batch.motif.sufi-omar-khayyam-sufistic-quatrains-gutenberg-l3673-l3707
---
record_id: batch.motif.sufi-omar-khayyam-sufistic-quatrains-gutenberg-l3673-l3707
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/sufistic-quatrains-omar-khayyam.md
passage_locator:
label: LVIII. / LXIII. / LXVIII. / LXIX.; lines 3673-3707
start: '3673'
end: '3707'
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: Two quatrains present human beings as pieces moved on a chess-board by
a higher player and returned to a box of non-existence, and as a ball driven by
the mallet of Fate according to the knowledge of the one who set it moving.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: Human beings are described as helpless pieces in a game played on a chequer-board
of nights and days.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The pieces are moved, checked, slain, and placed one by one back in a closet
or box.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: The prose rendering states plainly that people are the pieces and heaven plays
the game on the chess-board of existence.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: The prose rendering states that the pieces return one by one to the box of
non-existence.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:5
text: A ball does not question yes or no, but goes here or there as the player strikes
it.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:6
text: The prose rendering addresses a person as driven like a ball by the mallet
of Fate and told to say nothing whether going right or left.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:7
text: The one who tossed or set the person running is said to know about it all.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: we / human beings
description: People described as game pieces on the chess-board of existence and
as a ball driven by Fate.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:4
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: He / heaven / Player
description: The higher agent who plays the game, moves the pieces, strikes the
ball, tosses the person into the field, and knows about it all.
role_refs:
- role:2
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Fate
description: Named in the prose rendering as possessing the mallet by which the
addressed person is driven like a ball.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
roles:
- id: role:1
label: moved or driven subject
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Humans are described as pieces played on a board and as a ball driven by
a mallet.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:4
- id: role:2
label: game player or mover
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: Heaven or He plays the game, moves the pieces, and the Player strikes the
ball.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: role:3
label: knower
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The one who tossed or set the person running is repeatedly said to know.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: role:4
label: instrumental fate
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: Fate is named as the possessor of the mallet that drives the ball.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: game pieces
literal_form: pieces in a game; chess pieces
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: sym:2
label: chequer-board / chess-board
literal_form: chequer-board of nights and days; chess-board of existence
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: sym:3
label: closet or box of non-existence
literal_form: closet; box of non-existence
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: sym:4
label: ball
literal_form: ball driven here or there
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: sym:5
label: mallet of Fate
literal_form: mallet of Fate
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: sym:6
label: field
literal_form: field into which the ball/person is tossed
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:7
label: Ayes and Noes
literal_form: Ayes and Noes; yes or no
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:8
label: right and left
literal_form: right or left directions
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Human pieces on the board
summary: Human beings are figured as pieces played by a higher agent on a board
of nights and days or existence, then returned one by one to non-existence.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: scene:2
label: Ball driven by Fate
summary: A person is figured as a ball that does not question its direction but
moves as struck, while the one who set it moving is said to know.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:4
- sym:5
- sym:6
- sym:7
- sym:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: humans as game pieces moved by a higher power
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Both quatrains use game imagery to describe human beings as moved by heaven,
a player, or Fate rather than self-directed agents.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
confidence: high
cautions: The available taxonomy list does not include a specific fate/game-piece
motif.
- id: motif:2
label: return to non-existence
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The passage says the pieces are laid back in a closet and, in the prose rendering,
return to the box of non-existence.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage mentions non-existence but does not describe rebirth, resurrection,
or an afterlife journey.
- id: motif:3
label: higher knowledge of fate
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The quatrain repeatedly states that the one who tossed or set the person
running knows about it all.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
confidence: medium
cautions: The taxonomy reference is broad; the passage emphasizes knowledge more
than instruction or sapiential teaching.
- id: motif:4
label: opposed choices under constraint
taxonomy_refs:
- duality
basis: The passage names Ayes and Noes and right and left, while denying the ball's
meaningful questioning or choice.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
confidence: low
cautions: The oppositions are literal directional or verbal contrasts, and the main
emphasis is constraint by the player or Fate.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 3673-3679
quote_or_summary: Quatrain LXIX describes helpless pieces moved, checked, slain,
and laid back in a closet on a chequer-board of nights and days.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/sufistic-quatrains-omar-khayyam.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 3683-3687
quote_or_summary: The prose rendering says plainly that people are pieces, heaven
plays the game, existence is the chess-board, and the pieces return one by one
to the box of non-existence.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/sufistic-quatrains-omar-khayyam.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 3694-3699
quote_or_summary: Quatrain LXX describes a ball that makes no question of Ayes and
Noes, goes here or there as struck by the Player, and is tossed into the field
by one who knows.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/sufistic-quatrains-omar-khayyam.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 3703-3707
quote_or_summary: The prose rendering addresses one driven like a ball by the mallet
of Fate, told to go right or left but say nothing, because the one who set the
person running knows.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/sufistic-quatrains-omar-khayyam.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: high
notes: The extraction is based on explicit metaphors in the supplied passage. Motif
taxonomy mapping is limited because the available list lacks a specific fate,
determinism, or game-board motif. No comparison claims were added because the
passage itself does not make a cross-traditional comparison.
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: |-
Source metadata identifies the passage as public domain and training use allowed. The supplied passage label appears broader than the included text; this record follows the supplied passage text for LXIX and LXX.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:sufi-omar-khayyam-sufistic-quatrains-gutenberg__l3673-l3707
passage_sha256=11150405e7fa6561cb6cc2dbedeeb6eb2ae1ad04d45a01dd0e57bad5c3068a07