"
=portion of his labor=:--Ecclesiastes, 2:10: "For my heart rejoiced in
my labor; and this was my portion of all my labor."
=the light is sweet=:--Ecclesiastes, 11:7: "Truly the light is sweet,
and a pleasant thing it is for the eyes to behold the sun."
=How long=:--Revelation, 6:10: "How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost
thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?"
=when the sea=:--Revelation, 20:13: "And the sea gave up the dead which
were in it."
=rejected and despised=:--For this and the remainder of the stanza, see
Isaiah, 53.
=Titans=:--In Greek mythology, powerful and troublesome giants.
=Cain=:--See the story of Cain, Genesis, 4:2-16.
=searching like God=:--Genesis, 4:9: "And the Lord said unto Cain, Where
is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not! Am I my brother's keeper?"
=Temple-vail=:--At the death of Christ, the vail of the temple was rent;
see Matthew, 27:51.
SUGGESTIONS FOR STUDY[15]
Read the poem slowly and thoughtfully. The "singing man" is the laborer
who, in days gone by, was happy in his work. People were not crowded
into great cities, and there was more simple out-door labor than there
is now, and less strife for wealth.
_Above the vineyards_: In Europe, vineyards are often planted on the
slopes of hills and mountains. What ancient country do you think of in
connection with "the corn [grain], the oil, the wine"? Were the laborers
happy in that country? What were the "creatures" of man's planting
(second stanza)? What was the "ancient threat" of deserts? Of what kind
of deserts, as described here? Of what deserts would this be true after
the rainy season? _Laughed to scorn_: Does this mean "outdid"? Mentally
insert the word _something_ after _still_ in the second line of the
third stanza.
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