batch.motif.greek-hesiod-homeric-hymns-evelyn-white-gutenberg-l1802-l1902
---
record_id: batch.motif.greek-hesiod-homeric-hymns-evelyn-white-gutenberg-l1802-l1902
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/hesiod-homeric-hymns-homerica.md
passage_locator:
label: INTRODUCTION / BIBLIOGRAPHY / HESIOD / HESIODS WORKS AND DAYS; lines 1802-1902
start: '1802'
end: '1902'
translation: Hesiod, the Homeric Hymns, and Homerica
notes: Generated from OpenAI Batch run motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority;
human review required.
canonical_text:
quote: ''
summary: The speaker admonishes Perses to listen to right instead of violence, describes
Zeus's law distinguishing human justice from animal predation, contrasts the easy
road to Badness with the difficult path to Goodness, and gives practical moral
advice about work, agriculture, wealth, sacrifice, neighbors, giving, witnesses,
women, household succession, and continual labor.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: The speaker addresses Perses and tells him to lay the teaching in his heart,
listen to right, and stop thinking of violence.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: Zeus is said to have ordained that animals devour one another because right
is not in them, while mankind has been given right.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: A truthful speaker of right receives prosperity from Zeus, while a false witness
who hurts Justice leaves his generation obscure.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: Badness is described as easy to get, near, and reached by a smooth road; Goodness
is separated from humans by sweat, a long steep rough path, and a top that must
be reached.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:5
text: Perses is instructed to work so that Hunger may hate him and Demeter may love
him and fill his barn with food.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:6
text: An idle man is compared to stingless drones that consume the labor of bees
without working.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:7
text: The passage says wealth seized violently, stolen through speech, or gained
dishonorably is temporary, and that the gods lower the offender's house.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:8
text: 'Several offenses are listed as provoking Zeus: wronging a suppliant or guest,
lying with a brother''s wife, offending fatherless children, and abusing an aged
father.'
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:9
text: Perses is told to sacrifice cleanly to the gods, burn rich meats, and propitiate
them with libations and incense at night and morning.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:10
text: The passage advises inviting a friend rather than an enemy and emphasizes
the practical value of a good neighbor.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: obs:11
text: The passage commands fair exchange with a neighbor by taking fair measure
and repaying with the same or better measure.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- id: obs:12
text: 'Give and Take are personified: Give is called good, while Take is called
bad and death-bringing.'
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
- id: obs:13
text: Even with a brother, the speaker advises smiling and getting a witness, because
both trust and mistrust can ruin men.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:12
- id: obs:14
text: A flaunting woman is described as coaxing, deceiving, and seeking the barn.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:13
- id: obs:15
text: The passage recommends an only son for feeding the father's house, while also
noting that Zeus can give wealth to a greater number and that more hands mean
more work and increase.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:14
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: speaker
description: The first-person instructor who addresses Perses and gives moral and
practical advice.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Perses
description: The addressee called foolish and high-born, urged to listen to right
and work.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Zeus / son of Cronos
description: The god who ordains law for humans, grants prosperity to truthful speakers,
and becomes angry at serious offenses.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:7
- ev:14
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: mankind / men
description: Humans are said to have received right from Zeus and are the subjects
of the advice on work, justice, wealth, and exchange.
role_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:5
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Justice
description: Justice is named as something injured by false witness and perjury.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Goodness
description: Goodness is described as hard to reach by a steep path but easier after
one reaches the top.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: Badness
description: Badness is described as easy to get, near, and reached by a smooth
road.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: Demeter
description: Demeter is called venerable and richly crowned, and is asked to love
Perses and fill his barn with food.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: fig:9
name_or_label: Hunger
description: Hunger is personified as something that may hate the worker and as
a companion of the sluggard.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: fig:10
name_or_label: gods / deathless gods / immortals
description: The gods are said to be angry with idlers, to lower the house of a
dishonorable wealth-seeker, to love workers, and to receive sacrifice and propitiation.
