batch.motif.sufi-rumi-mesnevi-book-1-redhouse-gutenberg-l12148-l12252
---
record_id: batch.motif.sufi-rumi-mesnevi-book-1-redhouse-gutenberg-l12148-l12252
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/mesnevi-book-1-redhouse.md
passage_locator:
label: PREFACE. / IN THE NAME OF GOD, / THE ALL-MERCIFUL, THE VERY-COMPASSIONATE.
/ VIII.; lines 12148-12252
start: '12148'
end: '12252'
translation: The Mesnevi
notes: Generated from OpenAI Batch run motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority;
human review required.
canonical_text:
quote: ''
summary: The Prophet advises ‘Ali to rely on God rather than personal courage, to
choose trust in God as the highest worship, and to obey a chosen Teacher without
objection, citing Moses’ journey and the guide’s troubling acts. The passage then
tells a tale of a Qazwīn bully who requests a blue lion tattoo but repeatedly
refuses the pain of having the tail, ears, and body made, until the artist abandons
the impossible design. The tale is applied as an exhortation to endure the painful
discipline that frees one from bodily domination and pride.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: The Prophet addresses ‘Ali as cousin and as the “Lion of the Truth,” while
warning him not to rely only on courage.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The Prophet tells ‘Ali to place trust in God’s aid, wisdom, and protection
from hidden enemies.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: The Prophet instructs ‘Ali to yield implicit obedience to a chosen Teacher
and not to question difficult events, with examples of a ship being destroyed
and an infant being choked.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: The passage says a saint’s help is God’s right hand and compares the protection
of an absent saint with angelic aid.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:5
text: The passage compares painful correction from a Teacher to a mirror being polished
by buffets.
category: object
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:6
text: Narrators report a Qazwīn practice of making tattooed designs on the breast,
arms, shoulder-blades, and similar places with needle-points and indigo.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:7
text: A Qazwīn bully asks an artist to tattoo a rampant lion between his shoulder-blades,
saying his luck resides in Leo, the lion-sign.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:8
text: When the artist begins tattooing the lion’s tail, the bully cries out from
pain and asks that the tail be omitted.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:9
text: When the artist begins the lion’s ear, the bully again cries out and asks
that the ears be omitted.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:10
text: When the artist begins the lion’s body, the bully asks that the body be left
out because the pain is unbearable.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: obs:11
text: The artist throws down the needles, indigo, and design, saying that no lion
can be tailless, headless, and bodiless.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- id: obs:12
text: The narrator exhorts the hearer to endure the needle’s pain in order to escape
the sting of conscience.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
- id: obs:13
text: The passage says those who conquer the body’s domination and kill pride’s
demon are honored in the spheres and have cosmic bodies as servants.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:12
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: The Prophet
description: Speaker who addresses ‘Ali and gives instruction about trust in God
and obedience to a Teacher.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: "‘Ali"
description: The Prophet’s cousin, called “Lion of the Truth,” who is instructed
to trust in God and obey a Teacher.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: God
description: The divine source of aid, wisdom, protection, and the hand that kills
and gives everlasting life.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Teacher
description: A chosen guide whose commands are to be obeyed even when events appear
troubling.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Moses
description: Named exemplar of journeying under guidance, used as a model for obedience.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: saint
description: A holy helper whose protection is compared with angelic aid and identified
with God’s right hand.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: Qazwīn bully
description: A man who asks for a lion tattoo but cannot bear the pain of the tattooing
process.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- ev:8
- ev:9
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: artist
description: Tattoo artist who attempts to make the lion design and then abandons
the work when the requested lion becomes impossible.
role_refs:
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- ev:8
- ev:9
- ev:10
- id: fig:9
name_or_label: lion design
description: The desired tattoo image, specified as a rampant blue lion associated
with Leo, but progressively deprived of tail, ears, and body.
role_refs:
- role:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- ev:8
- ev:9
- ev:10
roles:
- id: role:1
label: spiritual instructor
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The Prophet gives direct spiritual counsel to ‘Ali.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: role:2
label: admonished disciple-hero
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: "‘Ali is praised as a lion and hero but warned to rely on God rather than
courage alone."
