batch.motif.greek-plato-republic-jowett-gutenberg-l14845-l14992
---
record_id: batch.motif.greek-plato-republic-jowett-gutenberg-l14845-l14992
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/republic-jowett.md
passage_locator:
label: BOOK I. / BOOK II. / BOOK III. / BOOK IV.; lines 14845-14992
start: '14845'
end: '14992'
translation: The Republic
notes: Generated from OpenAI Batch run motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority;
human review required.
canonical_text:
quote: ''
summary: 'The passage argues that the soul contains distinct rational, appetitive,
and spirited principles. It uses the story of Leontius looking at executed bodies,
analogies of factions in a State and shepherds with dogs, references to children,
animals, and Homer, and concludes that justice in the individual resembles justice
in the State: each part performs its own work.'
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: A distinction is made between something in the soul that bids a person to
drink and another principle that forbids him.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The forbidding principle is identified with reason, while the principle that
loves, hungers, thirsts, and desires is called irrational or appetitive.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: Leontius, son of Aglaion, comes from the Piraeus by the north wall and sees
dead bodies at the place of execution.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: Leontius both desires to see the dead bodies and feels dread and abhorrence;
he covers his eyes, then forces them open and runs toward the bodies.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:5
text: Leontius addresses his eyes as wretches and tells them to take their fill
of the sight.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:6
text: The speaker states the moral of the tale as anger going to war with desire,
as if they were distinct things.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:7
text: Spirit is described as taking the side of reason when desires violently prevail
over reason.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:8
text: The struggle within the soul is compared to factions in a State.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:9
text: Reason is compared to a shepherd whose voice can command a dog to stop barking.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:10
text: The auxiliaries in the State are compared to dogs, and the rulers to shepherds.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:11
text: The passage argues that spirit or passion is a third element in the soul,
distinct from appetite and reason, and naturally auxiliary to reason when not
corrupted by bad education.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:12
text: Young children and brute animals are cited as examples of beings that show
spirit before or apart from mature reason.
category: other
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:13
text: A Homeric line is cited in which a figure smites his breast and rebukes his
soul.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:14
text: The passage concludes that the same three principles exist in the State and
in the individual soul.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:15
text: The passage concludes that justice in the individual consists in the several
qualities of his nature doing their own work, as justice in the State consists
in each of the three classes doing its own work.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Primary speaker
description: The unnamed dialogue speaker who develops the argument about the soul,
recalls the story of Leontius, and draws the State-soul analogy.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Responding interlocutor
description: The unnamed respondent who agrees with the speaker’s distinctions and
interpretations.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Leontius, son of Aglaion
description: A man who sees dead bodies at the place of execution, struggles between
desire and abhorrence, and then looks at them.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Rational principle of the soul
description: The principle with which a person reasons and which can forbid appetite
and rebuke anger.
role_refs:
- role:4
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Appetitive principle of the soul
description: The irrational principle with which a person loves, hungers, thirsts,
and feels other desires.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Spirited or passionate element
description: A third element of the soul that can become angry at desire and is
described as the natural auxiliary of reason.
role_refs:
- role:6
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: State
description: The political community used as an analogue for the individual soul,
composed of traders, auxiliaries, and counsellors.
role_refs:
- role:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: Individual soul
description: The inner human structure said to contain the same three principles
that exist in the State.
role_refs:
- role:10
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
roles:
- id: role:1
label: Argument-giver
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The speaker poses the distinctions, interprets the story, and draws conclusions
about soul and State.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:6
- id: role:2
label: Assenting respondent
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The respondent repeatedly agrees with the speaker’s claims.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:6
- id: role:3
label: Exemplary conflicted observer
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: Leontius is used as an example of inner conflict between desire, dread, and
anger.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: role:4
label: Forbidding and reasoning principle
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: The passage says the forbidding principle is derived from reason and is the
element with which a person reasons.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:5
label: Desiring principle
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: The passage identifies the appetitive principle as the element with which
a person loves, hungers, thirsts, and desires.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:6
label: Auxiliary of reason
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: Spirit is said to be arrayed on the side of the rational principle and to
be reason’s natural auxiliary when not corrupted.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:5
- id: role:7
label: Shepherd-like commander
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: Reason is figured as a shepherd whose voice tells the dog to bark no more.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:8
label: Dog-like auxiliary
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: The spirited element is linked to the auxiliary function, and the auxiliaries
are compared to dogs who hear the rulers’ voice.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:9
label: Macrocosmic analogue
assigned_to:
- fig:7
basis: The State’s three classes are used as an analogue for the three elements
of the individual soul.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: role:10
label: Microcosmic analogue
assigned_to:
- fig:8
basis: The individual soul is said to contain the same three principles that exist
in the State.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: Dead bodies at the place of execution
literal_form: dead bodies lying on the ground at the place of execution
associated_figures:
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:2
label: Covered and forced-open eyes
literal_form: Leontius covers his eyes, then forces them open
associated_figures:
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:3
label: Shepherd voice and barking dog
literal_form: reason as shepherd voice; auxiliary spirit as dog-like figure commanded
not to bark
associated_figures:
- fig:4
- fig:6
- fig:7
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: sym:4
label: Threefold structure
literal_form: three principles in the soul and three classes in the State
associated_figures:
- fig:7
- fig:8
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: sym:5
label: Factions in a State
literal_form: inner struggle compared to factions in a State
associated_figures:
- fig:4
- fig:5
- fig:6
- fig:7
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:6
label: Land reached after tossing
literal_form: the argument described as reaching land after much tossing
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Distinction between reason and appetite
summary: The speaker and respondent distinguish the principle that forbids from
the principle that bids, attracts, loves, hungers, and thirsts.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:4
- fig:5
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Leontius at the place of execution
summary: Leontius sees executed bodies, struggles between desire and abhorrence,
covers his eyes, then forces them open and runs toward the bodies while addressing
his eyes.