role_refs:
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:8
- id: fig:11
name_or_label: neighbor
description: The nearby person whose goodness or badness is treated as a blessing
or plague and with whom fair measure should be exchanged.
role_refs:
- role:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- ev:10
- id: fig:12
name_or_label: Give
description: Give is personified as a good girl in the discussion of generosity.
role_refs:
- role:10
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
- id: fig:13
name_or_label: Take
description: Take is personified as bad and death-bringing in the discussion of
taking and shamelessness.
role_refs:
- role:10
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
- id: fig:14
name_or_label: flaunting woman
description: A generic woman described as coaxing, cozening, deceiving, and seeking
the barn.
role_refs:
- role:11
evidence_refs:
- ev:13
roles:
- id: role:1
label: didactic adviser
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The speaker directly instructs Perses and says he will speak good sense.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- id: role:2
label: admonished addressee
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: Perses is repeatedly addressed and told to change his conduct, listen, and
work.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:4
- id: role:3
label: divine lawgiver and judge
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: Zeus ordains right for humans, grants prosperity to true speakers, and punishes
evil-doing.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:7
- id: role:4
label: injured moral power
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: False witness and perjury are said to hurt Justice.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:5
label: personified moral destination
assigned_to:
- fig:6
- fig:7
basis: Goodness and Badness are described as reachable by different roads or paths.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:6
label: agricultural benefactor
assigned_to:
- fig:8
basis: Demeter is invoked as one who may love Perses and fill his barn with food.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:7
label: personified want
assigned_to:
- fig:9
basis: Hunger is described as hating the worker and accompanying the sluggard.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: role:8
label: divine recipients and sanctioners
assigned_to:
- fig:10
basis: The gods respond to human work, wealth, and offerings.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:8
- id: role:9
label: reciprocal social counterpart
assigned_to:
- fig:11
basis: The neighbor is the person from whom one takes fair measure and to whom one
repays fairly.
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- id: role:10
label: personified exchange principle
assigned_to:
- fig:12
- fig:13
basis: Give and Take are personified in moral evaluation of giving and taking.
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
- id: role:11
label: deceptive household threat
assigned_to:
- fig:14
basis: The flaunting woman is described as deceiving and seeking the barn.
evidence_refs:
- ev:13
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: road to Badness and path to Goodness
literal_form: A smooth nearby road to Badness contrasted with a long, steep, rough
path to Goodness and a top to be reached.
associated_figures:
- fig:6
- fig:7
taxonomy_refs:
- ascent
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:2
label: sweat of brows
literal_form: Sweat placed by the gods between humans and Goodness.
associated_figures:
- fig:4
- fig:6
- fig:10
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:3
label: barn
literal_form: A household store filled with food by Demeter and targeted by Hunger
or deception.
associated_figures:
- fig:2
- fig:8
- fig:9
- fig:14
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:13
- id: sym:4
label: burned meats, libations, and incense
literal_form: Pure sacrifice, burned rich meats, libations, and incense offered
to the deathless gods.
associated_figures:
- fig:2
- fig:10
taxonomy_refs:
- sacrifice
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: sym:5
label: fair measure
literal_form: A measure taken from a neighbor and repaid with the same measure or
better.
associated_figures:
- fig:11
taxonomy_refs:
- sacred_exchange
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- id: sym:6
label: cask
literal_form: A cask whose contents are to be used freely at first opening and near
the end, but sparingly midway.
associated_figures:
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:15
- id: sym:7
label: stingless drones and bees
literal_form: Idle people compared to stingless drones eating the labor of bees
without working.
associated_figures:
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: instruction on right and divine law
summary: The speaker tells Perses to abandon violence, explains that Zeus gave right
to humans, and contrasts true speech with false witness.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:5
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: scene:2
label: two moral routes
summary: Badness is presented as near and easy by a smooth road, while Goodness
requires sweat and ascent along a steep rough path.
