batch.motif.sufi-omar-khayyam-sufistic-quatrains-gutenberg-l11349-l11537
---
record_id: batch.motif.sufi-omar-khayyam-sufistic-quatrains-gutenberg-l11349-l11537
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/sufistic-quatrains-omar-khayyam.md
passage_locator:
label: QUATRAINS OF OMAR KHAYYAM / MONSIEUR J.B. NICOLAS / THE QUATRAINS OF KHAYYAM
/ THE QUATRAINS OF OMAR KHAYYAM; lines 11349-11537
start: '11349'
end: '11537'
translation: The Sufistic Quatrains of Omar Khayyam
notes: Generated from OpenAI Batch run motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority;
human review required.
canonical_text:
quote: ''
summary: A sequence of quatrains reflects on transience, predestination, wine, the
body and soul, transformed dust and vessels, religious adoration in multiple sacred
places, an unutterable secret, divine or beloved absence, annihilation and immortality,
and the futility of human plans before destiny.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: The speaker says his turn of existence has passed quickly like wind over the
desert and says he need not be troubled by the day not yet come or the day already
passed.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: Perfect love is described as an enigma explained in a language of its own,
while different dogmas are called erroneous.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: The speaker intends to spend youth drinking wine and says the wine is bitter
only because it enforces the bitterness of his life.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:4
text: The speaker addresses his heart and soul, asking why the soul remains in the
body when it must leave someday.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:5
text: The speaker counsels against relying on the day after tomorrow and urges not
losing the remaining instant of life in inaction.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:6
text: Human life here below is compared to moves presented by destiny on a chessboard
of the terrestrial ball.
category: object
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:7
text: An earthen jug is described as having once been a loving and unhappy creature,
with its handle imagined as an amorous arm around a girl's neck.
category: object
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:8
text: The speaker warns care in stepping on dust because it may once have formed
the eyes of someone young and fair.
category: object
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:9
text: The temple of idols, the Kaaba, bells, mehrab, church, chapel, and cross are
all described as places or stations for adoration of the Deity.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: obs:10
text: Existing things are said to have been predestined on the tablet of creation,
and God is said to have imprinted destiny.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- id: obs:11
text: The speaker says he sees a place he can only describe in outline and possesses
a secret he cannot unveil.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
- id: obs:12
text: An old man returning from the tavern tells the speaker to drink wine because
other lives will follow his long sleep.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:12
- id: obs:13
text: The speaker says resignation is the only avail before the decrees of Providence
and that destiny has overturned his projects.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:13
- id: obs:14
text: The speaker says a faithful stranger should be treated as kin, a betraying
kinsman as enemy, and poison or antidote judged by effect.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:14
- id: obs:15
text: The speaker says the absence of a addressed Thou is the only thing of worth
that can wound deeply, and that all may be preoccupied with Thee.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:15
- id: obs:16
text: The speaker describes an intermediary state between drunkenness and sound
reason and says there is life in that state.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:16
- id: obs:17
text: The speaker asks whether the maker of the cup could destroy it, and asks by
what love beautiful heads, arms, and hands are created and by what hate destroyed.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:17
- id: obs:18
text: The speaker says fear of death and abhorrence of annihilation come from ignorance,
because a branch of immortality shoots from annihilation.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:18
- id: obs:19
text: The speaker says his soul has been revived by the breath of Jesus and that
eternal death has fled from him.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:18
- id: obs:20
text: 'The tulip flowering at New Year is offered as an example: take a cup in hand
and drink wine with a fair girl if the occasion presents itself.'
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:19
- id: obs:21
text: The blue wheel or dome is described as able to overturn a person suddenly
like a breath of wind.
category: object
evidence_refs:
- ev:19
- id: obs:22
text: The speaker says human designs and efforts are futile because things do not
occur as desired and departure will soon be necessary.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:20
- id: obs:23
text: The speaker says it does not matter whether there are seven or eight heavens
because the celestial wheel and destiny have not been favorable.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:21
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: first-person speaker
description: A reflective voice speaking about existence, wine, destiny, the soul,
death, worship, and an unveiled secret.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:11
- ev:13
- ev:18
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: heart and soul
description: The speaker addresses his poor heart and soul, saying the heart is
bruised by chagrin and the soul must eventually leave the body.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Thou or Thee
description: An addressed absent figure whose absence wounds and whose subtle charms
preoccupy others.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:15
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: God, Providence, All-Powerful, Deity
description: Named or titled as the All-Powerful praised by worship, God who imprinted
destiny, Providence whose decrees require resignation, and the maker associated
with the cup.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- ev:10
- ev:13
- ev:17
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: old man returning from the tavern
description: An old man who returns from the tavern and advises the speaker to drink
wine.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:12
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: earthen jug
description: A jug described as formerly a loving and unhappy creature, with a handle
like an arm around a girl's neck.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: Jesus
description: Jesus is referenced through the breath by which the speaker says his
soul has been revived.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:18
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: young beauty or fair girl
description: A young beauty is imagined in relation to the jug's former desire;
a fair girl with tulip-colored cheeks is named as a wine-drinking companion if
occasion permits.
