batch.motif.islamic-koran-sale-gutenberg-l240-l285
---
record_id: batch.motif.islamic-koran-sale-gutenberg-l240-l285
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
passage_locator:
label: MY LORD, / A SKETCH / OF THE / LIFE OF GEORGE SALE.; lines 240-285
start: '240'
end: '285'
translation: The Koran (Al-Qur'an)
notes: Generated from OpenAI Batch run motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority;
human review required.
canonical_text:
quote: ''
summary: The passage defends George Sale against accusations about his treatment
of Mohammed and Islam, describes his role in a learning society founded in 1736,
recounts his death from fever later that year, and notes his family, personal
qualities, and valuable manuscript library.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: Sale is described as considering Mohammed's character calmly while censuring
his imposture and giving praise where the author thinks praise is deserved.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: Sale's stated rules for the conversion of Mohammedans are described as sensible
and humane, and contrasted with coercive instruments such as the sword and fagot.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: The passage denies that Sale placed Islamism on an equality with Christianity.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: Sale is quoted as comparing Mohammed's respectability not with Moses or Jesus
Christ, but with figures such as Minos or Numa.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:5
text: In 1736 a society for the encouragement of learning was established, and Sale
was one of its founders and first committee members.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:6
text: The society met weekly and decided which works should be printed at its expense
or with its assistance.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:7
text: Sale died of a fever on 13 November 1736 after an illness of eight days and
was buried at St. Clement Danes.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:8
text: Sale left a wife and five children and was under forty years old at death.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:9
text: Sale's library is described as valuable and as containing rare and beautiful
manuscripts in Persian, Turkish, Arabic, and other languages.
category: object
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: George Sale
description: Biographical subject defended by the author; founder of a learning
society; died in 1736; owner of a valuable manuscript library.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:2
- role:3
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Mohammed
description: Discussed by Sale as a religious founder whose imposture is censured
while some points are praised.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Moses
description: Named as one whose laws, in the quoted passage, came really from heaven.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Jesus Christ
description: Named as one whose laws, in the quoted passage, came really from heaven.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Minos
description: Named as an ancient pagan lawgiver used as a point of comparison in
Sale's quoted statement.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Numa
description: Named as an ancient pagan lawgiver used as a point of comparison in
Sale's quoted statement.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: Society for the encouragement of learning
description: A society established in 1736 with noblemen and eminent literary men;
Sale was a founder and first committee member.
role_refs:
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: Sale's family
description: Sale's family is said to have consisted of a wife and five children.
role_refs:
- role:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
roles:
- id: role:1
label: biographical subject
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The passage recounts Sale's conduct, society activity, death, family, and
library.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: role:2
label: founder and committee member
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Sale is said to be one of the founders of the learning society and appointed
to its first committee.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:3
label: deceased scholar
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Sale's death from fever and burial are described, along with his library
and manuscripts.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: role:4
label: manuscript owner
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: His library is described as valuable and containing rare manuscripts in several
languages.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: role:5
label: religious founder discussed by Sale
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The passage discusses Sale's assessment of Mohammed and quotes Sale on Mohammed
giving his Arabs a religion.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- id: role:6
label: heavenly lawgiver in quoted comparison
assigned_to:
- fig:3
- fig:4
basis: The quote distinguishes Moses and Jesus Christ as figures whose laws came
really from heaven.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:7
label: ancient pagan lawgiver in quoted comparison
assigned_to:
- fig:5
- fig:6
basis: Minos and Numa are named as comparanda for Mohammed in the quoted passage.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:8
label: learned institution
assigned_to:
- fig:7
basis: The society was established for the encouragement of learning and managed
printing decisions.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:9
label: surviving family
assigned_to:
- fig:8
basis: The passage says Sale was suddenly snatched from a family consisting of a
wife and five children.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: sword and fagot
literal_form: Coercive instruments named as imagined tools for extirpating heresy.
associated_figures: []
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:2
label: rare multilingual manuscripts
literal_form: Persian, Turkish, Arabic, and other manuscripts in Sale's library.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Defense of Sale's treatment of Mohammed and Islam
summary: The author describes Sale as critical of Mohammed's imposture but fair
in limited praise, denies that Sale equated Islam with Christianity, and cites
Sale's comparison of Mohammed with ancient lawgivers rather than with Moses or
Jesus Christ.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:5
- fig:6
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: scene:2
label: Sale and the society for learning
summary: A society for encouraging learning is established in 1736; Sale is a founder
and first committee member, and the committee determines which works to print
or assist.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:7
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: scene:3
label: Sale's death and estate of learning
summary: Sale dies suddenly of fever in 1736, leaving a wife and five children;
the passage later notes his personal qualities and valuable multilingual manuscript
library.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:8
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
candidate_motifs: []
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 240-246
quote_or_summary: Sale is described as considering Mohammed with a calm philosophical
spirit, censuring imposture and inventions while giving praise on points considered
worthy.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 246-252
quote_or_summary: Sale's rules for converting Mohammedans are described as sensible
and humane; the author contrasts them with those who favor the sword and fagot,
and denies that Sale placed Islamism on equality with Christianity.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:3
type: quote
locator: lines 252-264
quote_or_summary: Sale says Mohammed deserves respect not equal to Moses or Jesus
Christ, whose laws came from heaven, but comparable to Minos or Numa.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short quotation summarized/paraphrased.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 270-279
quote_or_summary: In 1736 a society for the encouragement of learning was founded;
Sale was a founder and first committee member, and the committee managed decisions
about assisted printing and pricing.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: lines 280-285
quote_or_summary: Sale died of fever on 13 November 1736 after eight days of illness,
was buried at St. Clement Danes, and left a wife and five children while under
forty.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: lines 285
quote_or_summary: Sale is described as having a healthy constitution, a communicative
mind, and a valuable library with rare and beautiful Persian, Turkish, Arabic,
and other manuscripts.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: high
comparison_claims: high
notes: The passage is biographical and polemical rather than mythic or narrative
scripture; no candidate mythological motifs or comparison claims are extracted.
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 taxonomy motif refs were assigned because the passage does not present a mythological motif pattern; extracted symbols are literal objects/images in the prose, not asserted mythic symbols.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:islamic-koran-sale-gutenberg__l240-l285
passage_sha256=51e25c833fd235e4f166a763e831d5c5f8171ebde2badee3357762e218498e3d