batch.motif.greek-plato-republic-jowett-gutenberg-l6914-l6987
---
record_id: batch.motif.greek-plato-republic-jowett-gutenberg-l6914-l6987
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/republic-jowett.md
passage_locator:
label: The Republic / THE REPUBLIC / INTRODUCTION AND ANALYSIS.; lines 6914-6987
start: '6914'
end: '6987'
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 reviews anthropological speculation about primitive marriage,
communal wives and property, captive wives, animal analogies, the limits of historical
knowledge, the possible loss and rediscovery of civilization, and the progressive
consecration of marriage and family across cultures. It warns that new knowledge
may unsettle older sacred beliefs and moral principles, and notes contemporary
speculation that family ties might be weakened.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: The passage reports that recent enquirers concluded that some primitive tribes
had a community of wives and property.
category: other
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The passage says that the captive taken by the spear was treated as the only
wife or slave a man could call his own.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: The passage says that marriage ceremonies among some civilized nations are
used as possible survivals of earlier institutions.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:4
text: The passage emphasizes that knowledge of early human social life is fragmentary
and that the stages from barbarism to civilization are unknown.
category: other
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: obs:5
text: Plato and Aristotle are cited as supposing that some forms of civilization
may have been discovered and lost several times.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:6
text: The passage compares human marriage speculation with animal mating, noting
that many birds and animals have one mate and care for offspring.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:7
text: The passage contrasts the idea that marriage was a revelation from heaven
with the idea that it grew through history and experience.
category: other
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:8
text: The passage presents marriage and family as becoming more defined and consecrated
over time.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:9
text: The passage compares savage tribes, the civilized East, Greeks and Romans,
and Christian nations with respect to marriage and family.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:10
text: The passage warns that during transition from old beliefs to new ones people
may let go of moral principles.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:11
text: The passage notes that some contemporaries think family ties may be broken
or greatly relaxed and point to societies in America and elsewhere.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Recent enquirers
description: Investigators who propose conclusions about primitive marriage, communal
wives, property, and captive spouses.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Primitive tribes and barbarous nations
description: Human groups used in the passage as evidence or analogy for speculations
about the origin of marriage.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Captive taken by the spear
description: A captive described as the only wife or slave whom a man could call
his own.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Plato and Aristotle
description: Classical authors cited as possibly correct about civilizations being
discovered and lost several times.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Birds and animals
description: Animals, especially carnivorous ones, cited as analogues because many
have one mate and care for offspring.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Comparative civilizations and traditions
description: China, Assyria, Greece, ancient Germans, the civilized East, Greeks
and Romans, and Christian nations are named as comparative points for social development
and marriage norms.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: Contemporary persons fascinated by anthropology
description: Persons in the writer's own day who, influenced by anthropology and
new speculation, expect or fear the relaxation of family ties.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
roles:
- id: role:1
label: speculative anthropological interpreters
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: They advance conclusions about primitive tribes, communal wives, property,
and captive spouses.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:2
label: evidence-bearing early or non-civilized societies
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: Their customs are used to infer possible origins of marriage.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- id: role:3
label: captured spouse or slave
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The captive is described as the wife or slave a man could claim as his own.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:4
label: classical authorities on cyclical civilization
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: They are cited as supporting the possibility that civilization was repeatedly
discovered and lost.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:5
label: animal analogues for human mating and family care
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: Animal monogamy and care for offspring are used as analogies in the argument.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:6
label: cross-cultural comparanda for marriage and civilization
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: These societies are compared as stages or examples in the development of
marriage and family norms.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: role:7
label: modern speculators about weakened family ties
assigned_to:
- fig:7
basis: They are described as believing that self-assertion, rebellion, analysis,
or circumstance may loosen family life.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: spear of capture
literal_form: spear
associated_figures:
- fig:2
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:2
label: marriage and family tie
literal_form: marriage tie; ties of family life
associated_figures:
- fig:6
- fig:7
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: sym:3
label: revelation from heaven
literal_form: revelation from heaven
associated_figures: []
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Speculative reconstruction of primitive marriage
summary: Recent enquirers are described as reconstructing early society as having
communal wives and property, with a captive wife or slave as the only personal
possession.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Limits of historical and anthropological knowledge
summary: The passage argues that records of animal and social life are fragmentary,
that early stages of civilization are unknown, and that civilization may have
been lost and rediscovered.
figure_refs:
- fig:4
- fig:5
- fig:6
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: scene:3
label: Consecration and possible relaxation of marriage ties
summary: The passage frames marriage as increasingly defined and consecrated through
history, while warning that transitional uncertainty may loosen moral principles
and family ties.
figure_refs:
- fig:6
- fig:7
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: Communal spouses and property in imagined early society
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The passage reports a theory that primitive tribes shared wives and property.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
confidence: medium
cautions: This is an essayistic anthropological claim, not a mythic narrative episode.
