batch.motif.greek-plato-republic-jowett-gutenberg-l20975-l21105
---
record_id: batch.motif.greek-plato-republic-jowett-gutenberg-l20975-l21105
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/republic-jowett.md
passage_locator:
label: BOOK V. / BOOK VI. / BOOK VII. / BOOK VIII.; lines 20975-21105
start: '20975'
end: '21105'
translation: The Republic
notes: Generated from OpenAI Batch run motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority;
human review required.
canonical_text:
quote: "“The evil blazes up like a fire”"
summary: The passage describes exploitative money-making under oligarchic conditions,
the moral and military weakness of wealthy rulers, the state becoming internally
diseased and divided, the rise of democracy after the poor conquer their opponents,
and the freedoms, variety, lack of compulsion, and lax treatment of condemned
persons in a democratic city.
language: English
quote_policy: quoted
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: Men of business are described as inserting their money like a sting into unguarded
persons, recovering the original sum many times over, and causing drones and paupers
to increase in the State.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The evil is compared to a fire that the rulers will not extinguish.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: A proposed remedy is a general rule that voluntary contracts are entered at
each person’s own risk.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:4
text: Governors and their adherents, especially young men of the governing class,
are said to live in luxury and idleness of body and mind and to be unable to resist
pleasure or pain.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:5
text: Rulers and subjects may meet on journeys, pilgrimages, marches, or as fellow-soldiers
or sailors, and observe each other in danger.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:6
text: A wiry sunburnt poor man may be placed beside a wealthy man with superfluous
flesh who is puffing and at his wits’ end in battle.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:7
text: The poor are described as concluding that such rich men remain rich only because
no one has courage to despoil them, and as saying that their warriors are not
good for much.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:8
text: A weak State is compared to a diseased body in which a slight external touch,
or even no external provocation, can bring on illness or commotion.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:9
text: Opposing parties may introduce oligarchical and democratical allies from outside,
after which the State falls sick, is at war with herself, and may be distracted
even without an external cause.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:10
text: Democracy is said to come into being after the poor conquer their opponents,
slaughtering some, banishing some, and giving the remainder an equal share of
freedom and power.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:11
text: In the described democracy, magistrates are commonly elected by lot.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:12
text: The democratic city is said to be full of freedom and frankness, where a man
may say and do what he likes and order his own life as he pleases.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: obs:13
text: The democratic State is compared to an embroidered robe spangled with every
sort of flower because it contains a great variety of human natures, manners,
and characters.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- id: obs:14
text: Democracy is compared to a bazaar where constitutions are available for selection
by someone who wants to found a State.
category: object
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
- id: obs:15
text: The democratic way of life is described as lacking necessity to govern, be
governed, go to war, be at peace, or refrain from office when one has a fancy
for it.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:12
- id: obs:16
text: Some persons sentenced to death or exile in a democracy are said to remain
where they are and walk about, parading like heroes while nobody sees or cares.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:13
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: men of business
description: Money-making figures who lend or insert money like a sting into unguarded
persons and recover multiplied sums.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: governors and adherents
description: Ruling figures and supporters who treat subjects badly, care for money,
and live in luxury and idleness.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: subjects and poor
description: Non-ruling and impoverished people who observe the weakness of the
rich and later conquer their opponents in the rise of democracy.
role_refs:
- role:3
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:8
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: wiry sunburnt poor man
description: A poor man placed beside a wealthy man in battle, observing the wealthy
man’s weakness.
role_refs:
- role:3
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: wealthy untrained man
description: A rich man with superfluous flesh who is described as puffing and at
his wits’ end in battle.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: democratic individual
description: A person in democracy who may say and do what he likes and order his
own life as he pleases.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- ev:12
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: condemned or exiled persons
description: Persons sentenced to death or exile who remain and walk about in the
democratic city.
role_refs:
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:13
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: State
description: The political community described as producing paupers, becoming weak
and sick, and undergoing change into democracy.
