batch.motif.persian-sadi-gulistan-ross-gutenberg-l823-l889
---
record_id: batch.motif.persian-sadi-gulistan-ross-gutenberg-l823-l889
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/persian/project-gutenberg/gulistan-sadi-ross.md
passage_locator:
label: THE GULISTAN / SA'DI / INTRODUCTION / CHAPTER I; lines 823-889
start: '823'
end: '889'
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: the service of princes is, like a voyage at sea, profitable but hazardous
summary: The narrator returns from pilgrimage to Mecca and meets a man ruined by
court accusations and imprisonment. He recalls warning that service to rulers
is risky and closes with admonitory verses. In a second anecdote, the narrator
intercedes for a pious fraternity whose endowment was withdrawn after a member's
misconduct; after a humble audience with a prince, the stipend and arrears are
restored.
language: English
quote_policy: quoted
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: The narrator accompanies friends on a journey to Hijaz and returns from pilgrimage
to Mecca.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: A man comes out two stages to meet the narrator and appears wretched, wearing
the garb of dervishes.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: The man reports that enemies accused him of malpractice, the king did not
investigate, friends abandoned his defense, and he suffered persecution, imprisonment,
release, and confiscation of hereditary property.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: obs:4
text: 'The narrator says he had warned that serving princes resembles a sea voyage:
it may bring treasure or death by the waves.'
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:5
text: The narrator ends the first encounter with verses about fetters resulting
from ignored counsel and about not putting a finger into a scorpion's hole unless
one can endure the sting.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:6
text: The narrator describes himself as a companion of a holy fraternity marked
by piety and probity.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:7
text: An eminent prince respects the fraternity and has assigned it an endowment,
but the support is withdrawn after one member acts unworthily of dervishes.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:8
text: The narrator attempts to visit the great man to restore his friends' maintenance,
but the porter initially refuses him entrance rudely.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:9
text: Attendants bring the narrator respectfully into the prince's presence, offer
the highest seat, and the narrator humbly takes the lowest seat.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:10
text: The narrator asks what fault caused the patron to despise his servants and
invokes God as one who sees failings yet continues support.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: obs:11
text: The prince accepts the sentiment and orders the fraternity's stipend continued
and arrears paid.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: obs:12
text: On leaving, the narrator thanks the prince, performs obeisance, refers to
pilgrims traveling far to the Caabah, and adds that people do not throw stones
at a fruitless tree.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: narrator
description: First-person speaker who travels, admonishes, intercedes, and speaks
before the prince.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:2
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:4
- ev:7
- ev:9
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: ruined court servant or former official
description: A man who meets the narrator in wretched outward condition and dervish
garb after accusations, imprisonment, release, and confiscation.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: king
description: Ruler said by the ruined man not to have investigated the accusation
against him.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: party of friends or pilgrims
description: Friends who accompany the narrator on the journey to Hijaz; the safe
return of pilgrims is later reported.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: holy fraternity
description: A brotherhood whose manners are described as pious and whose minds
are disciplined by probity.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: eminent prince or great man
description: A powerful patron who initially withdraws support from the fraternity
but later restores the stipend and arrears.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:9
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: porter
description: Doorkeeper who opposes the narrator's entrance and turns him away rudely.
role_refs:
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: favorite attendants
description: Attendants of the great man who bring the narrator respectfully into
the prince's presence.
role_refs:
- role:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: fig:9
name_or_label: one member of the fraternity
description: A member who perhaps commits an act unworthy of the character of dervishes,
leading to loss of support.
role_refs:
- role:10
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
roles:
- id: role:1
label: pilgrim or traveler
assigned_to:
- fig:1
- fig:4
basis: The passage says the narrator accompanies friends to Hijaz and returns from
pilgrimage to Mecca.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:2
label: admonishing counselor
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The narrator recalls warning against the hazards of royal service and gives
cautionary verses.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: role:3
label: fallen accused man
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: He is described as wretched, accused, abandoned, imprisoned, released, and
deprived of hereditary property.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: role:4
label: non-investigating ruler
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The man's report says the king would not investigate the truth of the charge.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:5
label: pious dependent brotherhood
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: The fraternity is described as pious and dependent on an endowment.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: role:6
label: patron ruler
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: The prince assigns, withdraws, and later restores financial support.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:9
- id: role:7
label: humble intercessor
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The narrator seeks access to the great man, takes the lowest seat, and pleads
for the fraternity's allowance.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
- ev:9
- id: role:8
label: gatekeeper
assigned_to:
- fig:7
basis: The porter blocks the narrator's entrance.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: role:9
label: court facilitators
assigned_to:
- fig:8
basis: The attendants usher the narrator respectfully into the great man's presence.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: role:10
label: erring member
assigned_to:
- fig:9
basis: One of the fraternity perhaps commits conduct unworthy of dervishes.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: pilgrimage destination
literal_form: Mecca and the Caabah
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:10
- id: sym:2
label: sea voyage risk image
literal_form: voyage at sea, shore, gold, wave, dead body on beach
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: sym:3
label: fetters
literal_form: fetters on feet
associated_figures:
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: sym:4
label: scorpion hole
literal_form: finger placed into a scorpion's hole and pain of its sting
associated_figures:
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: sym:5
label: prince's gate
literal_form: gate of a prince, vizir, or lord with dog and doorkeeper
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:6
- fig:7
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: sym:6
label: lowest and highest seats
literal_form: highest seat offered; lowest seat chosen
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:6
- fig:8
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: sym:7
label: fruit-bearing tree
literal_form: a tree that bears fruit and is therefore stoned
associated_figures:
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs:
- tree
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: return from pilgrimage and meeting with the ruined man
summary: After returning from the pilgrimage to Mecca, the narrator is met by a
wretched man in dervish garb who reports accusations, abandonment, imprisonment,
release, and confiscation.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: scene:2
label: counsel on royal service
summary: The narrator recalls his earlier warning that service to princes is like
a dangerous sea voyage, then closes with verses about fetters and a scorpion's
hole.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
- sym:3
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: scene:3
label: withdrawn patronage and blocked gate
summary: A pious fraternity loses its support after one member's misconduct, and
the narrator's attempt to approach the patron is initially blocked by a rude porter.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:5
- fig:6
- fig:7
- fig:9
symbol_refs:
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: scene:4
label: humble audience and restored stipend
summary: Attendants bring the narrator into the prince's presence; he takes the
lowest seat, pleads by invoking God's continued support despite human failings,
and the prince restores the allowance and arrears.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:5
- fig:6
- fig:8
symbol_refs:
- sym:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:9
- id: scene:5
label: farewell analogy of pilgrimage and fruitful tree
summary: The narrator thanks the prince, performs obeisance, and uses the example
of pilgrims traveling to the Caabah and the image of a fruit-bearing tree to ask
tolerance for petitioners.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:6
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: pilgrimage journey and return
taxonomy_refs:
- departure
- return
basis: The narrator travels to Hijaz and returns from pilgrimage to Mecca; later
the Caabah is used as an image of a destination reached from afar.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:10
confidence: medium
cautions: The pilgrimage frames the anecdotes rather than forming a detailed sacred
journey narrative.
