batch.motif.sufi-omar-khayyam-sufistic-quatrains-gutenberg-l3710-l3725
---
record_id: batch.motif.sufi-omar-khayyam-sufistic-quatrains-gutenberg-l3710-l3725
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/sufistic-quatrains-omar-khayyam.md
passage_locator:
label: LXIII. / LXVIII. / LXIX. / LXXI.; lines 3710-3725
start: '3710'
end: '3725'
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: The Moving Finger writes; and, having writ, / Moves on
summary: The quatrain presents an image of an irreversible writing that cannot be
recalled by piety, wit, or tears. A note links the quatrain to O. 31, where what
shall be is written from the beginning, the Pen writes unhaltingly, and a divine
figure appoints everything on the First Day; human grief and efforts are described
as vain.
language: English
quote_policy: quoted
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: A Moving Finger writes and then moves on.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: Piety and wit cannot lure the Moving Finger back to cancel even half a line.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: Tears cannot wash out a word of what has been written.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:4
text: The note says the origin of the quatrain is found in O. 31.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:5
text: In O. 31, what shall be was written from the beginning.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:6
text: In O. 31, the Pen writes unhaltingly and is heedless of good and bad.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:7
text: In O. 31, on the First Day, He appointed everything that must be.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:8
text: In O. 31, grief and efforts are described as vain.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Moving Finger
description: A figure or image that writes, moves on, and cannot be drawn back to
alter the writing.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Pen
description: The Pen in O. 31 writes unhaltingly and is heedless of good and bad.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: He
description: A divine or unspecified appointing figure in O. 31 who appointed everything
that must be on the First Day.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
roles:
- id: role:1
label: irreversible writer
assigned_to:
- fig:1
- fig:2
basis: The Moving Finger writes and moves on; the Pen writes unhaltingly.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: role:2
label: appointing agent
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The passage says, in O. 31, that He appointed everything that must be on
the First Day.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: irreversible writing
literal_form: written line or word that cannot be cancelled or washed out
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:2
label: Moving Finger
literal_form: finger that writes and moves on
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:3
label: Pen
literal_form: Pen that writes unhaltingly
associated_figures:
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:4
label: First Day
literal_form: the First Day when everything that must be was appointed
associated_figures:
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:5
label: tears unable to erase writing
literal_form: tears that cannot wash out a written word
associated_figures: []
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: The Moving Finger writes and cannot be recalled
summary: The Moving Finger writes, moves on, and cannot be brought back by piety,
wit, or tears to alter the written line or word.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: The origin passage in O. 31
summary: The note cites O. 31, where what shall be is written from the beginning,
the Pen writes unhaltingly, a figure called He appoints all that must be on the
First Day, and human grief and efforts are vain.
figure_refs:
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: irreversible written destiny
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Both the quatrain and the cited origin passage describe future events or
decrees as already written and not subject to reversal by human action.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
confidence: high
cautions: The available motif taxonomy has no exact fate or predestination category,
so no motif-family reference is assigned.
- id: motif:2
label: futility of human effort against decree
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The quatrain says piety, wit, and tears cannot undo the writing; O. 31 says
grief and efforts are vain.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
confidence: high
cautions: This is extracted as a passage-level motif rather than mapped to a supplied
taxonomy family.
- id: motif:3
label: wisdom reflection on human limits
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The passage states a general lesson about the limits of piety, wit, tears,
grief, and effort before what is written or appointed.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
confidence: medium
cautions: The connection to the supplied 'wisdom' taxonomy is interpretive; the
passage does not use the word wisdom as a motif label.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: The English quatrain and O. 31 present the same passage-level pattern of
a written, irreversible decree and futile human attempts to alter it.
claim_level: same_motif
target: O. 31, cited as the origin of the quatrain
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: high
limitations: The passage supplies only an English rendering and reference list;
it does not provide detailed manuscript or historical transmission evidence beyond
the stated origin note.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: quote
locator: lines 3710-3715, LXXI
quote_or_summary: '"The Moving Finger writes; and, having writ, / Moves on"; neither
piety, wit, nor tears can cancel or wash out what is written.'
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/sufistic-quatrains-omar-khayyam.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short quotation used for evidence.
- id: ev:2
type: quote
locator: lines 3717-3723, note citing O. 31
quote_or_summary: '"From the beginning was written what shall be"; the Pen writes
unhaltingly; on the First Day He appointed everything that must be; grief and
efforts are vain.'
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/sufistic-quatrains-omar-khayyam.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short quotation used for evidence.
- id: ev:3
type: citation
locator: lines 3717 and 3725, origin note and references
quote_or_summary: The editor states that the origin of the quatrain is to be found
in O. 31 and lists references including O. 31, C. 87, L. 195, B. 192, S.P. 31,
and others.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/sufistic-quatrains-omar-khayyam.md
rights_note: Public domain source; citation summarized.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: medium
notes: Literal extraction is straightforward. Motif labeling is partly interpretive
because the supplied taxonomy lacks a precise fate, decree, or predestination
category.
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: |-
Only the provided passage text and metadata were used. No external taxonomy IDs or unsupported cross-tradition comparisons were added.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:sufi-omar-khayyam-sufistic-quatrains-gutenberg__l3710-l3725
passage_sha256=6c4ca24d8d729c0802d793445210056fd6ae3c5c96d7406899dea1e375cd478e