batch.motif.sufi-mystics-of-islam-nicholson-gutenberg-l69-l142
---
record_id: batch.motif.sufi-mystics-of-islam-nicholson-gutenberg-l69-l142
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/mystics-of-islam-nicholson.md
passage_locator:
label: The Mystics of Islam / THE MYSTICS OF ISLAM / THE QUEST SERIES / FIRST LIST
OF VOLUMES.; lines 69-142
start: '69'
end: '142'
translation: The Mystics of Islam
notes: Generated from OpenAI Batch run motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority;
human review required.
canonical_text:
quote: '"turns whole-heartedly to God"'
summary: The passage contains title and series front matter for Reynold A. Nicholson's
The Mystics of Islam, followed by an editor's note. The editor frames Jewish,
Christian, and Islamic mysticism as bearing shared testimony to the soul's deepening
religious experience when the worshipper turns to God. The note presents the volume
as an introductory study of Islamic mysticism and praises Nicholson's long scholarship
and translations from Arabic and Persian.
language: English
quote_policy: quoted
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: The passage identifies the book as The Mystics of Islam in The Quest Series,
edited by G. R. S. Mead.
category: object
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The first list of volumes includes works on psychical research, the Holy Grail,
Jewish mysticism, Buddhist psychology, and Islamic mysticism.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: Reynold A. Nicholson is named as the author of The Mystics of Islam and as
a lecturer on Persian at the University of Cambridge.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: The editor states that Judaism, Christianity, and Islam have elements in common
despite deep dogmatic differences.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:5
text: The editor says the shared spiritual content is best appreciated in Jewish,
Christian, and Islamic mysticism.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:6
text: The editor describes a spiritual worshipper, whether follower of Moses, Jesus,
or Mohammed, turning wholeheartedly to God.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:7
text: The editor says the series previously offered an introduction to Jewish mysticism
and now offers an approach to Islamic mysticism.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:8
text: The editor says Nicholson presents the results of twenty years of work and
largely lets the mystics speak through his versions from Arabic and Persian.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: G. R. S. Mead
description: Editor of The Quest Series and of The Quest.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Reynold A. Nicholson
description: Author of The Mystics of Islam, lecturer on Persian at Cambridge, and
scholar praised in the editor's note.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:6
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: spiritual worshipper
description: A worshipper described as possibly a follower of Moses, Jesus, or Mohammed
who turns wholeheartedly to God.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: God
description: The divine being toward whom the spiritual worshipper turns.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: the mystics
description: Mystics whose words are said to be mostly allowed to speak for themselves
in Nicholson's versions from Arabic and Persian.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
roles:
- id: role:1
label: series editor
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The passage names G. R. S. Mead as editor of The Quest Series.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:2
label: author and scholar of Islamic mysticism
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: Nicholson is named as author and credited with twenty years of scholarly
work on the subject.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:6
- id: role:3
label: spiritual seeker or worshipper
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The editor describes the worshipper turning wholeheartedly to God in deepening
spiritual experience.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:4
label: divine object of worship
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: God is the one toward whom the spiritual worshipper turns.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:5
label: mystical witnesses or source voices
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: The note says the mystics mostly speak for themselves through Nicholson's
versions.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
symbols: []
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Series and title-page presentation
summary: The front matter presents The Mystics of Islam as part of The Quest Series,
lists related volumes, names the author, and gives publication information.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: scene:2
label: Editor's comparative framing of mysticism
summary: The editor frames Jewish, Christian, and Islamic mysticism as testimony
to a shared deepening experience of the soul directed toward God, and introduces
Nicholson's volume as an accessible study of Sufism.
figure_refs:
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:5
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: mystical quest of the soul toward God
taxonomy_refs:
- mystical_quest
basis: The editor describes an ever-deepening experience of the soul when a spiritual
worshipper turns wholeheartedly to God, and frames the book as an approach to
Islamic mysticism.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
confidence: medium
cautions: This passage is introductory editorial prose, not a narrative myth or
visionary account; the motif is thematic rather than episodic.
- id: motif:2
label: transmission of mystical wisdom through authoritative voices
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The editor says Nicholson provides results of long study and lets the mystics
mostly speak for themselves in translations from Arabic and Persian.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
confidence: low
cautions: The passage describes scholarly presentation and translation rather than
a mythic wisdom episode.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: The editor explicitly compares Jewish, Christian, and Islamic mysticism as
bearing testimony to a shared spiritual experience despite dogmatic differences.
claim_level: same_function
target: Jewish, Christian, and Islamic mysticism
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: high
limitations: This is an editorial comparative assertion within the passage; it does
not demonstrate historical contact, common inheritance, or identity of specific
motifs.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 69-101
quote_or_summary: The passage presents The Mystics of Islam in The Quest Series,
edited by G. R. S. Mead, and lists volumes on psychical research, the Holy Grail,
Jewish mysticism, Buddhist psychology, and Islamic mysticism.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/mystics-of-islam-nicholson.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short summary used.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 102-119
quote_or_summary: The title page identifies Reynold A. Nicholson as author, lecturer
on Persian at Cambridge, and formerly fellow of Trinity College; publication is
London, G. Bell and Sons Ltd., 1914.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/mystics-of-islam-nicholson.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short summary used.
- id: ev:3
type: quote
locator: lines 122-128
quote_or_summary: '"Judaism, Christianity and Islam have no little in common" and
their common spiritual content can be appreciated in their mysticism.'
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/mystics-of-islam-nicholson.md
rights_note: Public domain source; brief quotation used.
- id: ev:4
type: quote
locator: lines 125-129
quote_or_summary: The mystic traditions testify to the soul's deepening experience
when the worshipper, whether follower of Moses, Jesus, or Mohammed, "turns whole-heartedly
to God."
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/mystics-of-islam-nicholson.md
rights_note: Public domain source; brief quotation and summary used.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: lines 129-135
quote_or_summary: The Quest Series is said to have already supplied a simple introduction
to Jewish mysticism and now to provide an easy approach to Islamic mysticism,
for which no separate English introduction existed.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/mystics-of-islam-nicholson.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short summary used.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: lines 135-142
quote_or_summary: The editor says the book contains material new even to professional
Orientalists, presents Nicholson's twenty years of work clearly, and lets mystics
speak through his versions from Arabic and Persian.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/mystics-of-islam-nicholson.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short summary used.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: high
notes: Bibliographic and editorial claims are clear. Motif extraction is limited
because the passage is prefatory prose rather than a mythic or narrative passage.
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: |-
No concrete taxonomy symbols from the supplied symbol list are present in this passage.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:sufi-mystics-of-islam-nicholson-gutenberg__l69-l142
passage_sha256=9489db1a418c85a6e6b5bd68f389d825b290ce657c74bdc3c2659257fab84478