batch.motif.greek-plato-republic-jowett-gutenberg-l23168-l23363
---
record_id: batch.motif.greek-plato-republic-jowett-gutenberg-l23168-l23363
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/republic-jowett.md
passage_locator:
label: BOOK VII. / BOOK VIII. / BOOK IX. / BOOK X.; lines 23168-23363
start: '23168'
end: '23363'
translation: The Republic
notes: Generated from OpenAI Batch run motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority;
human review required.
canonical_text:
quote: all poetical imitations are ruinous to the understanding of the hearers
summary: The speaker defends the exclusion of imitative poetry, then analyzes imitation
through examples of beds, tables, mirrors, painters, carpenters, and God. He distinguishes
the ideal form, the crafted object, and the painted image, concluding that the
painter is an imitator at a third remove from nature.
language: English
quote_policy: quoted
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: The speaker says the rule rejecting imitative poetry is among the excellences
of the State.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The speaker says poetical imitations are ruinous to the understanding of hearers
unless their true nature is known.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: Homer is described as the great captain and teacher of the tragic company,
though truth is given priority over reverence for him.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: The inquiry begins by assuming that things sharing a common name correspond
to an idea or form.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:5
text: 'Beds and tables are used as examples of many individual objects corresponding
to two forms: the form of bed and the form of table.'
category: object
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:6
text: An artificer is said to make a particular bed or table for use, but not the
idea itself.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:7
text: A mirror turned around is described as producing appearances of the sun, heavens,
earth, oneself, animals, plants, and other things.
category: object
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:8
text: The painter is compared to the mirror-user as a creator of appearances rather
than real things.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:9
text: 'The passage distinguishes three beds: one in nature made by God, one made
by the carpenter, and one made by the painter.'
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:10
text: God is said to have made one ideal bed in nature and to be the natural author
of this and all other things.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:11
text: The painter is designated as the imitator of what others make and as third
in descent from nature.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: primary speaker
description: The main speaker who argues for the rejection of imitative poetry and
questions the interlocutor about imitation.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:8
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: interlocutor
description: The respondent who answers the speaker's questions and agrees to the
distinctions made.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:6
- ev:8
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Homer
description: A poet toward whom the speaker says he has awe and love; described
as captain and teacher of the tragic company.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: tragedians and imitative tribe
description: Poetic imitators mentioned as those to whom the speaker would not like
his words repeated.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: God
description: The maker of the bed in nature and natural author of this and all other
things.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: carpenter
description: The maker of the particular bed.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: painter
description: The producer of the painted bed, described as a creator of appearances
and an imitator.
role_refs:
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:8
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: artificer or workman
description: A maker who produces particular objects for use according to an idea,
but does not make the ideas themselves.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
roles:
- id: role:1
label: philosophical questioner
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The speaker conducts an inquiry by asking what imitation is and directing
the examples.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:8
- id: role:2
label: critic of imitative poetry
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The speaker argues that imitative poetry should be rejected and harms understanding.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:3
label: respondent
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The interlocutor answers and affirms the speaker's distinctions.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:6
- ev:8
- id: role:4
label: revered poetic authority
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: Homer is described with awe and love and as teacher of the tragic company.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:5
label: imitative poets
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: Tragedians and others are grouped as an imitative tribe connected to poetical
imitations.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: role:6
label: natural maker
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: God is said to make the bed in nature and to be the author of all other things.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: role:7
label: craft maker
assigned_to:
- fig:6
- fig:8
basis: The carpenter and artificer make particular useful objects in accordance
with the idea.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:6
- id: role:8
label: imitator of appearances
assigned_to:
- fig:7
basis: The painter is said to create appearances and to imitate what others make.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:8
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: mirror
literal_form: A mirror turned round and round, producing appearances of many things.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: sym:2
label: bed
literal_form: 'An example object appearing in three kinds: natural form, crafted
object, and painted image.'
associated_figures:
- fig:5
- fig:6
- fig:7
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: sym:3
label: table
literal_form: An example object used alongside the bed to explain common names and
forms.
associated_figures:
- fig:8
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:4
label: idea or form
literal_form: A corresponding idea or form assumed for things sharing a common name,
such as bed and table.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:5
label: painted image
literal_form: The painter's production, described as an appearance and not a real
bed.
