batch.motif.sufi-rumi-mesnevi-book-1-redhouse-gutenberg-l7474-l7564
---
record_id: batch.motif.sufi-rumi-mesnevi-book-1-redhouse-gutenberg-l7474-l7564
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/mesnevi-book-1-redhouse.md
passage_locator:
label: OF QONYA. / PREFACE. / IN THE NAME OF GOD, / THE ALL-MERCIFUL, THE VERY-COMPASSIONATE.;
lines 7474-7564
start: '7474'
end: '7564'
translation: The Mesnevi
notes: Generated from OpenAI Batch run motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority;
human review required.
canonical_text:
quote: ''
summary: A lion and his interlocutors debate trust in Providence, caution, human
effort, divine decree, gratitude, compulsion, and spiritual responsibility. The
passage uses examples including Pharaoh and Moses, an infant carried by his father,
a ladder, tools, the Tree of Life, highwaymen, hell-fire, sowing, and harvest.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: The lion consents on condition that the others perform their part.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The lion says he has been harmed by human stratagems, by the snake and scorpion,
and most of all by fleshly lust within himself.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: The lion cites Ahmed’s saying that believers are not caught twice by the same
lie.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:4
text: The interlocutors urge the lion to dismiss caution and trust Providence to
fill his maw.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:5
text: The lion replies that trust in God should be joined with utmost skill and
work.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:6
text: The lion cites the instruction to trust in God and bind the camel’s shank.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:7
text: The interlocutors argue that human stratagems can trap the planner, and they
give Pharaoh’s failed attempt to avoid Moses as an example.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:8
text: The interlocutors describe creation as the Lord’s children and household,
fed by God’s mercy and rain.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:9
text: The lion says the Lord sets a ladder before human feet and that one must mount
step by step.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:10
text: The lion compares hands to spades placed in a slave’s hand by a master, implying
an unspoken command to work.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:11
text: The lion says compulsion is like sleeping by the way and urges the hearer
not to sleep until reaching the Tree of Life.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:12
text: The lion says those who trust in God’s power should first sow seed and then
await the harvest.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: the lion
description: A speaking lion who consents conditionally and argues for trust in
God combined with effort, caution, gratitude, and responsibility.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:6
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: the lion’s interlocutors
description: A speaking group answering the lion and urging reliance on Providence
rather than caution or striving.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Ahmed / the Prophet
description: Authority cited for sayings about not being deceived twice and about
trusting God while binding the camel.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: God / Providence / the Lord
description: Divine figure whose decree, providence, command, sight, mercy, power,
and judgment are repeatedly invoked.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:8
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Pharaoh
description: Ruler used as an example of one who killed many infants to avoid danger
while Moses was under his own roof.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Moses
description: The feared child who, according to the example, was beneath Pharaoh’s
roof despite Pharaoh’s killings of infants.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: infant and father
description: An infant unable to grasp or walk is described as riding on his father’s
neck and thereby running.
role_refs:
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: master and slave
description: A master places a spade in a slave’s hand as an unspoken sign of work
to be done.
role_refs:
- role:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: fig:9
name_or_label: Compulsionist
description: A person addressed as sleeping by the way and warned not to sleep before
reaching the goal.
role_refs:
- role:10
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: fig:10
name_or_label: highwaymen
description: Dangerous figures among whom the creed of compulsion is compared to
sleep.
