Documentation

This PROPOSITION connects two theses from different sources. The proposition "Lead white is a cooling substance" links theses expressing the same idea about lead white's cooling properties.

Two theses linking to this proposition:

• THESIS tlg0656_tlg001.T161627 from De materia medica (Περὶ ὕλης ἰατρικῆς) by Dioscorides: "(Lead white)'s property is: cooling, adhesive-malleability-inducing, softening..." — links to this proposition with @partial="true", indicating the thesis matches part of the proposition (the thesis lists multiple properties, while the proposition focuses on cooling).
  <THESIS xml:id="tlg0656_tlg001.T161627">
  <matchingPropositionsGroup>
    <matchingProposition propRef="#w0007112.P664643" partial="true"/>
  </matchingPropositionsGroup>
  ...
  <speakersGroup>
    <speaker name="./meta/ancient-lead-white_JOHD_people.xml#Dioscorides-Pedanius"/>
  </speakersGroup>
  ...
  <text>
    <snippet>δύναμιν δὲ ἔχει ψυκτικήν , ἐμπλαστικήν , μαλακτικήν , πληρωτικήν , λεπτυντικήν , ἔτι δὲ πράως κατασταλτικὴν ὑπεροχῶν καὶ κατουλωτικήν , μειγνύμενον κηρωταῖς καὶ λιπαραῖς ἐμπλάστροις καὶ τροχίσκοις</snippet>
  </text>
  <paraphrasis>(Lead white)'s property is: cooling, adhesive-malleability-inducing, softening, filling, thinning, moderately controlling of excrescences, and – when mixed with cerates, fatty plasters and lozenges – cicatrising</paraphrasis>
</THESIS>
• THESIS tlg0007_tlg112.T145739 from Quaestiones convivales (Συμποσιακῶν προβλημάτων βιβλία) by Plutarch: "Lead white is the most cooling of deadly drugs" — links to this proposition with @generalized="true" and @partial="true", indicating the proposition is more general (it doesn't specify "most cooling" or "deadly drugs") and corresponds to only part of the thesis's meaning, with the thesis including additional information.
  <THESIS xml:id="tlg0007_tlg112.T145739">
  <matchingPropositionsGroup>
    <matchingProposition propRef="#w0007112.P664643" generalized="true" partial="true"/>
  </matchingPropositionsGroup>
  ...
  <speakersGroup>
    <speaker name="./meta/ancient-lead-white_JOHD_people.xml#Plutarchus"/>
  </speakersGroup>
  ...
  <text>
    <snippet>τὸ ψυκτικώτατον τῶν θανασίμων φαρμάκων […] ψιμύθιον</snippet>
  </text>
  <paraphrasis>Lead white is the most cooling of deadly drugs</paraphrasis>
</THESIS>

Both theses reference the same PROPOSITION through their matchingPropositionsGroup elements.

PROPOSITION tlg0093_tlg004.P151115:
Theophrastus's recipe for producing lead white, broken down into 7 phases.

This proposition contains a single sequence with 7 phases. Each phase describes one step in the recipe. The first phase sets up the process: placing lead over vinegar in closed jars. The second phase waits for the lead to transform. The third opens the jars. The fourth scrapes away the substance that formed, repeating until the lead is consumed. The fifth grinds what was scraped. The sixth filters it. The seventh identifies the final product: lead white.

Each phase includes a description of what happens (in microThemedFreeText) and lists the objects involved (in objectsGroup). Objects can be ingredients, instruments, or products from earlier phases. Some phases show how objects transform or connect across phases using productOf elements that reference earlier phases. The final phase marks the purpose of the entire sequence using containsPurpose value="true".

This proposition was modelled after a THESIS in Theophrastus's On Stones (Περὶ λίθων), which describes the recipe for producing lead white. Theophrastus's thesis itself references this proposition.

Theses linking to this proposition:

Let us focus on two theses from different authors that link to this proposition, each mapping their sequence phases to the proposition's phases. The mapping mechanism uses matchingPropositionSequence elements at the sequence level and matchingPropositionPhases elements at each phase level. Attributes describe how the thesis relates to the proposition: @generalized means the thesis is more general, @specified means it adds detail, @extended means it adds steps, @altered means it changes something, and @partial means it covers only part of the proposition. When a phase has no match, phasesRef="/" indicates this.

