batch.motif.persian-sadi-gulistan-ross-gutenberg-l4838-l4880
---
record_id: batch.motif.persian-sadi-gulistan-ross-gutenberg-l4838-l4880
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/persian/project-gutenberg/gulistan-sadi-ross.md
passage_locator:
label: CVIII / CXIII / CXVII / CXVIII; lines 4838-4880
start: '4838'
end: '4880'
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 gives aphoristic counsel about fearless advice to kings, proper
civil duties, judicial corruption, and a wise man's explanation of why the fruitless
evergreen cypress is called free, ending with counsel to be generous when able
and independent when not.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: A person fit to counsel kings is described as one who does not fear losing
his head and does not expect reward.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: Gold placed at the person's feet and an Indian sword brandished over his head
are said to leave him alike indifferent to hope and fear.
category: object
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: The king is assigned the task of displacing extortioners, the police superintendent
guarding against murderers, and the cazi deciding quarrels and disputes.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: The passage says no two complainants refer to the cazi while content to abide
by justice.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:5
text: A refractory revenue-payer is said to require coercion by the collector.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:6
text: A cazi who can accept five cucumbers as a bribe is said to confirm a right
to ten fields of melons.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:7
text: Questioners ask a wise man why, among many lofty and shady trees created by
God, only the fruitless cypress is called free.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:8
text: The wise man replies that other trees have produce and appointed seasons,
becoming fresh or withered, while the cypress is always flourishing.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:9
text: The wise man says the Tigris will continue to flow through Baghdad after the
race of Khalifs is extinct.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:10
text: The final counsel says to be liberal as the date-tree if one's hand has plenty,
but to be a free man like the cypress if one has nothing to give.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: fearless counselor to kings
description: A person proper to offer counsel to kings because he neither fears
loss of life nor seeks reward.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: king
description: A ruler who is to displace extortioners and may receive counsel.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: cazi or judge
description: A judge assigned to decide quarrels and disputes, and also described
as susceptible to bribery.
role_refs:
- role:3
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: collector
description: An official who coerces a refractory person to pay revenue.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: wise man
description: A wise man who answers a question about the cypress and gives counsel
about transitory things, generosity, and freedom.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: questioners
description: Unnamed people who ask the wise man about the cypress being called
free.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: Most High God
description: The creator of many lofty and umbrageous trees, as described by the
questioners.
role_refs:
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
roles:
- id: role:1
label: fearless adviser
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: He is described as fit to counsel kings because reward and danger do not
move him.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:2
label: ruler responsible for removing extortioners
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The passage says it belongs to the king to displace extortioners.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:3
label: arbiter of disputes
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The cazi is assigned to decide quarrels and disputes.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:4
label: corruptible judge
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The cazi is described as accepting cucumbers as a bribe and granting rights
to fields of melons.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:5
label: coercive revenue official
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: The collector must coerce a refractory person to pay revenue.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:6
label: teacher of moral analogy
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: The wise man explains the cypress and applies it to conduct and independence.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: role:7
label: seekers of explanation
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: They ask the wise man about the mystery of the cypress being called free.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:8
label: creator of trees
assigned_to:
- fig:7
basis: The questioners say God created the many celebrated trees.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: cypress as free evergreen
literal_form: cypress tree that bears no fruit and is always flourishing
associated_figures: []
taxonomy_refs:
- tree
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: sym:2
label: date-tree as liberality
literal_form: date-tree
associated_figures: []
taxonomy_refs:
- tree
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: sym:3
label: Tigris as continuing flow
literal_form: Dijlah or Tigris flowing through Baghdad
associated_figures: []
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: sym:4
label: gold and sword as reward and danger
literal_form: heaps of gold and an Indian sword
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:5
label: cucumbers and melon fields as bribe and reward
literal_form: five cucumbers and ten fields of melons
associated_figures:
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: fearless counsel before power
summary: A counselor to kings is described as unmoved by either reward or mortal
threat.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: public duties and legal compulsion
summary: The passage names duties of king, police superintendent, cazi, and revenue
collector in relation to extortion, murder, disputes, and revenue.
figure_refs:
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: scene:3
label: bribed judgment
summary: The cazi is satirically described as accepting a small bribe and granting
a much larger claim.
figure_refs:
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: scene:4
label: wise explanation of the free cypress
summary: Questioners ask why the cypress alone is called free; the wise man explains
its constant flourishing and applies it to religious independents and free conduct.
figure_refs:
- fig:5
- fig:6
- fig:7
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: fearless wisdom offered to kings
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The passage presents the proper royal counselor as indifferent to reward
and danger while resolved in divine unity.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
confidence: high
cautions: This is an ethical aphorism rather than a developed narrative episode.
- id: motif:2
label: corrupt judge bought by small gift
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The cazi is mocked as one who will accept a small bribe and grant a disproportionate
legal right.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
confidence: high
cautions: No broader mythic taxonomy beyond wisdom satire is directly supported.
- id: motif:3
label: evergreen tree as model of freedom from transience
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The wise man interprets the cypress as always flourishing and likens it to
free religious independents, with counsel not to fix the heart on transitory things.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
confidence: high
cautions: Although a tree symbol is central, the passage does not describe an axis
mundi or sacred tree cosmology.
- id: motif:4
label: generosity when abundant and independence when lacking
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The final maxim counsels being liberal like the date-tree when one has plenty
and free like the cypress when one has nothing to give.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
confidence: high
cautions: The motif is proverbial and ethical, not a narrative myth pattern.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: CXVII; lines 4838-4845
quote_or_summary: A proper counselor to kings neither fears losing his head nor
seeks reward; gold at his feet and an Indian sword over his head leave him indifferent
because he is firm in divine unity.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/persian/project-gutenberg/gulistan-sadi-ross.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized from supplied passage.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: CXVIII; lines 4846-4856
quote_or_summary: The king should displace extortioners, the police superintendent
guard against murderers, and the cazi decide disputes; just claims should be paid
willingly, while a refractory revenue-payer may be coerced by the collector.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/persian/project-gutenberg/gulistan-sadi-ross.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized from supplied passage.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: CXIX; lines 4857-4862
quote_or_summary: The cazi is satirized as requiring sweets and as a judge who,
for five cucumbers as a bribe, will confirm a right to ten fields of melons.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/persian/project-gutenberg/gulistan-sadi-ross.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized from supplied passage.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: CXXI; lines 4866-4875
quote_or_summary: Questioners ask a wise man why only the fruitless cypress is called
free among the lofty, shady trees created by God; he answers that other trees
depend on produce and seasons, while the cypress is always flourishing, like religious
independents.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/persian/project-gutenberg/gulistan-sadi-ross.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized from supplied passage.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: CXXI; lines 4875-4880
quote_or_summary: The wise man counsels not fixing the heart on what is transitory,
says the Tigris will flow through Baghdad after the Khalifs are extinct, and advises
being liberal like the date-tree when one has plenty and free like the cypress
when one has nothing to give.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/persian/project-gutenberg/gulistan-sadi-ross.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized from supplied passage.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: uncertain
notes: The ethical and symbolic content is explicit, especially in the cypress passage.
Motif labels are limited to the supplied taxonomy and the passage's aphoristic
wisdom genre. No external comparison claims were added.
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 supplied passage and metadata. The supplied passage locator label appears inconsistent with the section numbers in the passage text; this was noted without altering the provided locator.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:persian-sadi-gulistan-ross-gutenberg__l4838-l4880
passage_sha256=e309f9ed088b914a220f21a782b379dee12c0ae76b49316939c9083e3717c0d9