role_refs:
- role:11
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
roles:
- id: role:1
label: speaking animal disputant
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The lion speaks in response to the group and gives extended instruction.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:6
- id: role:2
label: teacher of effort with trust
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The lion teaches that trust in God should not neglect means, work, gratitude,
and sowing before harvest.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:6
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: role:3
label: advocates of reliance on Providence
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: They urge dismissal of caution and trust in Providence, using examples to
support their view.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: role:4
label: prophetic authority
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: Ahmed or the Prophet is cited for sayings guiding belief and conduct.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- id: role:5
label: providential divine ruler and judge
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: The passage attributes decree, providence, command, mercy, sight, power,
and judgment to God.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:8
- id: role:6
label: failed avoider of destiny
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: Pharaoh kills infants to avoid danger, while Moses remains beneath his roof.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:7
label: hidden feared child
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: Moses is the one Pharaoh feared, yet he is described as beneath Pharaoh’s
own roof.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:8
label: dependency example
assigned_to:
- fig:7
basis: The infant’s inability is contrasted with movement achieved by being carried
on the father’s neck.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:9
label: work-command example
assigned_to:
- fig:8
basis: The master’s placing of a spade in the slave’s hand is used as an implied
command to work.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: role:10
label: warned negligent traveler
assigned_to:
- fig:9
basis: The Compulsionist is told not to sleep until the goal is reached.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: role:11
label: roadside peril
assigned_to:
- fig:10
basis: Highwaymen appear in the comparison of compulsion’s creed to sleeping in
danger.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: snake and scorpion
literal_form: venomous creatures that sting the lion
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs:
- serpent
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:2
label: bound camel
literal_form: camel’s shank bound while trusting God
associated_figures:
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:3
label: fryingpan and fire
literal_form: image of fleeing one danger and falling into fire
associated_figures:
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs:
- fire
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: sym:4
label: life-giving rain
literal_form: rain sent upon the earth to feed creatures
associated_figures:
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: sym:5
label: ladder
literal_form: ladder set before the feet, climbed step after step to the roof
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: sym:6
label: spade in the hand
literal_form: spade placed in a slave’s hand by a master
associated_figures:
- fig:8
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: sym:7
label: Tree of Life
literal_form: fruitful Tree of Life reached as the goal, with cool breeze and falling
fruits
associated_figures:
- fig:9
taxonomy_refs:
- tree
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: sym:8
label: hell-fire
literal_form: hell-fire into which ungrateful people are flung after death
associated_figures:
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs:
- fire
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: sym:9
label: seed and harvest
literal_form: seed sown before waiting for harvest
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Lion and interlocutors debate caution and Providence
summary: The lion consents conditionally, recalls dangers, and the group urges him
to abandon caution and rely on Providence.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: scene:2
label: Trust joined with practical means
summary: The lion affirms trust in God but says it should be joined with skill,
work, and the binding of the camel.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: scene:3
label: Examples for reliance on God’s providence
summary: The interlocutors argue that stratagems may backfire, citing Pharaoh and
Moses, human impaired sight, the infant on the father’s neck, and God’s care for
creation.
figure_refs:
- fig:2
- fig:4
- fig:5
- fig:6
- fig:7
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: scene:4
label: Ladder, tools, responsibility, and union with God
summary: The lion says God provides a ladder, feet, hands, and commands, so one
should work, seek God, and be joined to Him.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:4
- fig:8
symbol_refs:
- sym:5
- sym:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: scene:5
label: Warning against compulsion and spiritual sleep
summary: The lion warns that claiming compulsion is like sleeping before reaching
the Tree of Life and like sleeping among highwaymen.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:9
- fig:10
symbol_refs:
- sym:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: scene:6
label: Judgment and sowing before harvest
summary: The lion warns of curse and hell-fire for ingratitude and concludes that
trust in God should be accompanied by sowing before awaiting harvest.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:8
- sym:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: Trust in divine providence balanced by human effort
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The passage stages a debate over Providence, caution, means, work, gratitude,
sowing, and harvest.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:6
- ev:8
confidence: high
cautions: The motif is doctrinal and didactic rather than a full narrative episode.
- id: motif:2
label: Ascent by ladder toward a higher goal
taxonomy_refs:
- ascent
- mystical_quest
basis: The lion says the Lord sets a ladder before human feet and that one must
mount step by step to the roof.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
confidence: medium
cautions: The ascent is metaphorical instruction, not a literal journey described
in the passage.
- id: motif:3
label: Tree of Life as goal with nourishing fruit
taxonomy_refs:
- sacred_tree_axis
- mystical_quest
basis: The hearer is warned not to sleep until reaching the fruitful Tree of Life,
whose leaves rustle and fruits fall for food and future use.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage gives the Tree of Life as an image of attainment, with limited
cosmological detail.