role_refs:
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:19
roles:
- id: role:1
label: reflective speaker and counselor
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The first-person voice offers counsels about time, wine, destiny, death,
and spiritual secrecy.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:5
- ev:11
- ev:13
- ev:18
- id: role:2
label: inner addressee destined to leave the body
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The heart and soul are addressed directly, and the soul is said to have to
leave the body someday.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:3
label: absent beloved or divine addressee
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The addressed Thou is absent, subtly charming, and an object of universal
preoccupation; the passage itself does not clarify the addressee further.
evidence_refs:
- ev:15
- id: role:4
label: divine creator and decreer
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: The passage mentions the Deity, God imprinting destiny, decrees of Providence,
and He who fashioned the cup.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- ev:10
- ev:13
- ev:17
- id: role:5
label: tavern counselor
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: The old man comes from the tavern and speaks an imperative counsel to drink
wine.
evidence_refs:
- ev:12
- id: role:6
label: personified vessel
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: The jug is described as once having been a loving creature with an arm-like
handle.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: role:7
label: revivifying sacred figure
assigned_to:
- fig:7
basis: The speaker says his soul has been revived by the breath of Jesus.
evidence_refs:
- ev:18
- id: role:8
label: beautiful beloved or companion
assigned_to:
- fig:8
basis: A young beauty's hair and a fair girl with flower-colored cheeks appear in
contexts of longing and wine-drinking.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:19
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: wine
literal_form: wine or delicious juice
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:5
- fig:8
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:12
- ev:16
- ev:19
- id: sym:2
label: cup
literal_form: cup held for wine; cup fashioned by He
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:4
- fig:8
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:17
- ev:19
- id: sym:3
label: earthen jug
literal_form: earthen vessel with handle attached to its neck
associated_figures:
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: sym:4
label: dust of former bodies
literal_form: dust underfoot that may have formed the eyes of someone young and
fair
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: sym:5
label: chessboard of terrestrial life
literal_form: chessboard of this terrestrial ball with moves presented by destiny
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: sym:6
label: tablet of creation
literal_form: tablet on which existing things were predestined
associated_figures:
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- id: sym:7
label: sacred places and objects of worship
literal_form: temple of idols, Kaaba, bells, mehrab, church, chapel, cross
associated_figures:
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: sym:8
label: ruby and pearl of perfect love
literal_form: priceless ruby and rare pearl used to describe the matter of perfect
love
associated_figures: []
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:9
label: branch of immortality
literal_form: branch of immortality shooting up from annihilation
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:18
- id: sym:10
label: breath of Jesus
literal_form: breath of Jesus reviving the speaker's soul
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:7
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:18
- id: sym:11
label: tulip at New Year
literal_form: tulip flowering at New Year with flower-colored cheeks echoed in the
fair girl
associated_figures:
- fig:8
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:19
- id: sym:12
label: blue wheel or dome
literal_form: blue wheel or dome able suddenly to overturn a person
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:19
- ev:21
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: counsel about present time under destiny
summary: The speaker emphasizes the brevity of existence, rejects anxiety over past
and future days, and describes human action as constrained by destiny.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:5
- sym:6
- sym:12
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:10
- ev:13
- ev:20
- ev:21
- id: scene:2
label: wine, tavern, and altered state
summary: The speaker values wine during youth, an old man from the tavern counsels
drinking, and the speaker praises a state between drunkenness and reason.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:5
- fig:8
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
- sym:11
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:12
- ev:16
- ev:19
- id: scene:3
label: body, vessel, dust, death, and revivification
summary: The passage personifies a jug as a former lover, identifies dust with former
human beauty, questions creation and destruction of bodies, and links annihilation
with immortality and revival by Jesus' breath.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:4
- fig:6
- fig:7
- fig:8
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
- sym:3
- sym:4
- sym:9
- sym:10
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:7
- ev:8
- ev:17
- ev:18
- id: scene:4
label: many forms of worship and hidden knowledge
summary: The speaker describes multiple sacred sites and objects as stations of
homage to the Deity, while also saying he has a secret and a barely describable
place he cannot unveil.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:7
- sym:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:9
- ev:11
- ev:15
- id: scene:5
label: reversal of ordinary valuations
summary: The speaker advises judging stranger, kin, poison, and antidote by their
actions or effects rather than by their names.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:14
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: impermanence and present-centered counsel
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: Several quatrains stress the quick passage of existence, unreliability of
tomorrow, futility of plans, and lack of concern for the past or not-yet-come
day.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:5
- ev:20
- ev:21
confidence: high
cautions: The available taxonomy has no specific carpe-diem or transience family;
wisdom is a broad fit.