- id: motif:2
label: wisdom warning about perilous service to rulers
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The narrator explicitly states that service of princes is profitable but
hazardous, comparing it to a sea voyage ending either in treasure or death.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
confidence: high
cautions: This is a didactic courtly warning rather than a full mythic quest episode.
- id: motif:3
label: ignored counsel leading to bondage and pain
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The narrator says the man's fetters resulted from not listening to counsel
and warns against putting a finger into a scorpion's hole unless one can endure
the sting.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
confidence: high
cautions: The bondage and scorpion are proverbial images within moral instruction.
- id: motif:4
label: fall from favor and fickleness of worldly friends
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The ruined man says enemies accused him, the king did not investigate, and
former friends abandoned him when fortune turned against him.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
confidence: high
cautions: The passage reports social and political reversal, not supernatural downfall.
- id: motif:5
label: humble intercession restores patronage
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The narrator humbly enters the prince's presence, pleads for the fraternity,
and the prince orders the stipend and arrears restored.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:9
confidence: medium
cautions: The restoration is courtly and ethical; no explicit miraculous intervention
is described.
- id: motif:6
label: divine forbearance as model for human generosity
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The narrator argues that God can discern failings and continue support, prompting
the prince to restore aid.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
confidence: high
cautions: The passage presents a theological moral argument, not an extended divine-judgment
scene.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: 823-826
quote_or_summary: The narrator accompanies friends to Hijaz and returns from pilgrimage
to Mecca.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/persian/project-gutenberg/gulistan-sadi-ross.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary supplied.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: 826-831
quote_or_summary: A man comes two stages to meet the narrator, appearing wretched
and dressed like a dervish; he says enemies accused him and the king did not investigate.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/persian/project-gutenberg/gulistan-sadi-ross.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary supplied.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: 831-840
quote_or_summary: The man says friends abandoned him, persecution followed, and
after news of the pilgrims' safe return he was released from heavy durance with
hereditary property confiscated.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/persian/project-gutenberg/gulistan-sadi-ross.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary supplied.
- id: ev:4
type: quote
locator: 840-847
quote_or_summary: The narrator warned that service of princes is like a voyage at
sea, profitable but hazardous, ending either in treasure or death by a wave.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/persian/project-gutenberg/gulistan-sadi-ross.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short quotation/close summary used.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: 847-855
quote_or_summary: The narrator refrains from further reproach and recites verses
about finding fetters after ignoring counsel and not putting a finger into a scorpion's
hole unless able to endure its sting.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/persian/project-gutenberg/gulistan-sadi-ross.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary supplied.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: 857-864
quote_or_summary: The narrator is companion to a holy fraternity; an eminent prince
had endowed it, but support was lost after a member's unworthy act.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/persian/project-gutenberg/gulistan-sadi-ross.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary supplied.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: 864-870
quote_or_summary: The narrator tries to wait on the great man to restore his friends'
support, but the porter blocks him; a saying compares the prince's gate to a place
where dog and doorkeeper seize a beggar.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/persian/project-gutenberg/gulistan-sadi-ross.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary supplied.
- id: ev:8
type: summary
locator: 871-878
quote_or_summary: The great man's attendants usher the narrator in respectfully,
offer the highest seat, and the narrator takes the lowest seat in humility.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/persian/project-gutenberg/gulistan-sadi-ross.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary supplied.
- id: ev:9
type: summary
locator: 879-884
quote_or_summary: The narrator speaks of the fraternity's fault and says God discerns
failings yet continues support; the prince orders the stipend continued and arrears
paid.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/persian/project-gutenberg/gulistan-sadi-ross.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary supplied.
- id: ev:10
type: summary
locator: 884-889
quote_or_summary: The narrator thanks the prince, performs obeisance, mentions pilgrims
traveling far to the Caabah, and says nobody throws a stone at a tree that bears
no fruit.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/persian/project-gutenberg/gulistan-sadi-ross.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary supplied.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: high
notes: Extraction is based only on the supplied English passage. Motif labels are
cautious and mostly didactic because the passage is anecdotal moral prose with
proverbial imagery.
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 does not itself support an external historical or cross-traditional comparison.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:persian-sadi-gulistan-ross-gutenberg__l823-l889
passage_sha256=1c7b8cedbc51eb7c3b0abf417d270a2fdda3a192af730ad62ca99f6f3ae10fed