batch.motif.persian-sadi-gulistan-ross-gutenberg-l4553-l4571
---
record_id: batch.motif.persian-sadi-gulistan-ross-gutenberg-l4553-l4571
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/persian/project-gutenberg/gulistan-sadi-ross.md
passage_locator:
label: LXXVI / LXXVII / LXXVIII / LXXXI; lines 4553-4571
start: '4553'
end: '4571'
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: Two aphoristic passages state that catch, death, wealth-seeking, and misfortune
are governed by lot or fate; and that an envious man is hostile to Providence’s
gifts and already burdened by his own disposition.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: A fisherman catches no fish in the Tigris unless it is his lot.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: A fish does not die on dry land unless it is its fate.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: A wretched miser prowls over the world in quest of wealth while death is in
quest of him.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:4
text: The envious man is described as niggardly toward the gifts of Providence and
as an enemy of the innocent.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:5
text: The speaker says he met a dry-brained fellow wearing the robe of a dignified
person.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:6
text: The speaker warns the man not to wish misfortune on another, because the other’s
own ill-conditioned lot is already sufficient calamity.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:7
text: The passage says the misanthrope has an enemy close at his heels.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: fisherman
description: A fisherman in relation to catching fish in the Tigris.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: fish
description: A fish whose death on dry land is governed by fate.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: wretched miser
description: A miser prowling over the world in search of wealth while death seeks
him.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: death
description: Death is personified as pursuing the miser.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: envious man
description: A man described as envious, niggardly toward Providence’s gifts, and
hostile to the innocent.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: speaker
description: The first-person voice who reports meeting the envious man and addressing
him.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: misanthrope
description: A person whose own ill-conditioned lot is said to be calamity enough
and who has an enemy close at his heels.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
roles:
- id: role:1
label: fated actor
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The fisherman’s catch depends on his lot.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:2
label: fated victim
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The fish’s death on dry land depends on its fate.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:3
label: greedy seeker
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The miser is described as seeking wealth throughout the world.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:4
label: pursuer
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: Death is described as being in quest of the miser.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:5
label: envious antagonist
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: The man is called envious and an enemy of the innocent.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:6
label: moral speaker
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: The speaker addresses the envious man with admonitory counsel.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:7
label: self-burdened figure
assigned_to:
- fig:7
basis: The misanthrope’s own ill-conditioned lot is described as sufficient calamity.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: Tigris
literal_form: river
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:2
label: dry land
literal_form: dry land
associated_figures:
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:3
label: pelf
literal_form: wealth or money sought by the miser
associated_figures:
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:4
label: robe of a dignified person
literal_form: robe
associated_figures:
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:5
label: gifts of Providence
literal_form: gifts attributed to Providence
associated_figures:
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:6
label: enemy close at his heels
literal_form: enemy at the heels
associated_figures:
- fig:7
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Fate governing catch and death
summary: The passage states that the fisherman’s catch and the fish’s death depend
on lot or fate.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Miser pursued by death
summary: The miser seeks wealth throughout the world while death seeks him.
figure_refs:
- fig:3
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:3
label: Admonition to the envious man
summary: The speaker meets an envious man in dignified clothing and tells him not
to wish misfortune on another, because such a person’s own condition is already
calamity enough.
figure_refs:
- fig:5
- fig:6
- fig:7
symbol_refs:
- sym:4
- sym:5
- sym:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: fate or lot governing human and animal outcomes
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The fisherman’s catch and the fish’s death are explicitly said to depend
on lot or fate.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
confidence: high
cautions: No specific supplied taxonomy family directly names fate, so no taxonomy
reference is assigned.
- id: motif:2
label: death pursuing the wealth-seeker
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The miser searches for wealth while death is personified as searching for
him.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
confidence: high
cautions: The passage is aphoristic rather than a developed narrative of death encounter
or afterlife.
- id: motif:3
label: moral wisdom against envy and ill-will
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The speaker gives moral counsel that the envious or misanthropic person is
already punished by his own disposition.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
confidence: high
cautions: This is an ethical aphorism rather than a mythic episode.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: LXXVIII; lines 4553-4558
quote_or_summary: The passage says a fisherman catches no fish in the Tigris unless
it is his lot; a fish does not die on dry land unless it is fate; and a miser
seeks wealth while death seeks him.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/persian/project-gutenberg/gulistan-sadi-ross.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized evidence.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: LXXXI; lines 4563-4571
quote_or_summary: The passage describes an envious man as begrudging Providence’s
gifts and hostile to the innocent; the speaker meets such a man in dignified clothing
and warns him not to wish misfortune on one whose own condition is already calamity
enough.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/persian/project-gutenberg/gulistan-sadi-ross.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized evidence.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: uncertain
notes: Literal extraction is straightforward. Motif labeling is limited because
the passage is aphoristic and only one supplied taxonomy family, wisdom, clearly
applies.
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: |-
No comparison claims were added because the passage itself does not explicitly support comparison beyond general motif categorization.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:persian-sadi-gulistan-ross-gutenberg__l4553-l4571
passage_sha256=f681cdf545c5db9a060319a2ea0c73c81266b7c6be4e537fa6d54cc09eeeb274