Comparative mythology corpus

batch.motif.sufi-jami-persian-mystics-davis-gutenberg-l980-l1076

batch.motif.sufi-jami-persian-mystics-davis-gutenberg-l980-l1076

---
record_id: batch.motif.sufi-jami-persian-mystics-davis-gutenberg-l980-l1076
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/persian-mystics-jami-davis.md
passage_locator:
  label: MORTAL PARAMOUR / THE DIVINE UNION / THE MAGIC MIRROR / A LAMENT; lines 980-1076
  start: '980'
  end: '1076'
  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: A magic mirror reveals a desired face and secluded lovers. A lament remembers
    lost union with a beloved and longs for death, annihilation, or renewed eternal
    intercourse. A didactic stanza counsels sowing for eternity rather than trusting
    the world. The selections from the Lawá'ih and prayers ask for deliverance from
    self, removal of veils, true vision of things, purification of the heart, poverty,
    grace, and intimacy with God.
  language: English
  quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
  text: A mirror is brought at the command of an unnamed male figure.
  category: action
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:1
- id: obs:2
  text: The mirror is described as reflecting all the world and lifting a veil from
    secrets, both good and evil.
  category: attribute
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:1
- id: obs:3
  text: The viewer looks into the mirror and sees the face of his Desire.
  category: action
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:2
- id: obs:4
  text: The mirror shows lovers in solitude, turned away from the world and looking
    only at each other.
  category: setting
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:2
- id: obs:5
  text: The lamenting speaker recalls past togetherness with a beloved as sufficient
    and separate from the world.
  category: speech
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:3
- id: obs:6
  text: The speaker says the beloved is dead or lost and wishes the pyre's flame had
    left the beloved living and the speaker dead.
  category: speech
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:4
- id: obs:7
  text: The speaker longs to be with the beloved through annihilation, loss, or renewed
    eternal intercourse.
  category: speech
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:5
- id: obs:8
  text: A didactic address to a son says the kingdom of the world is not eternal and
    advises using intellect as counsellor.
  category: speech
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:6
- id: obs:9
  text: A prayer asks God to deliver the speaker from worldly vanities, remove the
    veil of ignorance, and show things as they really are.
  category: speech
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:7
- id: obs:10
  text: The prayer asks that the phenomenal world become a mirror of divine beauty
    rather than a separating veil.
  category: speech
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:8
- id: obs:11
  text: A prayer says alienation from divine beauty proceeds from the self and asks
    for deliverance from self and intimate knowledge of God.
  category: speech
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:9
- id: obs:12
  text: A prayer asks for a pure heart, freedom from error, and guidance on God's
    road away from self.
  category: speech
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:10
- id: obs:13
  text: A prayer asks for the speaker's heart to be turned away from other objects
    and engrossed with love for God.
  category: speech
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:11
- id: obs:14
  text: A prayer asks for the lust for this world and the next to be effaced and for
    the crown of poverty and grace.
  category: speech
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:12
figures:
- id: fig:1
  name_or_label: unnamed male viewer
  description: An unnamed figure who commands that a mirror be brought and looks into
    it.
  role_refs:
  - role:1
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:1
  - ev:2
- id: fig:2
  name_or_label: Desire
  description: The face seen by the viewer in the mirror, called his Desire.
  role_refs:
  - role:2
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:2
- id: fig:3
  name_or_label: lovers in solitude
  description: A pair shown by the mirror, turned from the world and looking only
    in each other's eyes.
  role_refs:
  - role:3
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:2
- id: fig:4
  name_or_label: lamenting speaker
  description: A speaker who remembers union with a lost beloved and longs to be with
    that beloved again.
  role_refs:
  - role:4
  - role:5
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:3
  - ev:4
  - ev:5
- id: fig:5
  name_or_label: lost beloved
  description: The beloved whose presence once soothed the speaker and whose loss
    causes grief.
  role_refs:
  - role:2
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:3
  - ev:4
  - ev:5
- id: fig:6
  name_or_label: son
  description: The addressee of the didactic counsel about the world, intellect, and
    eternity.
  role_refs:
  - role:6
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:6
- id: fig:7
  name_or_label: prayer speaker
  description: A first-person speaker in the prayers asking for deliverance from self,
    purification, and nearness to God.
  role_refs:
  - role:4
  - role:5
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:7
  - ev:9
  - ev:10
  - ev:11
  - ev:12
- id: fig:8
  name_or_label: God / Thee
  description: The divine addressee of prayers for true vision, deliverance, purity,
    grace, and intimate knowledge.
  role_refs:
  - role:7
  - role:2
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:7
  - ev:8
  - ev:9
  - ev:10
  - ev:11
  - ev:12
roles:
- id: role:1
  label: mirror user
  assigned_to:
  - fig:1
  basis: The figure commands that the mirror be brought and looks into it.