1. Dioscorides's recipe from De materia medica

Dioscorides's thesis links to this proposition with @extended="true" @specified="true" @generalized="true" @altered="true", indicating it expands, adds detail, generalises, and modifies the Theophrastus procedure. The thesis has 13 phases compared to the proposition's 7. Dioscorides, indeed, adds steps not present in Theophrastus.

Phase 1 maps to proposition phase 1.1 with @extended="true" @generalized="true": the thesis adds detail about timing and vinegar type not present in the Theophrastus proposition, as shown in the paraphrasis "(In summer, ) pour most pungent vinegar into a broad-mouthed jar". Phase 2 ("Place a leaden brick on a lattice of reeds") has no match in the proposition (phasesRef="/"). Phase 3 ("Lay the lattice of reeds with the leaden brick onto the mouth of the pot") maps to proposition phase 1.1 with @extended="true" @generalized="true". Phase 4 ("Above, throw over covers") also maps to proposition phase 1.1 with @extended="true" @generalized="true". Phase 5 ("Wait until (the leaden brick), crumbling down, has strained through (the lattice)") maps to proposition phase 1.2 with @altered="true". Phases 6 ("Decant away the clean fluid that floats on top") and 7 ("Pour the (remaining) viscous fluid into a vessel") have no match in the proposition (phasesRef="/"). Many of the 13 phases remain unlinked to the proposition, including steps like decanting fluid and drying under the sun.

2. Plutarch's simplified description from Quaestiones convivales

Plutarch's thesis links to this proposition with @partial="true" @extended="true" @specified="true" @generalized="true" @altered="true", indicating it covers only part of the proposition, expands it, adds detail, generalises, and modifies it. The thesis has only 2 phases compared to the proposition's 7, condensing multiple proposition phases into single thesis phases.

The first thesis phase ("Lead is rubbed with vinegar") maps to proposition phases 1.1 and 1.4. Proposition phase 1.1 is "Place a piece of lead over vinegar in closed jars", and proposition phase 1.4 is "Scrape away from the lead the substance that has formed on its surface, repeating this until you have consumed it completely". Plutarch's phase combines these two proposition phases into a single description. The attributes explain how the proposition phases relate to Plutarch's phase: @extended="true" means the proposition phases include Plutarch's phase while also providing additional information (the proposition phases describe placing lead and scraping separately, while Plutarch combines them into "rubbed"); @specified="true" means the proposition phases specify Plutarch's phase in detail (the proposition phases add information about jars, closed containers, and the scraping process); @altered="true" means the proposition phases are similar to Plutarch's phase but diverge in details (the proposition phases describe separate steps while Plutarch describes a single action); and @partial="true" means the proposition phases correspond to only part of Plutarch's phase's meaning (Plutarch's phase covers the combined action, while the proposition phases cover only the separate steps).

The second thesis phase ("It sends forth the most cooling of deadly drugs, i.e., lead white") maps to proposition phase 1.4 ("Scrape away from the lead the substance that has formed on its surface, repeating this until you have consumed it completely"). Plutarch's phase describes the outcome rather than the process. The attributes explain how the proposition phase relates to Plutarch's phase: @extended="true" means the proposition phase includes Plutarch's phase while also providing additional information (the proposition phase describes the scraping process, while Plutarch describes the result); @generalized="true" means the proposition phase generalises Plutarch's phase (the proposition phase describes the process in broader terms, while Plutarch specifies the outcome as "the most cooling of deadly drugs"); and @altered="true" means the proposition phase is similar to Plutarch's phase but diverges in details (the proposition phase focuses on the scraping process, while Plutarch focuses on what emerges from it). Most proposition phases remain unlinked in Plutarch's simplified version, which condenses the recipe into its essential steps.

These examples show how sequence mapping compares processual theses across sources. The mapping reveals which phases correspond, which remain unlinked, and how different authors describe the same procedures with varying levels of detail, different ordering, or alternative approaches. Map-based or network visualisations can make these differences very evident, showing at a glance which phases link across sources and which remain unique to particular authors.