batch.motif.sufi-rumi-mesnevi-book-1-redhouse-gutenberg-l9304-l9391
---
record_id: batch.motif.sufi-rumi-mesnevi-book-1-redhouse-gutenberg-l9304-l9391
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 9304-9391
start: '9304'
end: '9391'
translation: The Mesnevi
notes: Generated from OpenAI Batch run motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority;
human review required.
canonical_text:
quote: ''
summary: The passage addresses the tongue as both destructive fire and precious
treasure, laments the speaker’s agitation, invokes divine will and an inspired
parrot within the self, describes Love commanding the speaker to abandon rhymes,
refers to a hidden divine mystery, and ends with paradoxes of affirmation and
denial, reciprocal lover and beloved, hunter and prey, and thirst and water seeking
one another.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: The tongue is addressed directly and described as fire, a cornstack, a treasure,
a plague, a whistle that decoys birds, darkness to men, and a guide to saints.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The speaker says the tongue has taken his bird and flustered his soul, then
asks for an answer, justice, or hope of joy.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: The addressee is called dawn and light, and is said to dispel deepening darkness.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: The speaker says hot tears have become a briny lake offered for a lost idol.
category: object
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:5
text: A parrot or wise bird is addressed as an interpreter and reader of thoughts
and secrets.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:6
text: Daily events are said to have been ordained by Him from the first.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:7
text: An inspired Parrot is said to have spoken with a human voice before the dawn
of existence and to be felt within the self.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:8
text: The speaker says joy comes from Him and that the wronged person is under His
wing.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:9
text: The speaker describes himself as being in flames and asks who seeks a burning
brand to consume conceit.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:10
text: Love orders the speaker to keep dreaming of love and tells him to leave rhymes
alone.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:11
text: Words and rhymes are compared to a bramble on a wall around a vineyard.
category: object
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:12
text: A secret suggestion is said to be unknown to Abraham, Gabriel, and Jesus,
and to have been spoken by God to the speaker alone.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:13
text: The speaker says, “What do we with tongue? We affirm; we deny,” and identifies
himself with denial rather than affirmation.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:14
text: 'The passage presents reversals: potentates are slaves of slaves, kings are
subject to subjects, bird-hunters are themselves pounced on, and lovers are also
sweethearts.'
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:15
text: Thirst is said to seek water, and water is said to court thirst in return.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: speaker
description: A first-person voice who complains, laments, burns with sorrow, and
reports Love’s command and a private divine mystery.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: tongue
description: A directly addressed entity described as fire, treasure, plague, decoying
whistle, darkness to men, and guide to saints.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:6
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Him / God
description: The divine figure by whom events are ordained, from whom joys spring,
and who speaks a mystery to the speaker alone.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Parrot / wise bird
description: An inspired bird, interpreter, and reader of thoughts and secrets,
said to speak with a human voice and to be felt within the self.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Love
description: A personified Love that orders the speaker to dream of love and abandon
rhymes.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: lover and sweetheart
description: 'Generic relational figures presented as mutually implicated: if one
sees a lover, that lover is also a sweetheart.'
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
roles:
- id: role:1
label: lamenting supplicant
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The first-person speaker complains, asks for an answer or justice, and laments
sorrow and burning grief.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- id: role:2
label: ambivalent speech-power
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: 'The tongue is described with opposing attributes: fire and cornstack, treasure
and plague, darkness and guide.'
