batch.motif.sufi-jami-persian-mystics-davis-gutenberg-l169-l257
---
record_id: batch.motif.sufi-jami-persian-mystics-davis-gutenberg-l169-l257
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/persian-mystics-jami-davis.md
passage_locator:
label: CONTENTS / INTRODUCTION / EDITORIAL NOTE / INTRODUCTION; lines 169-257
start: '169'
end: '257'
translation: 'The Persian Mystics: Jámí'
notes: Generated from OpenAI Batch run motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority;
human review required.
canonical_text:
quote: ''
summary: 'The passage gives a biographical introduction to Jámí: his birth and death
dates, the origin of his name, a childhood encounter with Khwájah Mohammad Pársá,
his reverence for holy men, his education at Herát and Samarqand, his intellectual
successes, and the editor’s critical assessment of his pride in contrast with
Sufi ideals of self-abandonment and knowledge of God.'
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: Jámí is said to have been born in Jám or nearby Khasjird in 817 A.H. / 1414
A.D. and to have died at Herát in 898 A.H. / 1492 A.D.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The passage states that the poet took his name from the town of Jám.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: As a child, Jámí and his father were among the people who came out to honor
Khwájah Mohammad Pársá as he passed through Jám on the way to Hijaz.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: Jámí’s father seated the child in front of Khwájah Mohammad Pársá’s litter.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:5
text: Jámí later remembered Mohammad Pársá’s radiant countenance and connected the
later bond between himself and pious spirits to the influence of Pársá’s glance.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:6
text: The editor says Jámí valued contact with holy men and attached importance
to an unnamed Shaikh who had taken him on his knee as a child.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:7
text: Jámí began his education at Herát, disliked disciplinary instruction, was
not studious as a boy, and preferred games to books.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:8
text: The passage describes Jámí as naturally clever and quick at absorbing knowledge
with little labor.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:9
text: Jámí studied under Mullá Junaid and then Khwájah 'Alí al-Samarqandi, after
which further instruction was said to be unnecessary after forty lessons.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:10
text: After attending lectures by Qazí Rúm at Samarqand, Jámí prevailed in an argument
with the professor.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:11
text: Qazí Rúm publicly praised Jámí’s sharpness of intellect and power of using
it.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:12
text: The editor criticizes Jámí as conceited and contrasts this with Sufi teaching
described as abandonment of self and knowledge of God only.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Nur-addín 'Abd-alrahmán Jámí
description: Persian poet and biographical subject of the passage; born in 817 A.H.
/ 1414 A.D. and died in 898 A.H. / 1492 A.D.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:4
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
- ev:9
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Jámí’s father
description: Jámí’s father, who brought him before Khwájah Mohammad Pársá and is
later named by Jámí as the one who taught him language.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:10
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Khwájah Mohammad Pársá
description: A holy man who passed through Jám on the way to Hijaz and whose countenance
and glance were later remembered by Jámí.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Unnamed Shaikh
description: A Shaikh who took Jámí on his knee when Jámí was a child.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Mullá Junaid
description: An instructor whom Jámí left.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Khwájah 'Alí al-Samarqandi
description: A teacher of Jámí under whom Jámí was said to need no further instruction
after forty lessons.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: Qazí Rúm
description: A professor at Samarqand whose lectures Jámí attended and whom Jámí
defeated in argument; he later praised Jámí publicly.
role_refs:
- role:5
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: Dr. Hermann Ethé
description: A scholar cited for giving Khasjird near Jám as Jámí’s birthplace.
role_refs:
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
roles:
- id: role:1
label: poet and biographical subject
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The passage introduces the life of Jámí and calls him the poet.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:2
label: father
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The passage identifies this figure as Jámí’s father and describes his actions
toward the child.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:10
- id: role:3
label: holy man
assigned_to:
- fig:3
- fig:4
basis: Khwájah Mohammad Pársá is called a holy man, and the unnamed Shaikh is discussed
in the context of Jámí’s contact with holy men.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- id: role:4
label: child recipient of holy influence
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: As a child, Jámí is placed before Pársá and later attributes a lasting bond
to Pársá’s glance.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: role:5
label: teacher or instructor
assigned_to:
- fig:5
- fig:6
- fig:7
basis: These figures are described as instructors, teachers, or lecturers connected
with Jámí’s education.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: role:6
label: public evaluator
assigned_to:
- fig:7
basis: Qazí Rúm publicly praises Jámí before an assembly.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: role:7
label: brilliant but prideful student
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The passage describes Jámí’s intellectual ability and later criticizes his
self-assessment and conceit.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:8
- ev:9
- ev:10
- id: role:8
label: scholarly source
assigned_to:
- fig:8
basis: Dr. Hermann Ethé is cited as giving an alternative birthplace for Jámí.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: holy glance
literal_form: Khwájah Mohammad Pársá’s glance, remembered as having fortunate influence
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:2
label: beaming countenance
literal_form: The radiant or beaming countenance of Khwájah Mohammad Pársá
associated_figures:
- fig:3
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:3
label: litter before the holy man
literal_form: Khwájah Mohammad Pársá’s litter, before which Jámí’s father seated
the child
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:4
label: self-abandonment doctrine
literal_form: The Sufi teaching summarized as abandonment of self and knowledge
of God only
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Birth, death, and naming
summary: The passage identifies Jámí’s birth and death dates and discusses Jám or
nearby Khasjird as his birthplace, explaining that his name derives from Jám.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:8
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Childhood meeting with Khwájah Mohammad Pársá
summary: Khwájah Mohammad Pársá passes through Jám on the way to Hijaz; Jámí and
his father join the crowd, and the child is seated before the holy man’s litter.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: scene:3
label: Childhood contact with holy men
summary: The editor states that Jámí valued contact with holy men and attached importance
to a Shaikh who had taken him on his knee in childhood.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:4
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: scene:4
label: Education and intellectual success
summary: Jámí begins education at Herát, resists normal study discipline, but is
described as naturally clever; he studies under named teachers and excels in learning
and argument.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:5
- fig:6
- fig:7
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: scene:5
label: Editorial critique of pride
summary: The editor criticizes Jámí’s self-regard and contrasts it with the Sufi
ideal of abandoning self and knowing God.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
symbol_refs:
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- ev:10
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: Child marked by contact with a holy person
taxonomy_refs:
- initiation
basis: Jámí is brought as a child before Khwájah Mohammad Pársá and later interprets
the encounter, especially the holy man’s glance, as a lasting source of spiritual
association.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage is biographical and does not describe a formal initiation
rite.