role_refs:
- role:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:7
- ev:8
roles:
- id: role:1
label: predatory money-maker
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The figure is described as inserting money like a sting and recovering multiplied
sums from unguarded persons.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:2
label: luxurious oligarchic ruler
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The rulers and adherents are described as treating subjects badly, caring
for money, and living in luxury and idleness.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:3
label: impoverished subject
assigned_to:
- fig:3
- fig:4
basis: The passage contrasts poor subjects with the rich and describes a poor man
observing the wealthy in danger.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: role:4
label: battlefield observer
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: The poor man is placed beside a wealthy man in battle and draws conclusions
about the rich.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: role:5
label: revolutionary victor
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: Democracy arises after the poor conquer their opponents and redistribute
freedom and power.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: role:6
label: ineffective rich warrior
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: The wealthy man is described in battle as puffing and at his wits’ end.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: role:7
label: free democratic citizen
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: The individual in democracy may say and do what he likes and order his own
life as he pleases.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: role:8
label: unpunished condemned person
assigned_to:
- fig:7
basis: Condemned or exiled persons are said to remain, walk about, and parade like
heroes.
evidence_refs:
- ev:13
- id: role:9
label: body politic
assigned_to:
- fig:8
basis: The State is treated as an entity that can become weak, sick, internally
divided, and transformed into democracy.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: money as sting
literal_form: sting / money
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:2
label: evil as fire
literal_form: fire
associated_figures:
- fig:8
taxonomy_refs:
- fire
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:3
label: diseased body
literal_form: body with illness or commotion
associated_figures:
- fig:8
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: sym:4
label: embroidered robe
literal_form: embroidered robe spangled with every sort of flower
associated_figures: []
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- id: sym:5
label: bazaar of constitutions
literal_form: bazaar where constitutions are sold or selected
associated_figures:
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
- id: sym:6
label: heroic parade of the condemned
literal_form: condemned person parading like a hero
associated_figures:
- fig:7
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:13
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Exploitative lending and civic increase of drones and paupers
summary: Money-making figures exploit unguarded persons through loans and repeated
recovery of multiplied sums, increasing drones and paupers in the State.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:8
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Unextinguished civic evil
summary: The social evil is described as blazing like fire, and a remedy involving
voluntary contracts at each person’s risk is proposed.
figure_refs:
- fig:8
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: scene:3
label: Luxury of rulers and exposure in danger
summary: Rulers and adherents live in luxury and idleness, while poor and rich encounter
each other in danger, leading the poor to judge the rich as weak warriors.
figure_refs:
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:5
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: scene:4
label: State sickness and internal war
summary: The weak State is compared to a diseased body; opposing parties bring in
outside allies, and the State becomes sick and at war with itself.
figure_refs:
- fig:8
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: scene:5
label: Birth of democracy after victory of the poor
summary: Democracy emerges when the poor conquer opponents, kill or exile some,
and grant remaining citizens equal freedom and power, with magistrates chosen
by lot.
figure_refs:
- fig:3
- fig:8
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: scene:6
label: Democratic freedom, variety, and selection
summary: The democratic city is described as free and frank, filled with varied
human natures, like a decorated robe and like a bazaar of constitutions.
figure_refs:
- fig:6
symbol_refs:
- sym:4
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- ev:10
- ev:11
- ev:12
- id: scene:7
label: Condemned persons remain in the city
summary: Some persons sentenced to death or exile stay and walk about, parading
like heroes while others do not notice or care.
figure_refs:
- fig:7
symbol_refs:
- sym:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:13
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: Predatory wealth as a sting
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The passage figures money as a sting inserted by men of business into unguarded
persons, producing multiplied returns and more drones and paupers.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
confidence: high
cautions: This is a political-economic metaphor in a philosophical passage, not
a narrative mythic episode.
- id: motif:2
label: Civic evil as uncontrolled fire
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The evil in the State is described as blazing up like a fire that rulers
do not extinguish.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
confidence: medium
cautions: The fire image is brief and metaphorical; no broader fire narrative is
present.
- id: motif:3
label: Body politic as diseased body
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The State is compared to a diseased body vulnerable to illness from slight
external touch or internal commotion, and later as sick and at war with herself.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
confidence: high
cautions: This is an explicit analogy, but it functions as political diagnosis rather
than mythic personification.
- id: motif:4
label: Revolutionary inversion by the poor
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Democracy comes into being after the poor conquer the opposing party, kill
or banish some, and grant equal freedom and power to the rest.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
confidence: high
cautions: The passage presents a political sequence, not a sacred or heroic revolution
story.
- id: motif:5
label: Polity as variegated garment
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The democratic State is compared to an embroidered robe spangled with every
sort of flower, reflecting varied manners and characters.
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
confidence: medium
cautions: The image supports a visual motif of plurality but is confined to one
simile.
- id: motif:6
label: Marketplace of constitutions
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Democracy is described as a bazaar where someone founding a State may choose
from a complete assortment of constitutions.