associated_figures:
- fig:7
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:8
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Rejection of imitative poetry
summary: The speaker praises the State's rule rejecting imitative poetry and says
such imitations harm the understanding unless their nature is known.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: scene:2
label: Inquiry into forms and crafted objects
summary: The speaker uses beds and tables to distinguish common names, forms, and
the work of artificers who make particular objects but not the ideas themselves.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:8
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
- sym:3
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: scene:3
label: Mirror and appearances
summary: The speaker describes how a mirror can produce appearances of many things,
and uses this to explain the painter as a creator of appearances.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:7
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: scene:4
label: Three beds and three makers
summary: The passage distinguishes the bed in nature made by God, the particular
bed made by the carpenter, and the painted bed made by the painter, concluding
that the painter is an imitator third from nature.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:5
- fig:6
- fig:7
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
- sym:4
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- ev:8
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: appearance versus reality
taxonomy_refs:
- duality
basis: The passage repeatedly contrasts forms or true existence with crafted objects
and painted or mirrored appearances.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:8
confidence: medium
cautions: The taxonomy reference is broad; the passage is philosophical argument
rather than narrative myth.
- id: motif:2
label: wisdom through inquiry into imitation
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The speaker frames knowledge of the true nature of imitation as an antidote
to its harm and conducts a stepwise inquiry into forms, makers, and appearances.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:8
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage presents dialectical instruction, not a mythic wisdom tale.
- id: motif:3
label: hierarchy of makers
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: 'God, carpenter, and painter are ordered according to their relation to the
bed: natural maker, maker of a particular object, and imitator of the made object.'
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- ev:8
confidence: high
cautions: No supplied taxonomy family directly names this pattern.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: quote
locator: 23168-23196
quote_or_summary: The speaker praises the State's rule about poetry, especially
the rejection of imitative poetry, and says poetical imitations are ruinous to
understanding unless their true nature is known.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/republic-jowett.md
rights_note: Public domain translation; short quotation/summarized evidence.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: 23197-23213
quote_or_summary: The speaker says he has loved and revered Homer from youth, calls
him captain and teacher of the tragic company, but states that truth must be honored
above a man.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/republic-jowett.md
rights_note: Public domain translation; summarized evidence.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: 23214-23266
quote_or_summary: The speakers begin an inquiry into imitation; the main speaker
says things with a common name correspond to a form, using beds and tables as
examples, and says artisans make particular objects but not the ideas themselves.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/republic-jowett.md
rights_note: Public domain translation; summarized evidence.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: 23267-23291
quote_or_summary: The speaker proposes that by turning a mirror around one could
quickly make the sun, heavens, earth, oneself, animals, plants, and other things,
but the respondent says these would be appearances only.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/republic-jowett.md
rights_note: Public domain translation; summarized evidence.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: 23292-23310
quote_or_summary: The painter is described as another creator of appearances whose
created bed is not a real bed.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/republic-jowett.md
rights_note: Public domain translation; summarized evidence.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: 23311-23335
quote_or_summary: 'The passage identifies three beds and three corresponding artists:
the bed in nature made by God, the bed made by the carpenter, and the bed made
by the painter.'
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/republic-jowett.md
rights_note: Public domain translation; summarized evidence.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: 23336-23355
quote_or_summary: God is said to have made one bed in nature only and to be the
natural author or maker of this and all other things.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/republic-jowett.md
rights_note: Public domain translation; summarized evidence.
- id: ev:8
type: quote
locator: 23356-23363
quote_or_summary: The painter is designated as "the imitator of that which the others
make" and as "third in the descent from nature."
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/republic-jowett.md
rights_note: Public domain translation; short quotation.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: uncertain
notes: The literal philosophical structure is clear. Motif classification is cautious
because the passage is argumentation rather than mythic narrative, and no comparison
claims are directly supported by the excerpt.
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 comparison claims were added because the passage itself does not explicitly compare the pattern to another tradition or corpus.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:greek-plato-republic-jowett-gutenberg__l23168-l23363
passage_sha256=1990c9c7ffd60845efb36bb0bd18c2b4183346be20067f4c9d385ff8b30c26e0