- id: motif:2
label: Captive spouse acquired by force
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The passage describes the captive taken by the spear as the only wife or
slave a man could call his own.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage does not tell an abduction myth or name a beloved; it states
a proposed social institution.
- id: motif:3
label: Civilization discovered and lost repeatedly
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Plato and Aristotle are cited as possibly right that forms of civilization
were discovered and lost several times over.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
confidence: medium
cautions: The idea is attributed in passing and not developed as a story pattern
in this passage.
- id: motif:4
label: Consecrated marriage and family order
taxonomy_refs:
- sacred_marriage
basis: The passage says marriage and family have become more defined and consecrated,
and argues for maintaining the sacredness of the marriage tie.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
confidence: low
cautions: 'The taxonomy reference is tentative: the passage concerns the sacredness
of human marriage, not a divine or ritual hieros gamos narrative.'
- id: motif:5
label: Destabilizing knowledge during moral transition
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The passage says anthropological speculation can unsettle older beliefs and
warns that uncertainty of knowledge may excuse passion or weaken moral principle.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
confidence: low
cautions: This is a philosophical-social pattern rather than a mythic wisdom episode.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: The passage itself compares human marriage origins with animal mating patterns
and parental care as alternative analogical evidence.
claim_level: same_function
target: animal-human analogy for mate-pairing and care of offspring
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: The comparison is argumentative and speculative; it does not establish
historical continuity.
- id: claim:2
claim: The passage compares multiple societies and traditions as stages or examples
in the increasing definition and consecration of marriage and family.
claim_level: same_function
target: marriage and family as cross-cultural social-moral institutions in China,
Assyria, Greece, Rome, the East, Germanic antiquity, and Christian nations
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: The comparison reflects the passage's nineteenth-century evaluative
framework and does not provide detailed evidence for each tradition.
- id: claim:3
claim: The passage notes that societies in America and elsewhere are used by some
contemporaries to argue that weakening the family need not destroy all morality.
claim_level: same_function
target: societies cited as examples of morality without strong family structure
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: low
limitations: No specific societies are named or described, so the comparison remains
vague.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: 6914-6924
quote_or_summary: Recent enquirers are said to conclude that primitive tribes had
community of wives and property, and that the captive taken by the spear was the
only wife or slave a man could call his own; marriage ceremonies are treated as
possible survivals.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/republic-jowett.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short summary used.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: 6925-6940
quote_or_summary: The passage stresses the limits of knowledge about early humanity
and cites Plato and Aristotle as possibly right that forms of civilization were
discovered and lost several times.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/republic-jowett.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short summary used.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: 6941-6959
quote_or_summary: The passage says humans may sink through war, disease, or isolation;
it compares marriage speculation with animal monogamy and parental care, and says
the stages from barbarism to China, Assyria, Greece, or ancient Germans are unknown.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/republic-jowett.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short summary used.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: 6960-6973
quote_or_summary: Speculations are unsettling because marriage may appear to be
historical growth rather than revelation from heaven; nevertheless marriage and
family are said to have become more defined and consecrated, with comparisons
among the East, Greeks, Romans, and Christian nations.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/republic-jowett.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short summary used.
- id: ev:5
type: quote
locator: 6973-6980
quote_or_summary: '"There is more reason for maintaining the sacredness of the marriage
tie"; the passage warns that in transition from old to new beliefs people may
let go of moral principle.'
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/republic-jowett.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short quotation used.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: 6980-6987
quote_or_summary: Some contemporary persons, influenced by anthropology or novelty,
are described as believing that self-assertion of women, rebellious children,
analysis of relations, or circumstances may break or relax family ties; they point
to societies in America and elsewhere.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/republic-jowett.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short summary used.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: medium
notes: The passage is philosophical and anthropological commentary rather than mythic
narrative. Motif identifications are therefore mainly social-pattern candidates
and should be reviewed for taxonomy fit.
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 taxonomy or source information was added.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:greek-plato-republic-jowett-gutenberg__l6914-l6987
passage_sha256=807b769ebd19bcf3bd1e863b40df0a2dbc95e845272ac7c546bad5a5e54cbe4d