figure_refs:
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: scene:3
label: Spirit opposed to desire and allied with reason
summary: The story is interpreted to mean that anger can go to war with desire and
that spirit sides with reason in the inner struggle.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:4
- fig:5
- fig:6
symbol_refs:
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: scene:4
label: Shepherd and dog analogy
summary: A noble spirit is described as persevering until reason, figured as a shepherd,
bids the dog-like element to stop; the State’s auxiliaries and rulers are compared
to dogs and shepherds.
figure_refs:
- fig:4
- fig:6
- fig:7
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: scene:5
label: Proof of the third element
summary: Spirit is argued to be distinct from appetite and reason, with children,
animals, and a Homeric line cited as supporting examples.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:4
- fig:5
- fig:6
symbol_refs:
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: scene:6
label: State and individual soul aligned
summary: The argument concludes that the same three principles exist in State and
individual, and that justice in both consists in each part doing its proper work.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:7
- fig:8
symbol_refs:
- sym:4
- sym:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: Inner conflict among parts of the soul
taxonomy_refs:
- duality
basis: The passage repeatedly describes conflict between reason, appetite, and spirit,
including the Leontius example and the statement that anger goes to war with desire.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:5
confidence: medium
cautions: The taxonomy reference 'duality' only partially fits because the passage
ultimately argues for three principles, not only two.
- id: motif:2
label: Reason as inner ruler and source of wisdom
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The rational principle forbids appetite, reasons about better and worse,
and corresponds to the quality by which State and individual are wise.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:5
- ev:6
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage is philosophical rather than mythic; the wisdom motif is conceptual
and should be reviewed.
- id: motif:3
label: Ordered correspondence of State and soul
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The passage explicitly aligns three classes in the State with three principles
in the individual and defines justice in both as each part doing its own work.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
confidence: high
cautions: No supplied taxonomy reference directly names this pattern.
- id: motif:4
label: Animal guardian as disciplined auxiliary
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The auxiliaries are compared to dogs who hear the voice of ruler-shepherds,
and the spirited element is treated as reason’s auxiliary.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
confidence: medium
cautions: This is an analogy within a philosophical argument, not a narrative animal-helper
episode.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: The passage itself compares the State and the individual soul as structures
with the same three-part ordering and the same account of justice.
claim_level: same_function
target: State and individual soul
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: high
limitations: This is an internal philosophical analogy, not evidence of historical
contact or a cross-cultural motif.
- id: claim:2
claim: The passage uses a cited Homeric line as a parallel for reason rebuking an
unreasoning anger or soul-element.
claim_level: same_function
target: Homeric verse quoted in the passage
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: Only a single brief line is cited, and the surrounding Homeric context
is not provided in the passage.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: 14845-14866
quote_or_summary: The speaker distinguishes a soul-principle that bids a man to
drink from a stronger forbidding principle, then names the reasoning element rational
and the loving, hungering, thirsting element irrational or appetitive.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/republic-jowett.md
rights_note: Public domain source metadata; summarized evidence.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: 14867-14882
quote_or_summary: Leontius, son of Aglaion, comes from the Piraeus under the north
wall, sees dead bodies at the place of execution, struggles between desire and
abhorrence, covers his eyes, then forces them open and runs to look.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/republic-jowett.md
rights_note: Public domain source metadata; summarized evidence.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: 14883-14902
quote_or_summary: The tale is interpreted to mean that anger can go to war with
desire; the speaker also compares inner struggle to factions in a State and says
spirit sides with reason against violent desires.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/republic-jowett.md
rights_note: Public domain source metadata; summarized evidence.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: 14903-14923
quote_or_summary: A noble spirit is described as persisting until it slays or is
slain, or until it hears reason as the shepherd’s voice telling the dog to bark
no more; the State’s auxiliaries are likened to dogs and rulers to shepherds.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/republic-jowett.md
rights_note: Public domain source metadata; summarized evidence.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: 14924-14964
quote_or_summary: The passage argues that passion or spirit is a third element,
distinct from desire and reason, naturally auxiliary to reason; children, brute
animals, and a Homeric line about smiting the breast and rebuking the soul are
cited.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/republic-jowett.md
rights_note: Public domain source metadata; summarized evidence.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: 14965-14992
quote_or_summary: The argument concludes that the same three principles exist in
State and individual; wisdom, courage, and justice are treated analogously, and
justice consists in each class or quality doing its own work.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/republic-jowett.md
rights_note: Public domain source metadata; summarized evidence.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: medium
notes: The literal argument and internal analogies are clear. Motif and taxonomy
assignment is less certain because the passage is philosophical and only partly
overlaps the supplied mythological motif families.
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 the supplied passage and metadata. No external identifications were added for unnamed dialogue participants.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:greek-plato-republic-jowett-gutenberg__l14845-l14992
passage_sha256=d0e862063ab80f67834e078d73691a9920745fb728f7355083168f81c75c075b