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:3
label: divine ordainer and revealer
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: Events are ordained by Him, joys spring from Him, and God speaks a secret
mystery.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: role:4
label: inspired inner interpreter
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: The Parrot is an inspired speaker with a human voice, interpreter of secrets,
and presence within the self.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: role:5
label: commanding beloved or love-power
assigned_to:
- fig:1
- fig:5
basis: Love commands the speaker; the speaker is told that he himself is the rhyme
sought by Love.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: role:6
label: reciprocal beloved-lover pair
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: The passage states that a lover is also a sweetheart and that each is one
of two.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: fire
literal_form: tongue as fire; speaker in flames; flaming brand and living fire
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs:
- fire
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:4
- id: sym:2
label: cornstack
literal_form: the tongue is a fire and also a cornstack; the speaker’s patience
is the cornstack consumed by flames
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:3
label: bird and parrot
literal_form: taken bird, wise bird, inspired Parrot speaking with human voice
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: sym:4
label: light and darkness
literal_form: dawn, light, deepening darkness, and sunshine brightness
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: sym:5
label: briny lake of tears
literal_form: hot tears becoming a briny lake
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:6
label: moon hidden in clouds
literal_form: full moon hidden in clouds
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: sym:7
label: rhyme, bramble, and vineyard
literal_form: rhyme compared to bramble on a wall around a vineyard
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: sym:8
label: thirst and water
literal_form: thirst seeks water, and water courts thirst
associated_figures: []
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Address to the tongue
summary: The speaker addresses the tongue as both destructive and precious, accusing
it of agitating the soul while also naming it a guide to saints.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
- sym:3
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: scene:2
label: Divine parrot and inner inspiration
summary: The speaker links ordained events, divine joy, and an inspired Parrot that
speaks before existence and is felt within the self.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: scene:3
label: Love rejects rhyme and reveals a secret
summary: Personified Love commands the speaker to leave rhymes, identifies the speaker
as the rhyme sought, and describes a hidden divine mystery.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: scene:4
label: Paradoxes of reversal and reciprocity
summary: The passage reflects on affirmation and denial, impersonality and personhood,
rulers enslaved by subjects, hunters caught as prey, lovers as beloveds, and thirst
and water seeking each other.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:6
symbol_refs:
- sym:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: ambivalent power of speech
taxonomy_refs:
- duality
- wisdom
basis: 'The tongue is repeatedly described through paired opposites: fire and treasure,
plague and guide, affirmation and denial.'
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:6
confidence: high
cautions: The passage speaks poetically about the tongue; the exact doctrinal scope
of the symbol is not established in this excerpt alone.
- id: motif:2
label: divine beloved commanding the poet
taxonomy_refs:
- divine_beloved
basis: Love commands the speaker to dream of love, leave rhymes, and recognizes
the speaker as the rhyme sought; God privately speaks a mystery.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
confidence: medium
cautions: Love is personified, but the passage does not explicitly define Love’s
identity beyond the immediate poetic speech.
- id: motif:3
label: inner inspired bird as revealer
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The Parrot or wise bird is described as inspired, a reader of thoughts and
secrets, a human-voiced speaker before existence, and a presence within the self.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
confidence: medium
cautions: The Parrot’s status as literal, allegorical, or mystical image is not
resolved by the passage alone.
- id: motif:4
label: annihilation of self in paradoxical personhood
taxonomy_refs:
- annihilation_union
basis: The speaker says he is denial rather than affirmation and finds person in
impersonality, alongside reversals of mastery and subjecthood.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage supports a paradox of selfhood, but a full doctrine of annihilation
or union is only indirectly suggested.
- id: motif:5
label: reciprocal seeking of lover and beloved
taxonomy_refs:
- divine_beloved
basis: The passage states that a lover is also a sweetheart and that thirst seeks
water while water courts thirst.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
confidence: medium
cautions: The reciprocity is explicit, but whether it should be read as divine-human
reciprocity depends on broader context not supplied here.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: 9304-9313
quote_or_summary: The tongue is called a fire, cornstack, treasure, plague, decoying
whistle, darkness to men, and guide and companion to saints.
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: 9314-9328
quote_or_summary: The speaker asks the tongue for pity, says it has taken his bird
and flustered his soul, requests answer or justice, and calls the addressee dawn
and light dispelling darkness.
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: 9329-9342
quote_or_summary: The passage says God is beyond praise, tears become a briny lake
for a lost idol, and the Parrot or wise bird is an interpreter and reader of thoughts
and secrets; events are ordained by Him.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/mesnevi-book-1-redhouse.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: 9343-9359
quote_or_summary: The inspired Parrot speaks by human voice before existence and
is felt within the self; joy comes from Him, the wronged are under His wing, and
the speaker describes flames, living fire, a hidden moon, and lion-like grief.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/mesnevi-book-1-redhouse.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: 9360-9374
quote_or_summary: Love orders the speaker to keep dreaming of love and leave rhymes;
rhyme is called bramble around a vineyard, and a secret unknown to Abraham, Gabriel,
and Jesus is said to be spoken by God to the speaker alone.
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: 9375-9391
quote_or_summary: The speaker reflects on affirmation and denial, person in impersonality,
rulers subject to those below them, the bird-hunter becoming prey, lovers also
being sweethearts, and thirst and water seeking one another.
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: uncertain
notes: Literal imagery and rhetorical structure are clear in the supplied passage.
Motif assignments are cautious because the passage is highly figurative and broader
context is not supplied. No comparison claims were added because the excerpt does
not itself compare traditions or texts.
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 text and metadata; taxonomy references limited to the provided lists.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:sufi-rumi-mesnevi-book-1-redhouse-gutenberg__l9304-l9391
passage_sha256=24aaf0ca4d4a9a350d5f2caa0faf4f48319b3a376c538932427dd99291055c6d