batch.motif.sufi-omar-khayyam-sufistic-quatrains-gutenberg-l4473-l4513
---
record_id: batch.motif.sufi-omar-khayyam-sufistic-quatrains-gutenberg-l4473-l4513
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/sufistic-quatrains-omar-khayyam.md
passage_locator:
label: XVIII. / IN THE FIRST EDITION. / XXXIII. / XXXVII.; lines 4473-4513
start: '4473'
end: '4513'
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: 'The passage presents three first-edition quatrains: a speaker questions
Heaven about Destiny guiding children in darkness and receives the reply of blind
understanding; the speaker advises leaving the wise to argue and making game of
the universe; and the speaker urges filling the cup because yesterday is dead,
tomorrow unborn, and today may be sweet. Prose notes comment on their textual
parallels or lack of near parallels.'
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: A speaker cries to rolling Heaven and asks what lamp Destiny had to guide
her little children stumbling in the dark.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: Heaven replies that the guide is a blind Understanding.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: The speaker advises leaving the Wise to wrangle and letting the quarrel of
the Universe be.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: The speaker describes being couched in a corner of the hubbub and making game
of that which makes as much of the addressee.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:5
text: The speaker urges filling the Cup and asks what use there is in repeating
that Time is slipping underneath one's feet.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:6
text: Tomorrow is described as unborn and Yesterday as dead.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:7
text: The prose commentary states that quatrain No. 33 appears to have no near parallel
in the texts, and that No. 45 is in a similar predicament.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:8
text: The prose commentary states that quatrain No. 37 appears to have been inspired
by specified lines of O. 20 and O. 17, and then quotes a parallel couplet about
yesterday and today.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: speaker
description: The first-person poetic speaker who cries to Heaven and gives counsel.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Heaven
description: Rolling Heaven, addressed by the speaker and represented as replying.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Destiny
description: A personified female figure whose little children stumble in the dark.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: little Children
description: Children of Destiny, described as stumbling in the dark.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: the Wise
description: A collective group described as wrangling.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Time
description: Time is described as slipping underneath the speaker's or addressee's
feet.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: To-morrow
description: Tomorrow is described as unborn.
role_refs:
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: Yesterday
description: Yesterday is described as dead and past.
role_refs:
- role:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:5
roles:
- id: role:1
label: questioner of Heaven
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The speaker cries to Heaven and asks about Destiny's guiding lamp.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:2
label: counsel-giver
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The speaker advises leaving the Wise, filling the Cup, and not fretting over
yesterday or tomorrow.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: role:3
label: answering cosmic figure
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: Heaven replies to the speaker's question.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:4
label: personified guide or mother of children
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: Destiny is referred to as having little children and a possible guiding lamp.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:5
label: stumbling children in darkness
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: The children are described as stumbling in the dark.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:6
label: wrangling wise figures
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: The Wise are described as wrangling.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:7
label: passing force
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: Time is described as slipping underneath the feet.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:8
label: unborn future
assigned_to:
- fig:7
basis: Tomorrow is called unborn.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:9
label: dead past
assigned_to:
- fig:8
basis: Yesterday is called dead and past.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:5
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: lamp of guidance
literal_form: Lamp
associated_figures:
- fig:3
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:2
label: darkness
literal_form: the Dark
associated_figures:
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:3
label: blind Understanding
literal_form: blind Understanding
associated_figures:
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:4
label: cup
literal_form: Cup
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:5
label: unborn tomorrow
literal_form: Unborn To-morrow
associated_figures:
- fig:7
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:6
label: dead yesterday
literal_form: dead Yesterday
associated_figures:
- fig:8
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:5
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Question to Heaven
summary: The speaker asks Heaven what lamp Destiny used to guide her children through
darkness; Heaven answers with blind Understanding.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Withdrawal from cosmic dispute
summary: The speaker advises leaving the Wise to argue, setting aside the quarrel
of the Universe, and making game of it from a corner of the hubbub.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:5
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: scene:3
label: Cup and present sweetness
summary: The speaker urges filling the cup and not fretting over dead Yesterday
or unborn Tomorrow if Today is sweet.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:6
- fig:7
- fig:8
symbol_refs:
- sym:4
- sym:5
- sym:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:5
- id: scene:4
label: Editorial comparison of first-edition quatrains
summary: The prose commentary notes that quatrains 33 and 45 lack near textual parallels,
while quatrain 37 is linked to lines from O. 20 and O. 17.
figure_refs: []
symbol_refs:
- sym:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: questioning Heaven about human guidance in darkness
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The speaker asks Heaven what guide Destiny had for her children in the dark,
and Heaven replies with blind Understanding.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage presents a philosophical exchange rather than a developed
narrative myth.
- id: motif:2
label: renunciation of cosmic wrangling
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The speaker counsels leaving the Wise to argue and letting the quarrel of
the Universe be.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
confidence: medium
cautions: This is expressed as poetic counsel, not as an enacted mythic episode.
- id: motif:3
label: present sweetness over past and future
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The speaker contrasts unborn Tomorrow and dead Yesterday with the possible
sweetness of Today, and the quoted parallel repeats that today is sweet while
yesterday is past.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:5
confidence: high
cautions: The taxonomy reference is broad; no more specific supplied taxonomy category
is available for carpe-diem counsel.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: The passage itself states that quatrain No. 37 appears to have been inspired
by specified lines of O. 20 and O. 17, and it quotes a close parallel contrasting
past yesterday with sweet today.
claim_level: linguistic_similarity
target: O. 20 lines 3-4 and O. 17 lines 3-4 in the cited parallel tradition
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: The passage reports an editorial judgment and gives only the quoted
parallel for O. 17; it does not provide the full source context.
- id: claim:2
claim: The passage states that quatrain No. 33 and quatrain No. 45 have no near
parallel in the texts.
claim_level: linguistic_similarity
target: near textual parallels in the compared Khayyam text tradition
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: This is limited to the editor's statement in the passage and does not
independently survey the compared texts.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 4475-4481, quatrain XXXIII
quote_or_summary: The speaker cries to rolling Heaven, asking what lamp Destiny
had to guide her children in the dark; Heaven replies, “A blind Understanding.”
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/sufistic-quatrains-omar-khayyam.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short excerpt used for evidence.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 4483-4488, quatrain XLV
quote_or_summary: The speaker says to leave the Wise to wrangle, let the quarrel
of the Universe be, and make game of that which makes as much of the addressee.
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 4490-4495, quatrain XXXVII
quote_or_summary: The speaker urges filling the Cup, says Time is slipping underfoot,
and contrasts unborn Tomorrow and dead Yesterday with sweet Today.
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 4497-4507, prose commentary
quote_or_summary: The commentary says No. 33 appears to have no near parallel, No.
45 is similar in that respect, and No. 37 appears to have been inspired by lines
of O. 20 and O. 17.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/sufistic-quatrains-omar-khayyam.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:5
type: quote
locator: lines 4509-4510, quoted parallel
quote_or_summary: "“Nothing thou canst say of yesterday, that is past, is sweet;
/ Be happy and do not speak of yesterday, for to-day is sweet.”"
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/sufistic-quatrains-omar-khayyam.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short quotation from supplied passage.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: medium
notes: Literal extraction is straightforward. Motif assignments use broad supplied
taxonomy, chiefly wisdom. Comparison claims are limited to the editorial statements
in the passage.
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 sources or taxonomy IDs beyond those supplied were used.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:sufi-omar-khayyam-sufistic-quatrains-gutenberg__l4473-l4513
passage_sha256=367a525cd5591c913b2c5c89f3a95e95d34cd7c2c79440fd59a5aa5346ca61ee