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:3
label: divine protector and life-giver
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: God is described as source of aid, wisdom, protection, and the hand that
kills and makes living.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- id: role:4
label: obedience-demanding guide
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: The Teacher must be obeyed without questioning difficult events.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:5
label: scriptural exemplar of guided journey
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: Moses is invoked as an example for yielding obedience during a journey.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:6
label: intercessory protector
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: A saint’s protection is said to lead the traveler to safety and equal or
exceed angelic aid.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:7
label: pain-avoiding petitioner
assigned_to:
- fig:7
basis: The bully requests the tattoo but repeatedly refuses painful parts of the
process.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- ev:8
- ev:9
- id: role:8
label: craftsman and corrective speaker
assigned_to:
- fig:8
basis: The artist performs the tattooing and states that the requested mutilated
lion is impossible.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
- ev:9
- ev:10
- id: role:9
label: desired emblem made impossible by avoidance
assigned_to:
- fig:9
basis: The lion tattoo is requested as a brave design but becomes impossible when
its parts are refused.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:10
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: lion
literal_form: Lion title for ‘Ali and lion tattoo design requested by the Qazwīn
bully.
associated_figures:
- fig:2
- fig:7
- fig:9
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:6
- id: sym:2
label: sun of spirit
literal_form: God is likened to a sun of spirit whose light gives life to humans
and angels.
associated_figures:
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:3
label: hand of God
literal_form: God’s right hand above all hands; the saint’s help as God’s right
hand.
associated_figures:
- fig:3
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:4
label: mirror polishing
literal_form: A mirror receiving buffets so that it may be polished.
associated_figures:
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: sym:5
label: needle and indigo
literal_form: Tattooing instruments and pigment used to mark designs on the body.
associated_figures:
- fig:7
- fig:8
- fig:9
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:10
- id: sym:6
label: pride’s demon
literal_form: Demon of pride located in the earthly frame and to be killed by the
conqueror.
associated_figures: []
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:12
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Prophetic counsel to ‘Ali
summary: The Prophet tells ‘Ali to rely on God, take refuge in divine wisdom, and
choose trust in God as the best worship.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Obedience to the Teacher
summary: The Prophet counsels obedience to a chosen Teacher, comparing it with Moses’
journey and warning against questioning troubling acts such as destroying a ship
or choking an infant.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:4
- fig:5
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: scene:3
label: Saintly protection and polishing discipline
summary: The passage describes the saint’s protective power as God’s right hand
and urges the disciple not to resent correction, using the image of a mirror polished
by buffets.
figure_refs:
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:6
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: scene:4
label: Qazwīn tattoo request
summary: A Qazwīn bully asks an artist to tattoo a blue rampant lion between his
shoulder-blades because he associates his luck with Leo.
figure_refs:
- fig:7
- fig:8
- fig:9
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: scene:5
label: Rejected painful parts of the lion
summary: The tattooing causes pain; the bully successively asks that the lion’s
tail, ears, and body be omitted.
figure_refs:
- fig:7
- fig:8
- fig:9
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
- ev:9
- id: scene:6
label: Impossible lion and moral application
summary: The artist abandons the tools and declares such a lion impossible; the
narrator applies the tale to patience under painful discipline and conquest of
body and pride.
figure_refs:
- fig:7
- fig:8
- fig:9
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:5
- sym:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- ev:11
- ev:12
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: trust in divine wisdom over personal courage
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: "‘Ali is told not to rely on courage alone but to trust God’s wisdom and
aid."
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
confidence: high
cautions: The passage frames this as spiritual counsel rather than a narrative quest
episode.
- id: motif:2
label: obedience to the spiritual guide during incomprehensible trials
taxonomy_refs:
- initiation
- wisdom
basis: The disciple is told to obey a Teacher and not question events, explicitly
invoking Moses’ guided journey and difficult acts.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
confidence: high
cautions: The passage gives an allusive model rather than narrating the full Moses
episode.
- id: motif:3
label: painful discipline as polishing or purification
taxonomy_refs:
- initiation
basis: The passage tells the disciple not to resent buffets, compares them to polishing
a mirror, and later urges patience with the needle’s smart.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:11
confidence: high
cautions: The image is ethical and didactic; it should not be treated as a formal
rite unless corroborated elsewhere.
- id: motif:4
label: desired emblem impossible without enduring its making
taxonomy_refs:
- initiation
basis: The bully wants a lion tattoo but refuses the painful making of its parts,
producing an impossible lion.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- ev:8
- ev:9
- ev:10
confidence: medium
cautions: The motif is inferred from the parable’s structure and moral application;
the passage itself uses it for patience under discipline.
