batch.motif.sufi-rumi-mesnevi-book-1-redhouse-gutenberg-l7777-l7886
---
record_id: batch.motif.sufi-rumi-mesnevi-book-1-redhouse-gutenberg-l7777-l7886
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 7777-7886
start: '7777'
end: '7886'
translation: The Mesnevi
notes: Generated from OpenAI Batch run motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority;
human review required.
canonical_text:
quote: ''
summary: The beasts ask the hare to explain his plan against the lion. The hare
argues that secrets and counsel must be handled carefully and cites prophetic
examples of indirect counsel. The narrative then says the hare conceals his plan,
delays, and goes to the hungry lion, who rages at being deceived. A didactic passage
warns against smooth words as snares, contrasts worldly sandbanks with holy men
from whom waters of religion flow, praises seekers of wisdom, describes spiritual
limits through Gabriel and Ahmed, rebukes sloth and fatalistic compulsion, and
evokes Buraq as a chariot of light for one wounded in God's path. The passage
then urges inward faith, warns against lustful distortion of scripture, and begins
an exemplum of a fly that imagines itself a phoenix.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: The beasts decide to hear the hare out and ask him to set forth his plan for
dealing with the lion.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The beasts state that deliberation and counsel lead to safer decisions and
cite a prophetic saying about taking counsel before judging.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: The hare replies that a secret is not for everyone and lists going, gold,
and the path one seeks as matters not to speak of often.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: The hare says that the Prophet sought counsel covertly and used parables so
that enemies could hear without understanding his purpose.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:5
text: The narrator says the hare conceals his counsel from his companions, waits
for some hours, and then goes to the lion.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:6
text: The lion is hungry, impatient, and enraged at the delay, accusing the other
animals of cheating him with smooth speech.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:7
text: The passage compares smooth paths, complimentary messages, and civility to
traps, hooks, snares, and sandbanks where a life-bark may be wrecked.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:8
text: The passage contrasts a holy man of God, described as sand from which religious
waters flow, with a worldling described as a dry sandbank.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:9
text: A seeker after wisdom is called a fount of wisdom, and a memory filled with
Qur'anic lore is called a hidden tablet.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:10
text: The mind is made to speak like Gabriel to Ahmed, saying that one step beyond
the due limit would leave it ashes and that not everyone may see God face to face.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:11
text: The passage says slothful abandonment of endeavor leads to the creed of compulsion,
and it compares compulsion to setting a broken bone or binding a torn muscle.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:12
text: For one who truly loses a leg in God's fight, Buraq is said to come as a chariot
of light, and the formerly burden-bearing religious person is then carried and
raised above the planets.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: obs:13
text: The passage warns that lust weakens faith, bolts the door against faith, and
leads a person to distort the Qur'an's meaning.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: obs:14
text: The passage begins an example of a fly that thinks highly of itself and, after
hearing of falcons, calls itself the phoenix of the age.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: the beasts
description: A collective group that asks the hare to explain his plan concerning
the lion.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: the hare / puss
description: The animal who argues for secrecy, conceals his plan, delays, and goes
to the lion.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: the lion
description: A hungry and impatient beast in the vale who roars in rage over the
delay.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: the Prophet
description: An authoritative prophetic figure cited for taking counsel and for
covertly seeking counsel through parables; later also cited as saying his mission
is to preach truth.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:7
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: holy man of God
description: A person described as lost to himself, rapt in union with the Lord,
from whom crystal waters of religion flow.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: seeker after wisdom
description: A seeker described as a fount of wisdom who shuns worldly humanities.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: Gabriel
description: A figure whose speech to Ahmed is invoked as a comparison for the mind
knowing its limit.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: Ahmed
description: The addressee in the invoked speech of Gabriel.
role_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: fig:9
name_or_label: God / Lord / Great King
description: The divine figure whose path, face, precepts, and judgments are referenced.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
- ev:8
- ev:9
- id: fig:10
name_or_label: one wounded in God's fight
description: A generic person who truly loses a leg in God's fight and is promised
Buraq as a chariot of light.
role_refs:
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: fig:11
name_or_label: the fly
description: A silly fly that becomes self-important and calls itself the phoenix
of the age.
role_refs:
- role:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- id: fig:12
name_or_label: noble falcons
description: Birds heard of by the fly, described as scorning lure and cage.
