batch.motif.greek-plato-republic-jowett-gutenberg-l11610-l11780
---
record_id: batch.motif.greek-plato-republic-jowett-gutenberg-l11610-l11780
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/republic-jowett.md
passage_locator:
label: THE REPUBLIC. / PERSONS OF THE DIALOGUE. / BOOK I. / BOOK II.; lines 11610-11780
start: '11610'
end: '11780'
translation: The Republic
notes: Generated from OpenAI Batch run motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority;
human review required.
canonical_text:
quote: ''
summary: The speakers argue that what is best and most perfect is least liable to
change; because God is perfect, God would not change form for the better or worse.
They reject poetic stories in which gods disguise themselves, take many forms,
or deceive human beings, and argue that the divine is simple, true, unchanging,
and incapable of falsehood.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: The passage states a general principle that things at their best are least
liable to alteration or disturbance from outside causes.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The speakers apply the principle of minimal change to God and the things of
God, described as perfect.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: The passage concludes that God would not willingly change and that every God
remains in his own form.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:4
text: The passage rejects poetic accounts in which gods take disguises, walk among
cities as strangers, or appear in many forms.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:5
text: Proteus, Thetis, Here, the daughters of Inachus, and Inachus the river of
Argos are named in connection with poetic stories or examples to be rejected.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:6
text: The passage says mothers should not scare children by repeating stories that
gods go about by night in the likeness of strangers and in diverse forms.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:7
text: The passage distinguishes a deeper falsehood in the soul from a lie in words,
calling the latter an imitation or shadowy image of an affection of the soul.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:8
text: The passage allows that lies in words can be useful in limited human cases,
such as against enemies, as a preventive for friends in madness or illusion, or
in mythological tales about ancient times.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:9
text: The speakers deny that any of those motives for lying apply to God.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: obs:10
text: The passage states that God does not deceive by sign, word, dream, or waking
vision.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- id: obs:11
text: The passage names a lying dream sent by Zeus to Agamemnon as something not
to be admired.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Socrates / speaker identified as "I"
description: Primary speaker conducting the argument by questions and conclusions.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:10
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Adeimantus
description: Named interlocutor who agrees with the argument about God and change.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: God / gods
description: Divine beings described as perfect, unchanging, simple, true, and incapable
of falsehood.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:10
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: poets
description: Tellers of accounts in which gods disguise themselves, transform, or
deceive; such accounts are rejected by the speaker.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:8
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: mothers
description: Mothers are warned not to scare children by repeating frightening versions
of divine disguise myths.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: children
description: Children are described as potentially frightened and made cowardly
by stories of gods wandering in strange forms at night.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: Proteus
description: Named as a divine or mythic figure whom no one should slander with
stories of transformation.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: Thetis
description: Named among figures connected with rejected poetic accounts; also mentioned
in relation to verses of Aeschylus at the end of the passage.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:12
- id: fig:9
name_or_label: Here
description: Named in an example of tragedy or poetry where she is introduced disguised
as a priestess asking alms.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: fig:10
name_or_label: daughters of Inachus
description: Called life-giving daughters in a quoted poetic example connected with
Here's disguise.
role_refs:
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: fig:11
name_or_label: Inachus the river of Argos
description: Named as the river of Argos and associated with the daughters of Inachus
in the quoted poetic example.
role_refs:
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: fig:12
name_or_label: Zeus
description: Named as sending a lying dream to Agamemnon in a Homeric example that
the speakers do not admire.
role_refs:
- role:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
- id: fig:13
name_or_label: Agamemnon
description: Named as the recipient of a lying dream sent by Zeus.
role_refs:
- role:10
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
- id: fig:14
name_or_label: Apollo
description: Named at the end of the passage in connection with Thetis's speech
in Aeschylus.