- id: motif:5
label: conquest of body and pride leading to exalted status
taxonomy_refs:
- annihilation_union
- mystical_quest
basis: Those freed from the body’s thrall and those who kill pride’s demon are described
as honored in the spheres and commanding sun and clouds.
evidence_refs:
- ev:12
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage does not explicitly use technical language of annihilation
or union; taxonomy match is approximate.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: The passage explicitly compares obedience to a present Teacher with Moses’
journey under a guide, including the guide’s destructive acts that should not
be questioned.
claim_level: same_function
target: Moses’ guided journey with the ship and infant episodes in the nearby scriptural
tradition alluded to by the passage
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: high
limitations: Only the allusion and examples are present in this passage; the full
source narrative is not included here.
- id: claim:2
claim: 'The Qazwīn tattoo tale functions as a parable for the same instructional
pattern as the Teacher passage: painful or troubling treatment must be endured
for spiritual formation.'
claim_level: same_function
target: obedience-and-discipline pattern within this passage
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:10
- ev:11
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: This is an internal functional comparison; it does not establish a
separate historical motif tradition.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: 12148-12182
quote_or_summary: The Prophet addresses ‘Ali as cousin and “Lion of the Truth,”
warns him not to trust courage alone, and urges reliance on God’s arm, omniscient
mind, divine wisdom, and aid.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/mesnevi-book-1-redhouse.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: 12183-12196
quote_or_summary: The Prophet tells ‘Ali to obey his chosen Teacher as Moses did
on a journey, to question nothing, and not to object even if the guide destroys
a ship or chokes an infant.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/mesnevi-book-1-redhouse.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: 12197-12215
quote_or_summary: The passage cites God’s right hand, says God’s hand kills and
gives everlasting life, and describes saintly protection as God’s right hand and
not less than angelic aid.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/mesnevi-book-1-redhouse.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:4
type: quote
locator: 12216-12224
quote_or_summary: "“How can a mirror polished be, unless it bear a shake?”"
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/mesnevi-book-1-redhouse.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short quotation.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: 12225-12229
quote_or_summary: Narrators report a Qazwīn practice of tattooing designs on the
body with needles and indigo.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/mesnevi-book-1-redhouse.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: 12230-12239
quote_or_summary: A Qazwīn bully asks an artist for a blue rampant lion tattoo between
his shoulder-blades, associating the lion with Leo and his luck.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/mesnevi-book-1-redhouse.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: 12240-12253
quote_or_summary: The artist begins with the lion’s tail; the man cries out from
pain and asks that the lion remain without a tail.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/mesnevi-book-1-redhouse.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:8
type: summary
locator: 12254-12261
quote_or_summary: The artist begins another part and says it is the lion’s ear;
the man asks that the lion be left without ears.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/mesnevi-book-1-redhouse.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:9
type: summary
locator: 12262-12268
quote_or_summary: The artist starts on another part and says he is making the lion’s
body; the man asks that the body be left out because the pain is unbearable.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/mesnevi-book-1-redhouse.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:10
type: summary
locator: 12269-12276
quote_or_summary: The artist throws down needles, indigo, and design, asking who
has ever seen a tailless, headless, bodiless lion.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/mesnevi-book-1-redhouse.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:11
type: quote
locator: 12277-12278
quote_or_summary: "“Have patience, thou too, brother, with thy needle’s smart.”"
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/mesnevi-book-1-redhouse.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short quotation.
- id: ev:12
type: summary
locator: 12279-12288
quote_or_summary: Those who have freed themselves from the body and killed pride’s
demon are described as honored in the spheres; sun and clouds serve them, and
the sun is said to have swerved from them.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/mesnevi-book-1-redhouse.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: medium
notes: Literal narrative extraction is strong. Motif labels are cautious because
the passage is didactic and uses allusive references rather than fully developed
mythic episodes.
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: '2026-04-29'
notes: |-
Used only supplied passage and metadata. Taxonomy references limited to available motif family list; no unavailable symbol taxonomy IDs were assigned.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:sufi-rumi-mesnevi-book-1-redhouse-gutenberg__l12148-l12252
passage_sha256=dc4b4324c49c483d54896177769af8ff7cc06ed1863eba3b600b407389132636