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:1
  - ev:2
- id: role:2
  label: beloved or desired presence
  assigned_to:
  - fig:2
  - fig:5
  - fig:8
  basis: Desire is seen in the mirror; the lost beloved is addressed as the object
    of longing; God is addressed as the one whose beauty and intimacy are sought.
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:2
  - ev:3
  - ev:5
  - ev:8
  - ev:9
- id: role:3
  label: secluded lover pair
  assigned_to:
  - fig:3
  basis: The lovers are shown in solitude, turned away from the world, and mutually
    absorbed.
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:2
- id: role:4
  label: supplicant or lamenter
  assigned_to:
  - fig:4
  - fig:7
  basis: One speaker laments loss; another prays for deliverance, purification, and
    guidance.
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:3
  - ev:7
  - ev:10
- id: role:5
  label: self-renouncing seeker
  assigned_to:
  - fig:4
  - fig:7
  basis: The lamenting speaker seeks annihilation or renewal with the beloved; the
    prayer speaker asks to be delivered from self and led away from self.
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:5
  - ev:9
  - ev:10
- id: role:6
  label: recipient of wisdom counsel
  assigned_to:
  - fig:6
  basis: The passage addresses 'My son' with advice concerning the non-eternal world
    and the harvest of eternity.
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:6
- id: role:7
  label: divine revealer and purifier
  assigned_to:
  - fig:8
  basis: God is asked to remove veils, show things as they really are, purify the
    heart, and grant grace.
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:7
  - ev:10
  - ev:12
symbols:
- id: sym:1
  label: magic mirror
  literal_form: A mirror that reflects all the world and reveals hidden good and evil.
  associated_figures:
  - fig:1
  - fig:2
  - fig:3
  taxonomy_refs: []
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:1
  - ev:2
- id: sym:2
  label: veil
  literal_form: A veil lifted from secrets; the veil of ignorance; a veil that can
    separate from God.
  associated_figures:
  - fig:1
  - fig:7
  - fig:8
  taxonomy_refs: []
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:1
  - ev:7
  - ev:8
- id: sym:3
  label: face
  literal_form: The face of Desire seen in the mirror and divine beauty sought in
    prayer.
  associated_figures:
  - fig:2
  - fig:8
  taxonomy_refs: []
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:2
  - ev:8
- id: sym:4
  label: secluded mutual gaze
  literal_form: Lovers looking only into each other's eyes, apart from the world.
  associated_figures:
  - fig:3
  - fig:4
  - fig:5
  taxonomy_refs: []
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:2
  - ev:3
- id: sym:5
  label: pyre and flame
  literal_form: A pyre and flame associated with the speaker's wish that death had
    fallen on the speaker rather than the beloved.
  associated_figures:
  - fig:4
  - fig:5
  taxonomy_refs:
  - fire
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:4
- id: sym:6
  label: seed-field and harvest of eternity
  literal_form: Today is described as tomorrow's seed-field, to be sown with the harvest
    of eternity.
  associated_figures:
  - fig:6
  taxonomy_refs: []
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:6
- id: sym:7
  label: phenomenal world as mirror
  literal_form: The phenomenal world is asked to become a mirror reflecting manifestations
    of divine beauty.
  associated_figures:
  - fig:7
  - fig:8
  taxonomy_refs: []
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:8
- id: sym:8
  label: road away from self
  literal_form: A road leading away from self and toward God.
  associated_figures:
  - fig:7
  - fig:8
  taxonomy_refs: []
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:10
- id: sym:9
  label: pure heart
  literal_form: The speaker's heart, requested to be made pure and turned away from
    other objects toward love of God.
  associated_figures:
  - fig:7
  - fig:8
  taxonomy_refs: []
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:10
  - ev:11
- id: sym:10
  label: crown of poverty and grace
  literal_form: A crown of poverty and grace requested by the speaker.
  associated_figures:
  - fig:7
  - fig:8
  taxonomy_refs: []
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:12
scenes:
- id: scene:1
  label: mirror revelation
  summary: An unnamed figure has a world-reflecting mirror brought, looks into it,
    and sees his Desire and lovers secluded from the world.