- id: motif:4
label: Failed attempt to avert destiny
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The interlocutors describe Pharaoh killing infants to avoid danger while
Moses, whom he feared, was under his own roof.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
confidence: high
cautions: The passage alludes to the story briefly and uses it as an exemplum.
- id: motif:5
label: Creation as divine household or children
taxonomy_refs:
- divine_parent_child
basis: The interlocutors quote the idea that all creation is as children of the
Lord and describe creatures as fed by divine mercy.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
confidence: medium
cautions: The relationship is expressed as a metaphor within an argument about Providence.
- id: motif:6
label: Divine judgment after death
taxonomy_refs:
- divine_judgment
basis: The lion says ungrateful people are cursed on earth and after death are flung
to hell-fire.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
confidence: high
cautions: The judgment image is brief and embedded in moral exhortation.
- id: motif:7
label: Spiritual negligence as sleep among dangers
taxonomy_refs:
- mystical_quest
basis: The lion compares the creed of compulsion to sleeping by the way and among
highwaymen before reaching the goal.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
confidence: medium
cautions: This is an allegorical warning rather than an enacted travel episode.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: The passage explicitly invokes the Moses-and-Pharaoh infancy tradition as
an example of a ruler’s failed attempt to prevent a feared destiny.
claim_level: same_motif
target: Moses infancy / Pharaoh’s slaughter of infants tradition
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: The excerpt only alludes to the tradition and does not narrate the
full birth or rescue story.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 7474-7482
quote_or_summary: The lion consents conditionally, describes harms from human stratagems,
snake, scorpion, and inner fleshly lust, and cites Ahmed on not being deceived
twice.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/mesnevi-book-1-redhouse.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary used.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 7483-7490
quote_or_summary: The interlocutors call the lion sagacious, ask him to dismiss
caution, and urge trust in Providence rather than striving against it.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/mesnevi-book-1-redhouse.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary used.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 7491-7502
quote_or_summary: The lion affirms trust in God but teaches that one must also use
skill, work God’s will, bind the camel, and not neglect means.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/mesnevi-book-1-redhouse.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary used.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 7503-7525
quote_or_summary: The interlocutors argue that stratagems backfire, cite fleeing
one danger into another, Pharaoh’s slaughter of infants while Moses was beneath
his roof, God’s superior sight, and the infant carried by the father.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/mesnevi-book-1-redhouse.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary used.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: lines 7526-7533
quote_or_summary: The interlocutors describe humans as estranged from paradise and
creation as the household or children of the Lord, whom God can feed by mercy
and rain.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/mesnevi-book-1-redhouse.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary used.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: lines 7534-7548
quote_or_summary: The lion says God sets a ladder before the feet, gives hands as
tools like spades, shows work, commands responsibility, and invites seeking and
union with Him.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/mesnevi-book-1-redhouse.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary used.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: lines 7549-7558
quote_or_summary: The lion says gratitude expands power, treating favor as compulsion
removes power, and compulsion is like sleep before reaching the fruitful Tree
of Life.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/mesnevi-book-1-redhouse.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary used.
- id: ev:8
type: summary
locator: lines 7559-7564
quote_or_summary: The lion compares compulsion’s creed to sleep among highwaymen,
warns against faulting God’s signs, mentions curse and hell-fire, and says to
sow seed before awaiting harvest.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/mesnevi-book-1-redhouse.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary used.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: medium
notes: Literal dialogue and images are clear. Motif labels involving ascent, Tree
of Life, and mystical quest are interpretive because the passage uses them didactically
and metaphorically.
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: |-
Only supplied passage text and metadata were used. No external taxonomy IDs beyond the provided lists were added.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:sufi-rumi-mesnevi-book-1-redhouse-gutenberg__l7474-l7564
passage_sha256=39574af0358542787d23d8d58dea536cbd10fea9077d6f0cd75545df2ddbec4b