role_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
roles:
- id: role:1
label: council-seeking group
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The beasts request an explanation of the plan and praise deliberation and
counsel.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:2
label: secret strategist
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The hare argues that secrets should not be widely disclosed and conceals
his plan before approaching the lion.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: role:3
label: hungry powerful adversary
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The lion is hungry, enraged, and the figure with whom the beasts must deal.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:4
- id: role:4
label: prophetic authority on counsel and mission
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: The Prophet is cited for counsel-taking, indirect speech, and a mission to
preach truth.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:7
- id: role:5
label: source of wisdom or religious nourishment
assigned_to:
- fig:5
- fig:6
basis: The holy man gives forth waters of religion, and the seeker after wisdom
is called a fount of wisdom.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: role:6
label: speaker of spiritual limit
assigned_to:
- fig:7
basis: Gabriel is invoked as saying that one step beyond the due limit would reduce
him to ashes.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: role:7
label: divine source and judge
assigned_to:
- fig:9
basis: The passage names the Lord and God as the goal of union, the face not everyone
can see, the source of precepts, and the source of judgments.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: role:8
label: obedient sufferer in sacred struggle
assigned_to:
- fig:10
basis: The person who loses a leg in God's fight is then carried by Buraq and accepted
after carrying God's precepts.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: role:9
label: false self-exalter
assigned_to:
- fig:11
basis: The fly, though intoxicated without wine, thinks itself high and calls itself
a phoenix.
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: secret counsel
literal_form: secret plan and indirect counsel
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: sym:2
label: mirror
literal_form: a mirror that grows dull if conversed with too closely
associated_figures:
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:3
label: going, gold, and path
literal_form: 'three matters not to speak of often: going, gold, and the path one
seeks'
associated_figures:
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:4
label: trap, hook, and snare
literal_form: deadly trap, hook, and snare associated with smooth words and complimentary
messages
associated_figures: []
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: sym:5
label: sandbank and wrecked life-bark
literal_form: civility as a sandbank on which life's bark may be wrecked
associated_figures: []
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: sym:6
label: religious water
literal_form: spring, crystal waters, and waters of religion flowing from the holy
man
associated_figures:
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: sym:7
label: salvation port
literal_form: the way to salvation's port
associated_figures:
- fig:5
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: sym:8
label: hidden tablet
literal_form: a memory replete with Qur'anic lore called a hidden tablet
associated_figures:
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: sym:9
label: ashes at the limit
literal_form: ashes resulting from stepping beyond the due limit
associated_figures:
- fig:7
- fig:8
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: sym:10
label: broken bone and splints
literal_form: compulsion compared to setting a broken bone or putting a leg in splints
associated_figures: []
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: sym:11
label: Buraq chariot of light
literal_form: Buraq as a chariot of light coming to one wounded in God's fight
associated_figures:
- fig:9
- fig:10
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: sym:12
label: planets above and below
literal_form: the person formerly affected by the planets rests above the planets
and rules them
associated_figures:
- fig:10
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: sym:13
label: moon cleaving
literal_form: the scriptural sign that the moon was cloven left and right
associated_figures: []
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: sym:14
label: lust as door-bolt
literal_form: lust as a bolt that closes the door against faith
associated_figures: []
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: sym:15
label: fly, falcon, and phoenix
literal_form: a fly that hears of noble falcons and names itself the phoenix of
the age
associated_figures:
- fig:11
- fig:12
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: The beasts ask for the hare's plan
summary: The beasts ask the hare to explain his stratagem for dealing with the lion
and praise deliberation, while the hare answers by stressing secrecy and indirect
counsel.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: scene:2
label: The hare conceals his counsel and goes to the lion
summary: 'The narrator resumes the animal tale: the hare keeps his plan from the
other beasts, delays for hours, and then goes to the hungry lion.'
figure_refs:
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: scene:3
label: Warning against smooth deception and dry worldliness
summary: The lion complains of being deceived by smooth words, and the passage develops
a warning about traps, snares, sandbanks, and the contrast between dry worldlings
and holy men from whom religious water flows.
figure_refs:
- fig:3
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:4
- sym:5
- sym:6
- sym:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: scene:4
label: Wisdom, spiritual limit, and divine path
summary: The passage praises the seeker after wisdom, invokes Gabriel's speech to
Ahmed about spiritual limits, criticizes slothful compulsion, and describes the
reward of one wounded in God's path through Buraq and elevation above the planets.
figure_refs:
- fig:6
- fig:7
- fig:8
- fig:9
- fig:10
symbol_refs:
- sym:8
- sym:9
- sym:10
- sym:11
- sym:12
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: scene:5
label: Faith, lust, scripture, and the fly's pride
summary: The passage urges inward faith, warns that lust bars faith and distorts
scripture, then begins a parable-like example of a fly that imagines itself a
phoenix.
figure_refs:
- fig:9
- fig:11
- fig:12
symbol_refs:
- sym:13
- sym:14
- sym:15
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- ev:10
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: Counsel and secrecy as wisdom
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The beasts praise deliberation and the hare argues that counsel and secrets
must be managed carefully, with prophetic examples of indirect counsel.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
confidence: high
cautions: This is a didactic motif rather than a complete narrative action sequence.
- id: motif:2
label: Secret stratagem against a powerful predator
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The hare conceals his plan from the other animals, delays, and goes alone
to the hungry lion after the beasts ask for a stratagem.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:4
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage does not yet reveal or enact the hare's plan, so the exact
trick or outcome cannot be extracted here.