figure_refs:
- fig:2
- fig:6
- fig:7
- fig:10
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: scene:3
label: work, hunger, and Demeter's favor
summary: Perses is urged to work so Hunger stays away, Demeter fills the barn, and
idleness is avoided.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:8
- fig:9
- fig:10
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
- sym:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: scene:4
label: wrongful wealth and divine requital
summary: The passage warns against wealth taken violently or dishonorably and lists
offenses that bring Zeus's anger and requital.
figure_refs:
- fig:3
- fig:10
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: scene:5
label: ritual propitiation of the gods
summary: Perses is told to sacrifice purely, burn meats, and offer libations and
incense so the gods may be gracious.
figure_refs:
- fig:2
- fig:10
symbol_refs:
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: scene:6
label: neighborly reciprocity and giving
summary: 'The speaker advises social reciprocity: invite friends, value good neighbors,
repay fair measure, and prefer giving over taking.'
figure_refs:
- fig:11
- fig:12
- fig:13
symbol_refs:
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- ev:10
- ev:11
- id: scene:7
label: household cautions and succession
summary: The passage advises witnesses even with brothers, warns against a deceiving
woman seeking the barn, and discusses sons, household wealth, and work.
figure_refs:
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:14
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:12
- ev:13
- ev:14
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: divine judgment on justice and wrongdoing
taxonomy_refs:
- divine_judgment
basis: Zeus ordains right for humankind, rewards truthful speech, and punishes false
witness and other serious offenses.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:7
confidence: high
cautions: The passage is didactic rather than narrative, so the motif appears as
moral instruction rather than as an enacted mythic episode.
- id: motif:2
label: wisdom instruction to an admonished listener
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The speaker addresses Perses with direct counsel about right, labor, wealth,
neighbors, exchange, witnesses, and household management.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:10
- ev:12
confidence: high
cautions: The wisdom material is practical and ethical; it is not framed as esoteric
or secret knowledge.
- id: motif:3
label: difficult ascent toward Goodness
taxonomy_refs:
- ascent
basis: Goodness is reached by a long, steep, rough path ending at a top, in contrast
to the smooth nearby road to Badness.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
confidence: medium
cautions: The ascent is metaphorical and ethical, not a literal climb or cosmic
ascent.
- id: motif:4
label: sacrifice and propitiation of gods
taxonomy_refs:
- sacrifice
basis: The passage instructs Perses to sacrifice cleanly, burn rich meats, and offer
libations and incense so the gods will be gracious.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
confidence: high
cautions: No specific mythic sacrificial episode is narrated; the motif appears
as ritual prescription.
- id: motif:5
label: reciprocal exchange among humans and with gods
taxonomy_refs:
- sacred_exchange
basis: The passage emphasizes fair measure with neighbors, giving to givers, and
offerings to gods in expectation of divine graciousness.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:10
- ev:11
confidence: medium
cautions: Human reciprocity and divine propitiation are adjacent in the instruction,
but the passage does not explicitly formulate them as one unified exchange system.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: Works and Days ll. 274-280
quote_or_summary: Perses is told to listen to right and cease violence; Zeus ordained
that animals devour one another but gave right to humankind.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/hesiod-homeric-hymns-homerica.md
rights_note: Public domain translation; summarized.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: Works and Days ll. 280-285
quote_or_summary: Zeus gives prosperity to one who knows and speaks right, while
the false witness who hurts Justice leaves his generation obscure; the truthful
swearer's generation is better thereafter.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/hesiod-homeric-hymns-homerica.md
rights_note: Public domain translation; summarized.
- id: ev:3
type: quote
locator: Works and Days ll. 286-292
quote_or_summary: '"Badness can be got easily"; the path to Goodness is "long and
steep" and "rough at the first."'
