batch.motif.greek-plato-republic-jowett-gutenberg-l20815-l20973
---
record_id: batch.motif.greek-plato-republic-jowett-gutenberg-l20815-l20973
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/republic-jowett.md
passage_locator:
label: BOOK V. / BOOK VI. / BOOK VII. / BOOK VIII.; lines 20815-20973
start: '20815'
end: '20973'
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 describes how the son of a timocratic man, after seeing his
father ruined by the state, turns from ambition to money-making. His covetous
element is figured as a ruler over reason and spirit, producing the oligarchical
character: miserly, outwardly respectable, inwardly divided, and ruled by wealth.
The dialogue then turns to the emergence of democracy from oligarchy, describing
rulers who profit from spendthrift youths, impoverished citizens who remain armed
and resentful, and a revolutionary disposition arising from economic injustice.'
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: A son first imitates his father, but after the father is ruined by trial,
death or exile, loss of citizenship, and confiscation of property, the son becomes
fearful and poor.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The son removes ambition and passion from the ruling place in himself and
turns to money-making, saving, and hard work.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: The covetous element is described as sitting on a vacant throne and playing
the great king within him, with royal and martial ornaments.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:4
text: Reason and spirit are made subordinate to the money-making element and are
directed toward increasing wealth and admiring rich men.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:5
text: The avaricious individual is identified as the oligarchical youth and is compared
to the oligarchical state.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:6
text: The oligarchical individual satisfies only necessary appetites, suppresses
other desires as unprofitable, saves money, and is praised by the vulgar.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:7
text: The passage says that lack of cultivation leaves dronelike desires in the
man, including pauper and rogue desires, which are held down by habit, necessity,
and fear rather than reason.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: obs:8
text: The miser is described as being at war with himself, as two men rather than
one, although his better desires generally prevail over his inferior ones.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: obs:9
text: The miser is said to compete poorly for prizes of victory or honour because
he refuses to spend money and fights with only a small part of his resources.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- id: obs:10
text: The passage turns from oligarchy to democracy and asks how the change arises
from an insatiable desire for wealth.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
- id: obs:11
text: Oligarchical rulers profit from spendthrift youths by lending at interest
and buying their estates, thereby increasing their own wealth and importance.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:12
- id: obs:12
text: Citizens of good family are reduced to beggary, remain in the city armed and
resentful, and conspire against those who possess their former property.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:13
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Father of the timocratic son
description: A general or high officer who is brought to trial under prejudice raised
by informers and loses life, exile, citizenship, property, or some combination
of these.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Son of the timocratic man
description: A youth who first emulates his father, then becomes ruined, fearful,
poor, and devoted to money-making.
role_refs:
- role:2
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:5
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Covetous element
description: An inner element seated on the vacant throne and described as playing
the great king within the transformed youth.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Reason and spirit
description: Inner powers made to sit obediently on either side of the covetous
ruler and directed toward wealth-related aims.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Oligarchical rulers
description: Rulers whose power rests on wealth and who profit from the ruin of
spendthrift youths.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:12
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Spendthrift youths
description: Extravagant young men whose ruin benefits the wealthy rulers through
interest and estate acquisition.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:12
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: Impoverished armed citizens
description: Men of good family reduced to beggary who remain in the city, are armed,
resentful, indebted or disenfranchised, and eager for revolution.
role_refs:
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:13
roles:
- id: role:1
label: Ruined public man
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The father is described as an officer brought to trial and deprived of life,
exile status, citizenship, or property.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:2
label: Transformed son
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The son changes from emulating the father to rejecting ambition and taking
up money-making after ruin and fear.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: role:3
label: Oligarchical youth or miser
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The passage identifies the avaricious person as the oligarchical youth and
describes him as miserly and wealth-valuing.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: role:4
label: Inner sovereign of appetite and wealth
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The covetous element is seated on a throne and made to play the great king
within the person.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:5
label: Subordinated inner powers
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: Reason and spirit are made obedient to the covetous ruler and redirected
toward wealth.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:6
label: Wealth-preserving oligarchs
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: The rulers' power rests on wealth and they increase their own importance
by profiting from others' ruin.
evidence_refs:
- ev:12
- id: role:7
label: Objects of exploitation
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: The rulers refuse to restrain the youths' extravagance because they gain
by their ruin.
evidence_refs:
- ev:12
- id: role:8
label: Potential revolutionaries
assigned_to:
- fig:7
basis: The impoverished citizens hate, conspire, and are eager for revolution.
evidence_refs:
- ev:13
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: Vacant throne of the soul
literal_form: throne
associated_figures:
- fig:2
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: sym:2
label: Royal and martial ornaments of appetite
literal_form: tiara, chain, and scimitar
associated_figures:
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:3
label: Blind god as director
literal_form: blind god directing a chorus
associated_figures:
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:14
- id: sym:4
label: Dronelike desires
literal_form: drone-like pauper and rogue desires
associated_figures:
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: sym:5
label: Stinging armed poor
literal_form: armed men ready to sting
associated_figures:
- fig:7
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:13
- id: sym:6
label: Sunken reef of the state
literal_form: state as a sunken reef against which the father founders
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Ruin of the father and transformation of the son
summary: The son sees his father ruined by the state, loses security, becomes fearful
and poor, and shifts from ambition to money-making.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: scene:2
label: Enthronement of the covetous element
summary: The youth's covetous element is placed in the ruling position, while reason
and spirit become subordinate and serve wealth-making.
figure_refs:
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: scene:3
label: Character of the oligarchical individual
summary: The miserly individual saves money, suppresses unnecessary desires, harbors
dronelike bad desires, and remains inwardly divided.
figure_refs:
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- ev:8
- ev:9
- id: scene:4
label: Transition from oligarchy toward democracy
summary: The dialogue describes oligarchical rulers profiting from extravagance,
the incompatibility of wealth-love and moderation, and impoverished armed citizens
becoming resentful and revolutionary.
figure_refs:
- fig:5
- fig:6
- fig:7
symbol_refs:
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
- ev:12
- ev:13
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: Inner enthronement of appetite over reason
taxonomy_refs:
- duality
basis: The passage presents the person as an internal polity in which the covetous
element becomes king and reason and spirit are subordinated.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
confidence: medium
cautions: This is a philosophical-psychological image rather than a mythic narrative
episode.
