batch.motif.sufi-omar-khayyam-sufistic-quatrains-gutenberg-l1179-l1200
---
record_id: batch.motif.sufi-omar-khayyam-sufistic-quatrains-gutenberg-l1179-l1200
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/sufistic-quatrains-omar-khayyam.md
passage_locator:
label: XXIV. / XXVI. / XXVII. / XXVIII.; lines 1179-1200
start: '1179'
end: '1200'
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: One thing is certain, that Life flies; / One thing is certain, and the Rest
is Lies;
summary: Three quatrains present Khayyam urging departure from the Wise, asserting
the swift passing of life and final death of the flower; recalling youthful attendance
on Doctor and Saint without progress; and describing the sowing of Wisdom whose
harvest is the statement that the speaker came like water and goes like wind.
language: English
quote_policy: quoted
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: Old Khayyam invites the addressee to come with him and leave the Wise to talk.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The speaker states that life flies, the rest is lies, and a flower that has
once blown dies forever.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: The speaker recalls that when young he frequented Doctor and Saint and heard
extensive argument.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: After hearing argument, the speaker says he came out by the same door as he
went in.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:5
text: The speaker says he sowed the Seed of Wisdom, labored with his own hand to
make it grow, and reaped a harvest.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:6
text: 'The harvest is expressed as the statement: the speaker came like water and
goes like wind.'
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Old Khayyam
description: Named speaker or persona inviting the addressee to come with him.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: The Wise
description: A group left behind to talk.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Myself when young
description: The speaker in youth, who frequented Doctor and Saint and later reflects
on Wisdom.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Doctor and Saint
description: Figures or types frequented by the young speaker, associated with great
argument.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
roles:
- id: role:1
label: inviting speaker
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Khayyam says, 'come with old Khayyam,' and directs the addressee to leave
the Wise.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:2
label: talking wise figures
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The Wise are explicitly left 'to talk.'
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:3
label: seeker of instruction or wisdom
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The young self frequents Doctor and Saint, hears argument, and later sows
the Seed of Wisdom.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: role:4
label: teachers or religious-learned authorities
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: Doctor and Saint are the figures the young speaker frequents while hearing
great argument.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: flower that dies
literal_form: The Flower that once has blown for ever dies.
associated_figures: []
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:2
label: door of entry and exit
literal_form: The same Door by which the speaker went in and came out.
associated_figures:
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:3
label: Seed of Wisdom
literal_form: The Seed of Wisdom sown and labored over by the speaker.
associated_figures:
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:4
label: harvest
literal_form: The Harvest reaped from the Seed of Wisdom.
associated_figures:
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:5
label: water
literal_form: Water in the comparison 'I came like Water.'
associated_figures:
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:6
label: wind
literal_form: Wind in the comparison 'like Wind I go.'
associated_figures:
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Leaving the Wise and naming life's certainty
summary: Old Khayyam urges the addressee to leave the Wise to talk and states that
life passes swiftly while the flower dies forever after blooming.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Youthful attendance on Doctor and Saint
summary: The speaker recalls frequenting Doctor and Saint, hearing great argument,
and leaving by the same door as he entered.
figure_refs:
- fig:3
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: scene:3
label: Sowing Wisdom and reaping transience
summary: The speaker describes sowing and cultivating the Seed of Wisdom and reaping
the declaration that he came like water and goes like wind.
figure_refs:
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
- sym:4
- sym:5
- sym:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: Quest for wisdom yields awareness of transience
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
- mystical_quest
basis: The speaker seeks learning among Doctor and Saint, sows the Seed of Wisdom,
and the stated harvest is a formulation of coming and going like water and wind.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage is lyric and aphoristic rather than a narrative quest; 'mystical_quest'
is inferred from the sequence of seeking and harvest of Wisdom.
- id: motif:2
label: Impermanence of life
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The speaker states that life flies, a flower that has once blown dies forever,
and the speaker came like water and goes like wind.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
confidence: high
cautions: No available taxonomy reference directly names impermanence or mortality.
- id: motif:3
label: Failed or circular instruction
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The young speaker hears great argument from Doctor and Saint but says he
came out by the same door as he went in.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage does not explicitly say the instruction failed; the circular
door image supports the motif cautiously.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: quote
locator: XXVI, lines 1179-1200 supplied range
quote_or_summary: Old Khayyam invites the addressee to leave the Wise; he says life
flies, the rest is lies, and the flower that once has blown forever dies.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/sufistic-quatrains-omar-khayyam.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short excerpt summarized.
- id: ev:2
type: quote
locator: XXVII, lines 1179-1200 supplied range
quote_or_summary: The young speaker frequented Doctor and Saint, heard great argument,
and 'Came out by the same Door as in I went.'
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/sufistic-quatrains-omar-khayyam.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short excerpt included.
- id: ev:3
type: quote
locator: XXVIII, lines 1179-1200 supplied range
quote_or_summary: 'The speaker sowed the Seed of Wisdom, labored it to grow, and
reaped the harvest: ''I came like Water, and like Wind I go.'''
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/sufistic-quatrains-omar-khayyam.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short excerpt included.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: uncertain
notes: Literal extraction is straightforward. Motif labels are cautious because
the passage is a compact lyric sequence and not an explicit myth narrative. No
comparison claims were made because the passage itself does not provide comparative
evidence.
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 supplied passage text and metadata. Available taxonomy references applied only where directly supportable.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:sufi-omar-khayyam-sufistic-quatrains-gutenberg__l1179-l1200
passage_sha256=34968c3ae67d143125f03bb3aafc08951d1151c997a9e5ed71ee75389c14d717