batch.motif.sufi-omar-khayyam-sufistic-quatrains-gutenberg-l4516-l4537
---
record_id: batch.motif.sufi-omar-khayyam-sufistic-quatrains-gutenberg-l4516-l4537
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/sufistic-quatrains-omar-khayyam.md
passage_locator:
label: IN THE FIRST EDITION. / XXXIII. / XXXVII. / IN THE SECOND EDITION.; lines
4516-4537
start: '4516'
end: '4537'
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 second-edition quatrain compares wasting present life to a spider spinning
a thread, questions what is gained, and emphasizes uncertainty about whether the
speaker will exhale the breath just inhaled. A note cites an underlying Omar Khayyam
quatrain that similarly asks why grieve over possessions or lack, urges filling
the wine-cup, and repeats uncertainty about the next breath.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: The passage introduces quatrains peculiar to the second edition.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The quatrain says it would be folly to spin away the thread of present life
like a spider.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: The quatrain asks what is gained for oneself when one does not know whether
one will breathe out the breath now being breathed in.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: The prose note states that the quatrain is inspired by O. 136.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:5
text: The cited source quatrain asks how long the speaker shall grieve about what
they have or have not.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:6
text: The cited source quatrain instructs filling up the wine-cup because the speaker
does not know whether they will breathe out the breath being drawn in.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: speaker
description: The first-person voice that questions grieving, gain, and the uncertainty
of the next breath.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: spider
description: A spider-like image used in the comparison of spinning away the thread
of present life.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
roles:
- id: role:1
label: questioning mortal speaker
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The voice asks what is gained and states uncertainty about breathing out
the present breath.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- id: role:2
label: comparison figure
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The spider appears in a simile for spinning away the thread of present life.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: thread of present life
literal_form: thread
associated_figures:
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:2
label: breath
literal_form: breath drawn in and breathed out
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- id: sym:3
label: wine-cup
literal_form: wine-cup
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: sym:4
label: possessions and lack
literal_form: what I have or have not
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Reflection on wasting present life
summary: The quatrain compares spinning away present life to a spider’s action and
questions the value of doing so when the next breath is uncertain.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: scene:2
label: Source quatrain on grief and the wine-cup
summary: The cited underlying quatrain asks why grieve over what one has or lacks
and urges filling the wine-cup because the next breath is uncertain.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
- sym:3
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: uncertainty of life and the next breath
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: Both the second-edition quatrain and the cited source quatrain stress that
the speaker does not know whether the breath now drawn in will be breathed out.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
confidence: high
cautions: The taxonomy reference is broad; the passage frames this as reflective
wisdom rather than a narrative mythic episode.
- id: motif:2
label: present life wasted like a spun thread
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The quatrain explicitly compares folly to spinning the thread of present
life away in a spider-like manner.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
confidence: medium
cautions: This is a poetic image rather than a full narrative motif.
- id: motif:3
label: wine-cup against grief over possession and lack
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The cited source quatrain contrasts grieving over what one has or has not
with the instruction to fill the wine-cup.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage gives no extended ritual or mythic context for the wine-cup
image.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 4516-4520
quote_or_summary: The passage heading states that these are quatrains peculiar to
the second edition and introduces quatrain XIV.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/sufistic-quatrains-omar-khayyam.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary used.
- id: ev:2
type: quote
locator: lines 4521-4525
quote_or_summary: "“Were it not Folly, Spider-like to spin / The Thread of present
Life away to win-- / What? ... Breathe out the very Breath we now breathe in!”"
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/sufistic-quatrains-omar-khayyam.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short excerpt quoted.
- id: ev:3
type: quote
locator: line 4527
quote_or_summary: "“This quatrain is inspired by O. 136.”"
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/sufistic-quatrains-omar-khayyam.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short excerpt quoted.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 4529-4533
quote_or_summary: The cited O. 136 quatrain asks how long the speaker shall grieve
over what they have or have not, tells someone to fill the wine-cup, and says
the speaker does not know whether they will breathe out the breath being drawn
in.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/sufistic-quatrains-omar-khayyam.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary used.
- id: ev:5
type: citation
locator: lines 4535-4537
quote_or_summary: Reference list for O. 136 and related editions or catalogues is
supplied.
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: high
notes: The passage is short and explicit. Motif extraction is limited because the
material is primarily lyric reflection with editorial notes, not narrative myth.
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 comparison claims were added because the passage itself does not support a specific cross-textual or cross-traditional comparison beyond its stated source relationship to O. 136.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:sufi-omar-khayyam-sufistic-quatrains-gutenberg__l4516-l4537
passage_sha256=c161cee28b08ebd0e1db923b9954621992aa98d214b589632804c880b0ff24c9