  figure_refs:
  - fig:1
  - fig:2
  - fig:3
  symbol_refs:
  - sym:1
  - sym:2
  - sym:3
  - sym:4
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:1
  - ev:2
- id: scene:2
  label: lament for lost union
  summary: A speaker remembers life with a beloved as complete mutual joy away from
    the world, mourns the beloved's loss, and wishes for death, annihilation, or renewed
    union.
  figure_refs:
  - fig:4
  - fig:5
  symbol_refs:
  - sym:4
  - sym:5
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:3
  - ev:4
  - ev:5
- id: scene:3
  label: counsel to sow for eternity
  summary: A didactic voice tells a son that worldly power is not eternal and counsels
    reliance on intellect and preparation for eternity.
  figure_refs:
  - fig:6
  symbol_refs:
  - sym:6
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:6
- id: scene:4
  label: prayer for true vision and deliverance from self
  summary: A prayer asks God to remove ignorance, reveal things as they are, make
    the world a mirror of divine beauty, and grant intimate knowledge by delivering
    the speaker from self.
  figure_refs:
  - fig:7
  - fig:8
  symbol_refs:
  - sym:2
  - sym:7
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:7
  - ev:8
  - ev:9
- id: scene:5
  label: prayer for purity and God-directed love
  summary: A prayer asks for a pure heart, freedom from error, guidance away from
    self, aversion to worldly company, love toward God, poverty, grace, and participation
    in divine mysteries.
  figure_refs:
  - fig:7
  - fig:8
  symbol_refs:
  - sym:8
  - sym:9
  - sym:10
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:10
  - ev:11
  - ev:12
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
  label: world-revealing magic mirror
  taxonomy_refs: []
  basis: The mirror reflects all the world, removes a veil from secrets, and reveals
    the desired face and secluded lovers.
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:1
  - ev:2
  confidence: high
  cautions: The passage does not identify the mirror's origin or broader narrative
    function beyond this scene.
- id: motif:2
  label: beloved secluded from the world
  taxonomy_refs:
  - divine_beloved
  basis: The mirror shows lovers turned from the world, and the lament describes two
    lovers for whom the world is nothing.
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:2
  - ev:3
  confidence: medium
  cautions: The early love scene may be mortal or allegorical; the passage itself
    shifts toward divine address later but does not explicitly equate every beloved
    with God.
- id: motif:3
  label: annihilation or renewal in union with the beloved
  taxonomy_refs:
  - annihilation_union
  basis: The lamenting speaker asks to be with the beloved through annihilation, loss,
    or renewed eternal intercourse, and later prayers ask to be led away from self
    toward God.
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:5
  - ev:10
  confidence: high
  cautions: The lament's beloved is not explicitly named as divine in the quoted portion.
- id: motif:4
  label: veil removal and true sight
  taxonomy_refs:
  - wisdom
  basis: The passage describes a mirror lifting a veil from secrets and prayers asking
    God to remove the veil of ignorance and show things as they really are.
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:1
  - ev:7
  confidence: high
  cautions: The available taxonomy does not include a specific veil motif; 'wisdom'
    is a broad classification.
- id: motif:5
  label: world as mirror of divine beauty rather than barrier
  taxonomy_refs:
  - divine_beloved
  - wisdom
  basis: The prayer asks that the phenomenal world reflect divine beauty and not separate
    the speaker from God.
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:8
  confidence: high
  cautions: This is a symbolic-theological motif rather than a narrative episode.
- id: motif:6
  label: self-renouncing mystical quest toward God
  taxonomy_refs:
  - mystical_quest
  - annihilation_union
  basis: The prayers ask for deliverance from self, a road away from self, purity,
    love of God, poverty, grace, and participation in mysteries.
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:9
  - ev:10
  - ev:11
  - ev:12
  confidence: high
  cautions: The passage presents devotional requests rather than a completed journey
    narrative.
- id: motif:7
  label: sowing for eternity instead of trusting the world
  taxonomy_refs:
  - wisdom
  basis: The counsel says the world is not eternal and urges sowing today for the
    harvest of eternity.