- id: motif:2
label: predestination over human effort
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The passage says existing things were predestined on the tablet of creation,
that God imprinted destiny, and that destiny overturns human projects.
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- ev:13
confidence: high
cautions: This is a philosophical-religious motif rather than a narrative episode.
- id: motif:3
label: vessel made from former living body
taxonomy_refs:
- death_rebirth
basis: The jug is imagined as formerly a loving creature, and dust underfoot is
said possibly to have formed the eyes of someone young and fair.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage gives poetic transformation imagery, not an explicit narrated
reincarnation process.
- id: motif:4
label: annihilation yielding immortality
taxonomy_refs:
- annihilation_union
- death_rebirth
basis: The passage states that from annihilation shoots a branch of immortality
and that the speaker's soul was revived by the breath of Jesus.
evidence_refs:
- ev:18
confidence: high
cautions: Union is not explicitly narrated in this passage, but annihilation and
immortal revival are explicit.
- id: motif:5
label: divine or beloved absence as wound
taxonomy_refs:
- divine_beloved
basis: The addressed Thou is absent, wounding, charming, and universally preoccupying.
evidence_refs:
- ev:15
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage does not explicitly identify the Thou as divine; the divine-beloved
reading is suggested by diction and context but requires review.
- id: motif:6
label: plural sacred stations of one worship
taxonomy_refs:
- duality
basis: Temple, Kaaba, bells, mehrab, church, chapel, and cross are described as
different stations rendering homage to the Deity.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
confidence: medium
cautions: The taxonomy reference is broad; the passage emphasizes plurality within
worship more than duality.
- id: motif:7
label: hidden secret and ineffable place
taxonomy_refs:
- mystical_quest
- wisdom
basis: The speaker says he possesses a secret he cannot unveil and sees a place
he can only describe in outline.
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage does not narrate a quest; it only states possession of hidden
knowledge or vision.
- id: motif:8
label: wine as counsel for mortal life
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: Wine is repeatedly recommended or valued in response to youth, bitterness
of life, long sleep, and the sudden overturning power of the blue wheel.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:12
- ev:16
- ev:19
confidence: high
cautions: No wine-specific taxonomy reference is available; classification under
wisdom is general.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: quote
locator: lines 11349-11354
quote_or_summary: 'The speaker says existence has slipped by like wind over the
desert and names two days not to be troubled over: the day not come and the day
passed.'
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/sufistic-quatrains-omar-khayyam.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: quatrain 23
quote_or_summary: A priceless ruby and rare pearl introduce the claim that dogmas
are erroneous because perfect love is explained in its own language, not conveyed
to us.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/sufistic-quatrains-omar-khayyam.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: quatrain 24
quote_or_summary: The speaker intends to spend youth drinking wine and says the
wine's bitterness reflects the bitterness of life.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/sufistic-quatrains-omar-khayyam.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: quatrain 25
quote_or_summary: The speaker addresses his heart as bruised by grief and asks his
soul why it remains in the body when it must someday leave.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/sufistic-quatrains-omar-khayyam.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: quatrain 26
quote_or_summary: The speaker warns that one cannot count on the day after tomorrow
and urges an awakened heart not to waste the present instant of life.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/sufistic-quatrains-omar-khayyam.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: quatrain 27
quote_or_summary: The speaker advises accommodation to good and bad here below and
says hereafter one can enjoy only the moves destiny presents on the chessboard
of the terrestrial ball.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/sufistic-quatrains-omar-khayyam.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: quatrain 28
quote_or_summary: An earthen jug is described as formerly a loving and unhappy creature;
its handle is imagined as an arm around a girl's neck.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/sufistic-quatrains-omar-khayyam.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary.