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
confidence: medium
cautions: This is an institutional and philosophical metaphor, not evidence of a
traditional mythic marketplace motif.
- id: motif:7
label: Freedom without civic necessity
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The democratic way of life is described as allowing people to avoid governing,
being governed, war, peace, or public office unless they wish otherwise.
evidence_refs:
- ev:12
confidence: medium
cautions: The motif is abstract and political; it should not be generalized beyond
the passage without review.
- id: motif:8
label: Condemned person parading as hero
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Persons sentenced to death or exile are said to stay, walk about, and parade
like heroes while nobody notices or cares.
evidence_refs:
- ev:13
confidence: medium
cautions: The heroic comparison is ironic and brief; it does not identify a specific
hero tradition.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: 20975-20981
quote_or_summary: Men of business are described as stooping, pretending not to see
those they have ruined, inserting their money like a sting into another unguarded
person, multiplying the parent sum, and making drones and paupers abound in the
State.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/republic-jowett.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; concise summary used.
- id: ev:2
type: quote
locator: 20982-20984
quote_or_summary: "“The evil blazes up like a fire”; the passage says they will
not extinguish it."
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/republic-jowett.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; short quotation used.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: 20985-20992
quote_or_summary: A proposed remedy is a general rule that everyone enters voluntary
contracts at their own risk, which would lessen scandalous money-making and related
evils in the State.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/republic-jowett.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; concise summary used.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: 20993-21004
quote_or_summary: Governors treat subjects badly; they and their adherents, especially
young men of the governing class, live in luxury and idleness, are unable to resist
pleasure or pain, care only for money, and neglect virtue.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/republic-jowett.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; concise summary used.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: 21005-21012
quote_or_summary: Rulers and subjects may encounter one another on a journey, pilgrimage,
march, as fellow-soldiers or sailors, and in moments of danger.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/republic-jowett.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; concise summary used.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: 21012-21023
quote_or_summary: A wiry sunburnt poor man may stand in battle beside a wealthy
man with superfluous flesh who is puffing and at his wits’ end; the poor then
conclude that such men are rich only because no one despoils them and say their
warriors are not good for much.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/republic-jowett.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; concise summary used.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: 21024-21037
quote_or_summary: 'A diseased body is used as an analogy for a weak State: slight
external provocation or internal commotion can bring illness; factions introduce
oligarchical or democratical allies, and the State falls sick and becomes at war
with herself.'
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/republic-jowett.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; concise summary used.
- id: ev:8
type: summary
locator: 21038-21047
quote_or_summary: Democracy arises after the poor conquer their opponents, slaughtering
some and banishing some, while giving the remainder an equal share of freedom
and power; magistrates are commonly elected by lot.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/republic-jowett.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; concise summary used.
- id: ev:9
type: summary
locator: 21048-21064
quote_or_summary: In democracy the city is full of freedom and frankness; a person
may say and do what he likes and order his own life as he pleases.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/republic-jowett.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; concise summary used.
- id: ev:10
type: summary
locator: 21065-21076
quote_or_summary: The democratic State is described as having the greatest variety
of human natures and as being like an embroidered robe spangled with every sort
of flower, appearing fairest to those charmed by many colors and characters.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/republic-jowett.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; concise summary used.
- id: ev:11
type: summary
locator: 21077-21087
quote_or_summary: Because liberty reigns there, democracy has a complete assortment
of constitutions; a founder may go to it as to a bazaar and choose a suitable
form.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/republic-jowett.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; concise summary used.
- id: ev:12
type: summary
locator: 21088-21099
quote_or_summary: In the democratic State there is said to be no necessity to govern,
be governed, go to war, remain at peace, or refrain from public office or judging
if one has a fancy for it.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/republic-jowett.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; concise summary used.
- id: ev:13
type: summary
locator: 21100-21105
quote_or_summary: In democracy, some persons sentenced to death or exile stay where
they are, walk about the world, and parade like heroes while nobody sees or cares.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/republic-jowett.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; concise summary used.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: uncertain
notes: The passage is clear, but its images are philosophical and political metaphors
rather than narrative mythic motifs. No external comparison claims were made from
the passage alone.
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. Available symbol taxonomy supported only the fire symbol in this passage; no motif-family taxonomy reference was assigned.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:greek-plato-republic-jowett-gutenberg__l20975-l21105
passage_sha256=93f5b92949a5356cc15858738f42f20e86faa99d09de6d3e13f9cd12de936646