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:6
  confidence: high
  cautions: The seed-field and harvest are metaphorical; no agricultural narrative
    occurs.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
  claim: 'The world-reflecting mirror in the narrative scene and the prayer''s request
    that the phenomenal world become a mirror of divine beauty share a revealer function:
    both oppose mirror-like disclosure to veiling or separation.'
  claim_level: same_function
  target: mirror as revealer rather than veil within the passage
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:1
  - ev:8
  counter_evidence_refs: []
  confidence: medium
  limitations: The first mirror is a concrete narrative object, while the later mirror
    is a devotional metaphor; the passage does not state that they are the same object
    or symbol.
- id: claim:2
  claim: The lament's wish for annihilation with the beloved is functionally close
    to the later prayers for deliverance from self and movement toward God.
  claim_level: same_function
  target: self-loss as path to union within the passage
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:5
  - ev:9
  - ev:10
  counter_evidence_refs: []
  confidence: medium
  limitations: The lamented beloved is not explicitly identified as God in the quoted
    passage, so the comparison remains functional rather than a firm identity claim.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
  type: quote
  locator: lines 980-987
  quote_or_summary: A mirror is brought, described as 'Reflecting all the world' and
    lifting a veil from secrets, good and evil.
  source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/persian-mystics-jami-davis.md
  rights_note: Public domain source; short quotation used.
- id: ev:2
  type: summary
  locator: lines 988-997
  quote_or_summary: Looking into the mirror, the viewer sees the face of his Desire
    and lovers in solitude, turned from the world and absorbed in each other's eyes.
  source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/persian-mystics-jami-davis.md
  rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:3
  type: summary
  locator: lines 1000-1014
  quote_or_summary: The lamenting speaker recalls the beloved's soothing presence
    and their past mutual joy, together and apart from the world.
  source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/persian-mystics-jami-davis.md
  rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:4
  type: quote
  locator: lines 1015-1018
  quote_or_summary: The speaker wishes that when the pyre was lit, 'The flame had
    left thee living and me dead.'
  source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/persian-mystics-jami-davis.md
  rights_note: Public domain source; short quotation used.
- id: ev:5
  type: quote
  locator: lines 1019-1022
  quote_or_summary: The speaker longs to be with the beloved, 'annihilation--lost,
    / Or in eternal intercourse renew'd.'
  source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/persian-mystics-jami-davis.md
  rights_note: Public domain source; short quotation used.
- id: ev:6
  type: summary
  locator: lines 1024-1031
  quote_or_summary: A son is told that the kingdom of the world is not eternal, to
    make intellect his counsellor, and to sow today for the harvest of eternity.
  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 1040-1047
  quote_or_summary: A prayer asks God for deliverance from worldly vanities, removal
    of the veil of ignorance, and sight of things as they really are.
  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 1048-1053
  quote_or_summary: The prayer asks that the phenomenal world be 'the mirror to reflect
    the manifestations of thy beauty' rather than a veil separating the speaker from
    God.
  source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/persian-mystics-jami-davis.md
  rights_note: Public domain source; short quotation used.
- id: ev:9
  type: summary
  locator: lines 1054-1059
  quote_or_summary: The prayer says alienation from divine beauty proceeds from the
    self and asks for deliverance from self and intimate knowledge of God.
  source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/persian-mystics-jami-davis.md
  rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:10
  type: summary
  locator: lines 1061-1065
  quote_or_summary: A prayer asks for a pure heart, freedom from error, tears and
    sighs, and guidance on God's road away from self so the speaker may approach God.
  source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/persian-mystics-jami-davis.md
  rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:11
  type: summary
  locator: lines 1066-1070
  quote_or_summary: A prayer asks for enmity between the world and the speaker, aversion
    to worldly company, and a heart engrossed with love for God.
  source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/persian-mystics-jami-davis.md
  rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:12
  type: summary
  locator: lines 1071-1076
  quote_or_summary: A prayer asks for release from error, truth-seeing, effacement
    of lust for this world and the next, the crown of poverty and grace, and participation
    in divine mysteries.
  source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/persian-mystics-jami-davis.md
  rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
confidence:
  extraction: high
  motif_candidates: medium
  comparison_claims: medium
  notes: Literal extraction is supported by the supplied passage. Motif labels involving
    divine beloved and annihilation are strong for the prayer sections but more cautious
    for the lament, where the beloved is not explicitly identified as divine in the
    excerpt.
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 external texts or taxonomy IDs beyond the supplied available taxonomy references were used.
  batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
  custom_id=motif_extract:sufi-jami-persian-mystics-davis-gutenberg__l980-l1076
  passage_sha256=86d065432e0421fd3c9885aa7548a9efc140adfbbc03e1d8fe4b80d9ae384a47