- id: motif:2
label: Wisdom and precocious learning
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: Jámí is described as naturally clever, able to absorb knowledge quickly,
needing little instruction, and publicly praised for intellectual sharpness.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:8
confidence: high
cautions: The motif is expressed as biographical intellectual talent rather than
as a mythic wisdom quest.
- id: motif:3
label: Self-abandonment versus ego
taxonomy_refs:
- annihilation_union
basis: The editor explicitly describes Sufi teaching as abandonment of self and
knowledge of God only, while criticizing Jámí’s pride as inconsistent with that
teaching.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- ev:10
confidence: low
cautions: The passage states a doctrine and an editorial contrast; it does not narrate
mystical annihilation or union as an event.
- id: motif:4
label: Reverence for holy persons
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The passage says Jámí had faith in contact with holy men and identifies reverence
for holy men and holy things as one of his finest characteristics.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
confidence: medium
cautions: The available taxonomy has no exact 'holy person contact' category; 'wisdom'
is approximate.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 169-181
quote_or_summary: Jámí’s birth and death dates are given; Dr. Hermann Ethé gives
Khasjird as birthplace, while the editor favors Jám because Jámí himself referred
to it, and the poet’s name is said to come from Jám.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/persian-mystics-jami-davis.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 183-190
quote_or_summary: Khwájah Mohammad Pársá passes through Jám on the way to Hijaz;
people come to honor him, including the child Jámí and his father, who seats Jámí
before Pársá’s litter.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/persian-mystics-jami-davis.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:3
type: quote
locator: lines 190-200
quote_or_summary: Jámí remembers “The pure refulgence of his ... beaming countenance”
and attributes later bonds of union, friendship, confidence, and love to Pársá’s
glance.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/persian-mystics-jami-davis.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short excerpt quoted.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 201-206
quote_or_summary: The editor says Jámí had much faith in contact with holy men,
valued a Shaikh who took him on his knee as a child, and showed reverence for
holy men and holy things.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/persian-mystics-jami-davis.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: lines 215-224
quote_or_summary: Jámí begins education at Herát, dislikes disciplinary instruction,
prefers games to books, but is naturally clever and quick at absorbing knowledge
with little labor.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/persian-mystics-jami-davis.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: lines 226-231
quote_or_summary: Jámí leaves Mullá Junaid, studies under Khwájah 'Alí al-Samarqandi,
and is said to need no further instruction after forty lessons.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/persian-mystics-jami-davis.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: lines 231-235
quote_or_summary: After attending Qazí Rúm’s lectures at Samarqand, Jámí succeeds
in an argument with the professor.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/persian-mystics-jami-davis.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:8
type: quote
locator: lines 235-240
quote_or_summary: Qazí Rúm says that no one equal to young Jámí in “sharpness of
intellects and power of using them” had entered Samarqand.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/persian-mystics-jami-davis.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short excerpt quoted.
- id: ev:9
type: summary
locator: lines 242-253
quote_or_summary: The editor describes Jámí as suffering from pride or 'swelled
head' and contrasts this with Sufi teaching, summarized as abandonment of self
and knowledge of God only.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/persian-mystics-jami-davis.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:10
type: quote
locator: lines 247-250
quote_or_summary: Jámí says he found no master superior to himself and claims that,
if he is anyone’s pupil, it is his father who taught him language.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/persian-mystics-jami-davis.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short excerpt quoted.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: uncertain
notes: The passage is a biographical and editorial introduction, so literal extraction
is strong, while motif identification is limited and should be reviewed for over-interpretation.
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: '2026-04-28'
notes: |-
No comparison claims were added because the passage does not itself compare Jámí’s biography to another tradition or corpus.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:sufi-jami-persian-mystics-davis-gutenberg__l169-l257
passage_sha256=fac1bd2ffc82f31dba4517e4477b251ed0cf8d996448abf3eacd31c512a735a7