batch.motif.persian-sadi-gulistan-ross-gutenberg-l4535-l4550
---
record_id: batch.motif.persian-sadi-gulistan-ross-gutenberg-l4535-l4550
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/persian/project-gutenberg/gulistan-sadi-ross.md
passage_locator:
label: LXVII / LXXIV / LXXVI / LXXVII; lines 4535-4550
start: '4535'
end: '4550'
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 advises that divine provision and destiny govern food, life,
and death. It says that what is not designed cannot be reached, while what is
ordained can be attained anywhere. It cites Alexander reaching chaos yet failing
to drink the water of immortality.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: An addressed person is described as going in quest of food and is told to
sit down in order to have something to eat.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: An addressed person is described as being sought by death and is told not
to go on because life cannot be carried along.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: The passage states that God of Majesty and Glory will provide daily bread
whether a person exerts himself or not.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:4
text: The passage states that even entering the mouth of a tiger or lion would not
result in being devoured unless destiny ordained it.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:5
text: The passage states that what was not designed cannot be reached by the hand,
and what was ordained can be attained in any situation.
category: other
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:6
text: Alexander is said to have gone as far as chaos, but after toil he did not
drink the water of immortality.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: person in quest of food
description: A person addressed as going in quest of food.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: person sought by death
description: A person addressed as one whom death is in quest of.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: God of Majesty and Glory
description: The divine provider of daily bread in the passage.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: tiger or lion
description: Predatory animals whose mouth a person might enter without being devoured
unless destiny ordained it.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Alexander
description: Alexander is said to have reached chaos but not to have drunk the water
of immortality.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
roles:
- id: role:1
label: food seeker
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The figure is addressed as going in quest of food.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:2
label: mortal pursued by death
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The figure is addressed as one whom death seeks and who cannot carry life
along.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:3
label: provider
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: God is said to provide daily bread regardless of human exertion.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:4
label: potential devourer limited by destiny
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: The tiger or lion cannot devour unless destiny ordains it.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:5
label: unsuccessful seeker of immortality
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: Alexander reaches chaos after toil but does not drink the water of immortality.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: daily bread
literal_form: food / daily bread
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:2
label: death in quest
literal_form: death seeking a person
associated_figures:
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:3
label: mouth of a tiger or lion
literal_form: mouth of a tiger or lion
associated_figures:
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:4
label: chaos
literal_form: chaos
associated_figures:
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs:
- chaos
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: sym:5
label: water of immortality
literal_form: water of immortality
associated_figures:
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Teaching on provision and mortality
summary: The speaker tells food-seekers and mortals pursued by death that provision
and life are not secured by movement or exertion, because God provides and destiny
governs outcomes.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Danger limited by destiny
summary: The passage presents the example of entering the mouth of a tiger or lion
and not being devoured unless destiny ordains it.
figure_refs:
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: scene:3
label: Alexander and the water of immortality
summary: Alexander is described as reaching chaos after toil but failing to drink
the water of immortality.
figure_refs:
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:4
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: providence over human effort
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The passage says daily bread is provided by God whether one exerts oneself
or not.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
confidence: medium
cautions: The taxonomy reference is broad; the passage is aphoristic rather than
narrative myth.
- id: motif:2
label: destiny determines life and death
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The passage states that a predator cannot devour a person unless destiny
ordains it, and that only what is ordained can be attained.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
confidence: high
cautions: This is a moral-philosophical maxim in the passage, not a developed mythic
episode.
- id: motif:3
label: failed quest for immortality
taxonomy_refs:
- mystical_quest
basis: Alexander reaches chaos after toil but does not drink the water of immortality.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
confidence: high
cautions: The passage gives only a brief allusion and does not narrate the larger
Alexander tradition.
- id: motif:4
label: journey to chaos boundary
taxonomy_refs:
- chaos
basis: Alexander is said to have gone as far as chaos.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage does not define chaos or describe the journey beyond the brief
allusion.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: The Alexander allusion can be compared cautiously to a failed quest-for-immortality
pattern, since the passage explicitly links toil, reaching chaos, and failure
to drink the water of immortality.
claim_level: same_motif
target: failed quest for immortality / mystical_quest motif family
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: The passage is a compressed exemplum; it does not provide details of
route, helpers, tests, or the wider Alexander romance tradition.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 4535-4542
quote_or_summary: The speaker addresses one seeking food and one sought by death,
saying God will provide daily bread whether or not one exerts oneself.
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 4542-4544
quote_or_summary: A person could enter the mouth of a tiger or lion and not be devoured
unless destiny ordained it.
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 4547-4548
quote_or_summary: What was not designed cannot be reached, while what was ordained
can be attained in any situation.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/persian/project-gutenberg/gulistan-sadi-ross.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:4
type: quote
locator: lines 4548-4550
quote_or_summary: Alexander got as far as chaos, but after all this toil he drank
not the water of immortality.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/persian/project-gutenberg/gulistan-sadi-ross.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short excerpt.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: medium
notes: Literal extraction is straightforward. Motif labels are cautious because
the passage is aphoristic and allusive, especially for the Alexander material.
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 supplied passage and metadata were used. No external Alexander tradition details were added.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:persian-sadi-gulistan-ross-gutenberg__l4535-l4550
passage_sha256=fd48b1163b71110c7f419f09dcdc93a0276d26dd7bedbdd6f72858d6f6f5fe89