batch.motif.sufi-persian-mystics-rumi-davis-gutenberg-l1739-l1752
---
record_id: batch.motif.sufi-persian-mystics-rumi-davis-gutenberg-l1739-l1752
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/persian-mystics-rumi-davis.md
passage_locator:
label: 'WHERE LOVE IS / THE LOVE OF THE BELOVED / THE LOVE OF THE SOUL AND THE LOVE
OF THE BODY / DESTROY NOT EARTHLY BEAUTY: IT BEAUTIFIES THE SOUL; lines 1739-1752'
start: '1739'
end: '1752'
translation: 'The Persian Mystics: Jalálu''d-dín Rúmí'
notes: Generated from OpenAI Batch run motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority;
human review required.
canonical_text:
quote: '"It is the claws of thine own foolish thoughts"'
summary: The speaker warns the addressed fair one not to damage bodily beauty, describing
such self-disfigurement as a sin and as a war against the self; foolish thoughts
are likened to poisonous claws that wound the quiet soul.
language: English
quote_policy: quoted
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: The speaker tells the addressee not to tear off plumage and not to disfigure
the face.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The addressee's face is described as bright as the forenoon sun.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: Disfiguring the face is called a grievous sin and paganism.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: The moon is said to weep if it lost sight of the addressee's face.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:5
text: The addressee is told to quit a temper that leads to war with the self.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:6
text: Foolish thoughts are compared to poisonous claws that make deep wounds on
the face of the soul.
category: object
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: speaker
description: An instructing voice addressing the fair one.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:4
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: fair one
description: The addressed person, described as having a face bright as the forenoon
sun.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: moon
description: A celestial body personified as able to weep at the loss of sight of
the fair one's face.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: foolish thoughts
description: Thoughts described as claws fraught with poison that wound the soul.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: quiet soul
description: The soul is described as having a face that can be wounded by foolish
thoughts.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
roles:
- id: role:1
label: admonishing speaker
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The voice issues imperatives against tearing plumage, disfiguring the face,
and warring with the self.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:4
- id: role:2
label: admonished beautiful addressee
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The addressee is called fair and is warned not to damage their own face.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: role:3
label: personified witness to beauty
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The moon is said to weep if deprived of sight of the face.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:4
label: internal injuring force
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: Foolish thoughts are described as poisonous claws that wound the soul.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:5
label: wounded inner self
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: The soul is described as quiet and as having a face wounded by thoughts.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: plumage
literal_form: plumage that should not be torn off
associated_figures:
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:2
label: face
literal_form: the fair one's bright face and the soul's face
associated_figures:
- fig:2
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- id: sym:3
label: forenoon sun
literal_form: comparison for the brightness of the fair one's face
associated_figures:
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:4
label: moon
literal_form: moon that would weep to lose sight of the face
associated_figures:
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:5
label: poisonous claws
literal_form: claws fraught with poison that score deep wounds
associated_figures:
- fig:4
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: admonition against disfiguring beauty
summary: The speaker urges the fair one not to tear plumage or disfigure a beautiful
face, calling such damage sinful.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: scene:2
label: cosmic witness to beauty
summary: The moon is personified as weeping if it could no longer see the fair one's
face.
figure_refs:
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: scene:3
label: foolish thoughts wound the soul
summary: The speaker identifies self-warring temper and foolish thoughts as poisonous
claws that wound the face of the quiet soul.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:4
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: earthly beauty as beneficial to the soul
taxonomy_refs:
- duality
basis: The title states that earthly beauty beautifies the soul, and the passage
links harm to the visible face with injury to the soul.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:4
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage is lyrical admonition rather than a narrative myth; the body-soul
relation is explicit but not developed as a full mythic plot.
- id: motif:2
label: self-wounding by hostile thoughts
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The passage warns that the addressee's own foolish thoughts act like poisonous
claws that wound the soul.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
confidence: medium
cautions: This is an ethical and psychological image; the taxonomy reference is
broad and should be reviewed.
- id: motif:3
label: celestial body responding to human beauty
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The moon is imagined as weeping if it lost sight of the fair one's face.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
confidence: medium
cautions: The image is brief and may be conventional praise rather than an independent
motif.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: quote
locator: 1739-1742
quote_or_summary: '"Tear not thy plumage off" and "Disfigure not thy face"; the
title says earthly beauty beautifies the soul.'
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/persian-mystics-rumi-davis.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short quotation used.
- id: ev:2
type: quote
locator: 1743-1746
quote_or_summary: The face is "bright as the forenoon sun"; disfiguring it is called
a grievous sin and paganism.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/persian-mystics-rumi-davis.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short quotation used.
- id: ev:3
type: quote
locator: '1747'
quote_or_summary: '"The moon itself would weep to lose sight of it!"'
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/persian-mystics-rumi-davis.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short quotation used.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: 1748-1752
quote_or_summary: The addressee is warned against self-war; foolish thoughts are
described as poisonous claws that deeply wound the face of the quiet soul.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/persian-mystics-rumi-davis.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: uncertain
notes: The passage is brief and metaphorical. Literal images and admonitions are
clear; motif assignment is necessarily cautious.
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: |-
Used only supplied passage text and metadata; no external comparisons added.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:sufi-persian-mystics-rumi-davis-gutenberg__l1739-l1752
passage_sha256=5f6d7a5e56da2868d73cb767fd173c975acdf4aec3be4395a8800a347ea2fbb5