed with a camel-driver who reaches the journey’s end.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Counsel to keep silence
summary: The passage states that silence benefits the ignorant and warns that abusive
speech makes a person contemptible.
figure_refs:
- fig:6
symbol_refs:
- sym:4
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: scene:3
label: Fool teaching an ass
summary: A fool tries to teach an ass; a wise man tells him the animal cannot learn
speech and that he should instead learn silence from it.
figure_refs:
- fig:7
- fig:8
- fig:9
symbol_refs:
- sym:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: patience outlasts haste
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The passage explicitly states that patience accomplishes its object and illustrates
this through the deliberate traveler, the failed fast steed, and the steady camel-driver.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
confidence: high
cautions: Classified as a wisdom motif because the passage is aphoristic and didactic;
no broader narrative comparison is asserted.
- id: motif:2
label: silence as wisdom for the ignorant
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The passage says silence is best for an ignorant man and advises either judged
speech or silence.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
confidence: high
cautions: The motif is extracted at the level of moral instruction rather than mythic
narrative.
- id: motif:3
label: fool corrected by animal example
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: A fool tries to teach an ass, but a wise man reverses the lesson by telling
him to learn silence from the animal.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
confidence: medium
cautions: The animal functions in a didactic anecdote; the passage does not present
the ass as supernatural or speaking.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 4288-4294
quote_or_summary: Section XXXVII says patience accomplishes its object, while hurry
leads to ruin; in the desert, the deliberate man outstrips the hurried one, the
fast steed breaks down, and the camel-driver reaches the journey’s end.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/persian/project-gutenberg/gulistan-sadi-ross.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary generated from provided passage.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 4296-4300
quote_or_summary: Section XXXVIII says silence is best for an ignorant man, counsels
keeping watch over the tongue, and compares levity in a nut to emptiness.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/persian/project-gutenberg/gulistan-sadi-ross.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary generated from provided passage.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 4300-4305
quote_or_summary: A fool spends his time trying to instruct an ass; a wise man asks
what he is doing and says the brute cannot learn speech from him, so he should
learn silence from it.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/persian/project-gutenberg/gulistan-sadi-ross.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary generated from provided passage.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 4306-4309
quote_or_summary: The passage says a man who does not reflect before speaking will
answer improperly, and advises arranging speech with judgment or sitting silent
like a brute.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/persian/project-gutenberg/gulistan-sadi-ross.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary generated from provided passage.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: high
comparison_claims: high
notes: The passage is short and explicitly didactic. Motif extraction is limited
to wisdom patterns directly present in the text; no external comparisons are 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: |-
Used only the provided passage and metadata. Available taxonomy supported the general motif family 'wisdom'; no listed symbol taxonomy refs directly applied.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:persian-sadi-gulistan-ross-gutenberg__l4288-l4309
passage_sha256=b34f2affc3cc372927e768a90ddc3653d67fc4310bfe73e3ec84b6943571936b