- id: ev:8
type: summary
locator: quatrain 29
quote_or_summary: The speaker notes many twilights and dawns before the present
and warns that the dust underfoot may have formed the eyes of someone young and
fair.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/sufistic-quatrains-omar-khayyam.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary.
- id: ev:9
type: summary
locator: quatrain 30
quote_or_summary: Temple of idols, Kaaba, bells, mehrab, church, chapel, and cross
are described as adoration or stations of homage to the Deity.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/sufistic-quatrains-omar-khayyam.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary.
- id: ev:10
type: summary
locator: quatrain 31
quote_or_summary: Existing things are said to have been predestined upon the tablet
of creation; God imprinted destiny, and human efforts are lost.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/sufistic-quatrains-omar-khayyam.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary.
- id: ev:11
type: summary
locator: quatrain 32
quote_or_summary: The speaker says he can only vaguely tell his secret, can only
trace a description of a place he sees, and cannot unveil the secret he possesses.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/sufistic-quatrains-omar-khayyam.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary.
- id: ev:12
type: summary
locator: quatrain 33
quote_or_summary: An old man returning from the tavern tells the speaker to drink
wine, because other lives will follow his long sleep.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/sufistic-quatrains-omar-khayyam.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary.
- id: ev:13
type: summary
locator: quatrain 34
quote_or_summary: Before decrees of Providence, only resignation avails; the speaker
has used every ruse, but destiny has overturned his projects.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/sufistic-quatrains-omar-khayyam.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary.
- id: ev:14
type: summary
locator: quatrain 35
quote_or_summary: A faithful stranger should be considered kin; a betraying kinsman
an enemy; poison that cures an antidote; and a failed antidote a poison.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/sufistic-quatrains-omar-khayyam.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary.
- id: ev:15
type: summary
locator: quatrain 36
quote_or_summary: The speaker says nothing except Thy absence can deeply bruise;
anyone may be preoccupied with Thee, though Thy mind cares for no one.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/sufistic-quatrains-omar-khayyam.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary.
- id: ev:16
type: summary
locator: quatrain 37
quote_or_summary: The speaker says happiness is incomplete when not drunk, ignorance
replaces reason when overcome with wine, and there is life in an intermediary
state.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/sufistic-quatrains-omar-khayyam.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary.
- id: ev:17
type: summary
locator: quatrain 38
quote_or_summary: The speaker asks whether He who fashioned the cup could destroy
it and asks by what love beautiful human parts are created and by what hate destroyed.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/sufistic-quatrains-omar-khayyam.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary.
- id: ev:18
type: summary
locator: quatrain 39
quote_or_summary: Fear of death and abhorrence of annihilation are attributed to
ignorance; from annihilation comes a branch of immortality, and the soul is revived
by the breath of Jesus.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/sufistic-quatrains-omar-khayyam.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary.
- id: ev:19
type: summary
locator: quatrain 40
quote_or_summary: The speaker urges imitation of the New Year's tulip by taking
a cup and drinking wine with a fair girl if possible, because the blue wheel can
suddenly overturn a person.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/sufistic-quatrains-omar-khayyam.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary.
- id: ev:20
type: summary
locator: quatrain 41
quote_or_summary: Because things do not occur as desired, the speaker questions
the purpose of designs and efforts and says humans arrived too late and must depart
too soon.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/sufistic-quatrains-omar-khayyam.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary.
- id: ev:21
type: summary
locator: quatrain 42
quote_or_summary: The speaker says the celestial wheel and destiny have not been
favorable; whether there are seven or eight heavens does not matter; the two days
not to care about are the future and the past.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/sufistic-quatrains-omar-khayyam.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: uncertain
notes: Literal extraction is strong because the passage is explicit. Motif mapping
is less certain where the available taxonomy lacks exact categories for wine,
carpe-diem counsel, predestination, and transformed clay/dust imagery.
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 were added; taxonomy references use only the supplied available list.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:sufi-omar-khayyam-sufistic-quatrains-gutenberg__l11349-l11537
passage_sha256=5c093572153b3c418e97e584693625062cc12cbd661ece36af2398bc4e7c5dd8