role_refs:
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:12
roles:
- id: role:1
label: questioning philosophical speaker
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The speaker advances the argument through questions and summaries about change,
God, and falsehood.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:10
- id: role:2
label: assenting interlocutor
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: Adeimantus is directly addressed and agrees with the conclusions.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:3
label: perfect and unchanging divine subject
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: God and divine things are described as perfect, unable to become better,
unwilling to become worse, and remaining in their own form.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: role:4
label: myth-teller under critique
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: Poets are told not to present gods as disguising themselves, transforming,
or deceiving.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:8
- id: role:5
label: transmitter of frightening myths
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: Mothers are warned not to scare children with bad versions of myths about
gods appearing in strange forms at night.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: role:6
label: vulnerable audience of myth
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: Children are described as being scared and potentially made cowardly by such
stories.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: role:7
label: example in rejected transformation traditions
assigned_to:
- fig:7
- fig:8
- fig:9
basis: Proteus, Thetis, and Here are named as figures who should not be represented
through slanderous transformation or disguise stories.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: role:8
label: named poetic figure
assigned_to:
- fig:10
- fig:11
- fig:14
basis: These figures are named in poetic examples but are not developed as acting
figures in the argument.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:12
- id: role:9
label: sender of rejected deceptive dream
assigned_to:
- fig:12
basis: Zeus is said to send a lying dream to Agamemnon, an episode the speakers
refuse to admire.
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
- id: role:10
label: recipient of deceptive dream
assigned_to:
- fig:13
basis: Agamemnon is named as receiving the lying dream from Zeus.
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: divine disguise
literal_form: gods taking disguises as strangers from other lands and walking through
cities in many forms
associated_figures:
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs:
- shapeshifter
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: sym:2
label: night wandering in diverse forms
literal_form: gods going about by night in the likeness of strangers and in diverse
forms
associated_figures:
- fig:3
- fig:5
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs:
- shapeshifter
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: sym:3
label: phantom of the divine
literal_form: a phantom put forth by God as a possible form of deception, which
the argument rejects
associated_figures:
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:13
- id: sym:4
label: lie in the soul
literal_form: ignorance or deception held in the highest part of oneself, the soul
associated_figures: []
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: sym:5
label: lie as medicine
literal_form: a lie in words described as a medicine or preventive in limited human
cases
associated_figures: []
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: sym:6
label: dream and waking vision
literal_form: dream or waking vision as possible channels of deception, denied of
God
associated_figures:
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- id: sym:7
label: lying dream
literal_form: the lying dream sent by Zeus to Agamemnon
associated_figures:
- fig:12
- fig:13
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
- id: sym:8
label: river of Argos
literal_form: Inachus, named as the river of Argos
associated_figures:
- fig:11
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Argument from perfection to changelessness
summary: The speaker reasons that things at their best are least changed by external
causes and applies this to God, concluding that God would not take many shapes
or change into a worse form.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: scene:2
label: Rejection of poetic divine disguise stories
summary: The speaker instructs that poets should not tell stories of gods taking
disguises, walking among cities as strangers, or appearing in diverse forms, and
names several mythic figures in examples.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:7
- fig:8
- fig:9
- fig:10
- fig:11
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: scene:3
label: Warning against frightening children with myths
summary: The speaker says mothers should not frighten children with versions of
myths in which gods go about at night in strange forms, because this may make
the children cowardly and speak falsely about the gods.
figure_refs:
- fig:3
- fig:5
- fig:6
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: scene:4
label: Distinction between true lie and verbal lie
summary: The speaker distinguishes deception in the soul about highest realities
from spoken falsehood, and says verbal lies may be useful only in limited human
circumstances.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:4
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: scene:5
label: Divine incapacity for deception
summary: The speakers deny that God has any reason to lie and conclude that the
divine does not deceive by sign, word, dream, or waking vision.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
- sym:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- ev:10
- ev:13
- id: scene:6
label: Examples from Homer and Aeschylus rejected
summary: The speakers say they do not admire the lying dream Zeus sends to Agamemnon
and begin to reject verses of Aeschylus concerning Thetis and Apollo.
figure_refs:
- fig:4
- fig:8
- fig:12
- fig:13
- fig:14
symbol_refs:
- sym:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
- ev:12
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: rejected divine shapeshifting
taxonomy_refs:
- shapeshifter
basis: The passage repeatedly discusses stories in which gods disguise themselves
or appear in many forms, but presents them as false stories that should not be
told about the gods.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:6
confidence: medium
cautions: The motif is present as an object of critique, not as an endorsed narrative
event.
- id: motif:2
label: divine truthfulness and changeless form
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The argument concludes that God remains in his own form and does not deceive
by word, sign, dream, or waking vision.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:10
confidence: high
cautions: No supplied taxonomy family exactly matches divine immutability or truthfulness.