- id: motif:3
label: Spiritual guide as hidden water in barren sand
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
- mystical_quest
basis: The passage contrasts a dry worldly sandbank with the holy man from whom
crystal waters of religion flow and who guides seekers toward salvation's port.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
confidence: high
cautions: The image is explicitly didactic and metaphorical within the passage.
- id: motif:4
label: Annihilation of self in union with the Lord
taxonomy_refs:
- annihilation_union
basis: The holy man is described as lost to himself and rapt in union with his Lord.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
confidence: high
cautions: The motif appears in a brief doctrinal image rather than in a developed
narrative episode.
- id: motif:5
label: Sacred path rewarded by luminous transport and elevation
taxonomy_refs:
- ascent
- sacrifice
- mystical_quest
basis: One who truly loses a leg in God's fight is promised Buraq as a chariot of
light and is later described as resting above the planets after carrying out divine
orders.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage presents this as spiritual instruction; the literal or visionary
status of the imagery is not specified.
- id: motif:6
label: False self-exaltation of a small creature
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The fly becomes self-important and calls itself the phoenix of the age after
hearing of noble falcons.
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
confidence: high
cautions: Only the opening of the fly example is present in this passage.
- id: motif:7
label: Scriptural sign tested by faith and lust
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The passage invokes the moon's cleaving, urges renewal of faith in the heart,
and warns that lust bars faith and distorts the Qur'an.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage uses the sign didactically; it does not narrate the sign itself.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 7777-7784
quote_or_summary: The beasts ask the hare to explain his plan for dealing with the
lion and state that deliberation and counsel are wise, citing a prophetic saying
about counsel before judgment.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/mesnevi-book-1-redhouse.md
rights_note: Public domain source metadata; summarized.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 7785-7802
quote_or_summary: The hare says a secret is not for everyone, warns against speaking
too much of going, gold, and the path sought, and says the Prophet sought counsel
covertly through parables so enemies would not grasp his purpose.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/mesnevi-book-1-redhouse.md
rights_note: Public domain source metadata; summarized.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 7803-7808
quote_or_summary: 'The narrator resumes the tale: the hare conceals his counsel
from his comrades, lets some hours pass, and then goes to the lion.'
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/mesnevi-book-1-redhouse.md
rights_note: Public domain source metadata; summarized.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 7809-7816
quote_or_summary: The lion is impatient, hungry, howling, tearing sprays, and roaring
that the other animals have cheated him with plausible smooth speech.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/mesnevi-book-1-redhouse.md
rights_note: Public domain source metadata; summarized.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: lines 7817-7828
quote_or_summary: The passage warns that smooth words can be traps, hooks, and snares,
then contrasts a holy man, from whom crystal waters of religion flow, with a dry
worldly sandbank, and urges seeking wisdom from the pure-minded.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/mesnevi-book-1-redhouse.md
rights_note: Public domain source metadata; summarized.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: lines 7829-7838
quote_or_summary: The seeker after wisdom is called a fount of wisdom; Qur'anic
memory is called a hidden tablet; the mind speaks like Gabriel to Ahmed, recognizing
the limit beyond which it would become ashes.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/mesnevi-book-1-redhouse.md
rights_note: Public domain source metadata; summarized.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: lines 7839-7848
quote_or_summary: The passage links sloth with the creed of compulsion, compares
compulsion to splinting an injury, and says that one who truly loses a leg in
God's fight will be met by Buraq, a chariot of light.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/mesnevi-book-1-redhouse.md
rights_note: Public domain source metadata; summarized.
- id: ev:8
type: summary
locator: lines 7849-7854
quote_or_summary: The person who carried religion and accepted God's precepts is
now carried and accepted, becomes a herald of God's judgments, and rests above
the planets rather than being affected by them.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/mesnevi-book-1-redhouse.md
rights_note: Public domain source metadata; summarized.
- id: ev:9
type: summary
locator: lines 7855-7864
quote_or_summary: The passage refers to the moon being cloven, urges inner renewal
of faith, says lust bolts the door against faith, and warns against deforming
the Qur'an to suit lusts.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/mesnevi-book-1-redhouse.md
rights_note: Public domain source metadata; summarized.
- id: ev:10
type: summary
locator: lines 7865-7886
quote_or_summary: The passage introduces the case of a silly fly that thinks highly
of itself, is intoxicated without wine, hears of noble falcons, and calls itself
the phoenix of the age.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/mesnevi-book-1-redhouse.md
rights_note: Public domain source metadata; summarized.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: uncertain
notes: Literal extraction is supported by the supplied passage. Motif labels are
candidates and should be reviewed, especially where didactic metaphors rather
than full narrative episodes are involved. No comparison claims were made because
the passage itself does not explicitly support external comparison beyond candidate
motif classification.
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 the supplied passage text, metadata, and available taxonomy references. Comparisons were left empty to avoid unsupported historical or cross-traditional claims.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:sufi-rumi-mesnevi-book-1-redhouse-gutenberg__l7777-l7886
passage_sha256=239a2350dd3f068ee7b8d3f68cdd579d2c271d31a16ed35c471b51f1701136e5