- id: motif:2
label: Divided self as two persons
taxonomy_refs:
- duality
basis: The miser is explicitly described as at war with himself and as two men rather
than one.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
confidence: high
cautions: The motif is abstract and ethical, not tied to a named mythic figure.
- id: motif:3
label: Fear-driven conversion from honor to wealth
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The son’s observation of his father’s ruin causes him to abandon ambition
and pursue wealth through saving and labor.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
confidence: medium
cautions: This is a political-psychological pattern in dialogue form, not a conventional
mythological plot.
- id: motif:4
label: Economic injustice producing revolutionary avengers
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The passage describes impoverished armed citizens who hate and conspire against
those who have acquired their property and are eager for revolution.
evidence_refs:
- ev:13
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage supports a social pattern but not a specific mythic taxonomy
reference.
- id: motif:5
label: False or blind guide of life
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The oligarchical individual is said to have made a blind god director of
his chorus, implying misdirected ordering of the self through lack of cultivation.
evidence_refs:
- ev:14
confidence: low
cautions: The 'blind god' image is brief and metaphorical; the passage does not
name the god or expand the image.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: The passage explicitly compares the miserly individual to the oligarchical
state, presenting the person as an image of the political order he represents.
claim_level: same_function
target: Oligarchical individual and oligarchical State
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:10
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: high
limitations: The comparison is internal to the philosophical argument and should
not be treated as evidence of historical contact or mythic inheritance.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: 20815-20824
quote_or_summary: The son emulates his father, then sees him ruined by the State
like a ship foundering on a sunken reef; the father may be tried, executed, exiled,
deprived of citizenship, and stripped of property.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/republic-jowett.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: 20827-20833
quote_or_summary: The son, ruined and fearful, casts ambition and passion from the
throne of his bosom, becomes humbled by poverty, and turns to money-making, saving,
and hard work.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/republic-jowett.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:3
type: quote
locator: 20831-20834
quote_or_summary: '"seat the concupiscent and covetous element on the vacant throne"
and let it "play the great king within him, girt with tiara and chain and scimitar"'
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/republic-jowett.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short excerpt.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: 20838-20844
quote_or_summary: Reason and spirit are made to sit obediently on either side of
the covetous sovereign and are directed toward turning smaller sums into larger
ones and admiring riches and rich men.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/republic-jowett.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: 20848-20857
quote_or_summary: The dialogue identifies the avaricious person as the oligarchical
youth and asks whether he resembles the State from which oligarchy came.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/republic-jowett.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: 20859-20872
quote_or_summary: The individual and state both value wealth; the individual satisfies
only necessary appetites, suppresses unprofitable desires, saves money, and is
praised by the vulgar.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/republic-jowett.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:7
type: quote
locator: 20878-20882
quote_or_summary: '"there will be found in him dronelike desires as of pauper and
rogue"'
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/republic-jowett.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short excerpt.
- id: ev:8
type: summary
locator: 20888-20896
quote_or_summary: His bad passions are coerced by enforced virtue, necessity, and
fear rather than tamed by reason; he trembles for his possessions.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/republic-jowett.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:9
type: quote
locator: 20902-20907
quote_or_summary: '"The man, then, will be at war with himself; he will be two men,
and not one"'
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/republic-jowett.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short excerpt.
- id: ev:10
type: summary
locator: 20913-20923
quote_or_summary: The miser avoids spending in contests for glory, fights with only
part of his resources, and commonly loses the prize while saving his money.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/republic-jowett.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:11
type: summary
locator: 20929-20939
quote_or_summary: The discussion turns to democracy and asks how oligarchy changes
into democracy, beginning from an insatiable desire to become as rich as possible.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/republic-jowett.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:12
type: summary
locator: 20941-20951
quote_or_summary: Rulers whose power rests on wealth refuse to restrain spendthrift
youth because they gain by their ruin, taking interest and buying estates.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/republic-jowett.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:13
type: summary
locator: 20961-20973
quote_or_summary: Men of good family reduced to beggary remain in the city, armed
and ready to sting; some are in debt or disenfranchised, and they hate, conspire,
and desire revolution.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/republic-jowett.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:14
type: quote
locator: 20874-20877
quote_or_summary: '"he would never have made a blind god director of his chorus"'
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/republic-jowett.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short excerpt.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: high
notes: The passage is philosophical and political rather than mythological. Motif
candidates are therefore limited to abstract patterns directly supported by the
passage imagery and argument.
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 comparisons or unsupported taxonomy identifiers were added. Available symbol taxonomy terms such as cave, fire, serpent, tree, water, milk, and mountain are not present in this passage.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:greek-plato-republic-jowett-gutenberg__l20815-l20973
passage_sha256=94bb78007bd016c6c1cffda33ca8ff41fa22ebcc2ceb18b14c1063e895a399c3