- id: motif:3
label: deceptive dream sent by a god
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The passage names a lying dream sent by Zeus to Agamemnon as an example the
speakers do not admire.
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
confidence: medium
cautions: The episode is only cited briefly and polemically; the passage does not
narrate the dream itself.
- id: motif:4
label: mythic falsehood as useful approximation
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The passage says that because people do not know the truth about ancient
times, falsehood in mythological tales may be made as much like truth as possible
and turned to account.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
confidence: low
cautions: The taxonomy reference to wisdom is broad; the passage is philosophical
rather than a mythic narrative.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: The passage explicitly compares its proposed rule for speaking about the
gods with poetic traditions, especially accounts attributed to Homer and Aeschylus,
and rejects divine disguise and divine deception motifs found there.
claim_level: same_motif
target: Greek poetic accounts of gods disguising themselves or deceiving humans,
including Homeric and Aeschylean examples named in the passage
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:11
- ev:12
counter_evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:10
confidence: medium
limitations: The passage supplies only brief cited examples and does not narrate
the Homeric or Aeschylean episodes in full.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: 11610-11630
quote_or_summary: Things that are healthiest, strongest, most vigorous, or well
made are least liable to alteration from outside influences such as food, weather,
time, or circumstances.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/republic-jowett.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:2
type: quote
locator: 11631-11640
quote_or_summary: "“God and the things of God are in every way perfect” and therefore
cannot be compelled by external influence to take many shapes."
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/republic-jowett.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short quotation.
- id: ev:3
type: quote
locator: 11641-11658
quote_or_summary: "“every God remains absolutely and for ever in his own form.”"
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/republic-jowett.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short quotation.
- id: ev:4
type: quote
locator: 11659-11667
quote_or_summary: The speaker rejects poets saying that “The gods, taking the disguise
of strangers from other lands, walk up and down cities in all sorts of forms.”
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/republic-jowett.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short quotation.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: 11668-11676
quote_or_summary: The speaker says not to slander Proteus and Thetis, and not to
introduce Here disguised as a priestess asking alms for the daughters of Inachus
the river of Argos.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/republic-jowett.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: 11677-11688
quote_or_summary: The speaker warns against mothers scaring children with stories
that gods go about by night in the likeness of strangers and in diverse forms,
lest children become cowardly and the gods be misrepresented.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/republic-jowett.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: 11705-11735
quote_or_summary: The speaker defines the true lie as deception or ignorance in
the soul about highest realities, while a lie in words is an imitation or shadowy
image of a prior condition of the soul.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/republic-jowett.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:8
type: summary
locator: 11736-11748
quote_or_summary: The speaker says spoken falsehood can be useful against enemies,
as a preventive for friends in madness or illusion, and in mythological tales
about ancient times when truth is unknown.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/republic-jowett.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:9
type: summary
locator: 11749-11765
quote_or_summary: The speakers deny that God would invent from ignorance of antiquity,
lie from fear of enemies, or have mad or senseless friends requiring deception.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/republic-jowett.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:10
type: quote
locator: 11766-11773
quote_or_summary: "“God perfectly simple and true both in word and deed; he changes
not; he deceives not, either by sign or word, by dream or waking vision.”"
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/republic-jowett.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short quotation.
- id: ev:11
type: summary
locator: 11774-11778
quote_or_summary: The speaker says that although they admire Homer, they do not
admire the lying dream Zeus sends to Agamemnon.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/republic-jowett.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:12
type: summary
locator: 11778-11780
quote_or_summary: The passage begins to reject verses of Aeschylus in which Thetis
says something concerning Apollo at her nuptials; the supplied passage cuts off
mid-sentence.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/republic-jowett.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:13
type: summary
locator: 11689-11704
quote_or_summary: The speaker asks whether God would be willing to lie in word or
deed or put forth a phantom of himself; the interlocutor cannot affirm this.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/republic-jowett.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: medium
notes: The philosophical claims and named examples are explicit. Motif extraction
is more tentative because several motifs are discussed as rejected poetic representations
rather than enacted narrative material.
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. The final Aeschylus example is incomplete because the provided passage ends mid-sentence.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:greek-plato-republic-jowett-gutenberg__l11610-l11780
passage_sha256=49c894e4866c800e76f5115c90bb66f9b1566e99cdf89a225bf06851b6a6658f