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/hesiod-homeric-hymns-homerica.md
rights_note: Public domain translation; short quotation.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: Works and Days ll. 293-301
quote_or_summary: The speaker tells Perses to work so Hunger may hate him and Demeter
may love him and fill his barn with food.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/hesiod-homeric-hymns-homerica.md
rights_note: Public domain translation; summarized.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: Works and Days ll. 302-313
quote_or_summary: Gods and men are angry with idlers; the idle man is like stingless
drones eating the labor of bees, while work brings wealth and favor from the immortals.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/hesiod-homeric-hymns-homerica.md
rights_note: Public domain translation; summarized.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: Works and Days ll. 320-326
quote_or_summary: Wealth should not be seized violently or stolen through speech;
dishonorable gain is temporary and the gods lower the offender's house.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/hesiod-homeric-hymns-homerica.md
rights_note: Public domain translation; summarized.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: Works and Days ll. 327-334
quote_or_summary: The passage lists wrongs against a suppliant or guest, a brother's
bed, fatherless children, and an aged father, and says Zeus is angry and lays
heavy requital on the evildoer.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/hesiod-homeric-hymns-homerica.md
rights_note: Public domain translation; summarized.
- id: ev:8
type: summary
locator: Works and Days ll. 335-341
quote_or_summary: Perses is told to sacrifice to the gods purely and cleanly, burn
rich meats, and propitiate them with libations and incense at bedtime and at morning
light.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/hesiod-homeric-hymns-homerica.md
rights_note: Public domain translation; summarized.
- id: ev:9
type: summary
locator: Works and Days ll. 342-348
quote_or_summary: The passage advises calling a friend to a feast, leaving an enemy
alone, and especially calling a neighbor, since a good neighbor is a blessing
and a bad one a plague.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/hesiod-homeric-hymns-homerica.md
rights_note: Public domain translation; summarized.
- id: ev:10
type: summary
locator: Works and Days ll. 349-351
quote_or_summary: One should take fair measure from a neighbor and repay with the
same measure or better so that the neighbor will be sure in later need.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/hesiod-homeric-hymns-homerica.md
rights_note: Public domain translation; summarized.
- id: ev:11
type: summary
locator: Works and Days ll. 352-360
quote_or_summary: The passage rejects base gain, recommends reciprocal friendship
and giving, and personifies Give as good and Take as bad and death-bringing.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/hesiod-homeric-hymns-homerica.md
rights_note: Public domain translation; summarized.
- id: ev:12
type: summary
locator: Works and Days ll. 370-372
quote_or_summary: A promised wage to a friend should be fixed; even with a brother
one should smile and get a witness, because trust and mistrust both ruin men.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/hesiod-homeric-hymns-homerica.md
rights_note: Public domain translation; summarized.
- id: ev:13
type: summary
locator: Works and Days ll. 373-375
quote_or_summary: The passage warns not to let a flaunting woman coax and deceive,
saying she is after the barn and that trusting womankind means trusting deceivers.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/hesiod-homeric-hymns-homerica.md
rights_note: Public domain translation; summarized.
- id: ev:14
type: summary
locator: Works and Days ll. 376-380
quote_or_summary: The passage recommends an only son to feed the father's house,
but says Zeus can give wealth to more and that more hands mean more work and increase.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/hesiod-homeric-hymns-homerica.md
rights_note: Public domain translation; summarized.
- id: ev:15
type: summary
locator: Works and Days ll. 361-369
quote_or_summary: Accumulating small additions keeps hunger off; stored goods at
home are safer; one should take freely from a cask at opening and near the end,
but be sparing midway.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/hesiod-homeric-hymns-homerica.md
rights_note: Public domain translation; summarized.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: uncertain
notes: The passage is a didactic ethical section with clear figures, personifications,
ritual prescriptions, and moral images. Motif candidates are mostly thematic rather
than narrative. No comparison claims were entered because the passage itself does
not compare these materials to another tradition or corpus.
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 supplied passage and metadata. Taxonomy references are limited to the provided available taxonomy list.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:greek-hesiod-homeric-hymns-evelyn-white-gutenberg__l1802-l1902
passage_sha256=935590133c94509493ff612c157aa47fc67e3de6f3deac10ffb01050822371c7