meaning - Confusion about a stanza from Rudyard Kipling


Following is the stanza:



Teach us delight in simple things,
And mirth that has no bitter springs;
Forgiveness free of evil done,
And Love to all men 'neath the sun!



What does second line and third line mean? And does the last line mean love to all people who work hard under the harsh sun?


A brief explanation will suffice.


(I hope that this is not a subjective question! Also, please change the tag; my reputation is not quite enough to create new one.)



Answer



"Bitter springs" means, basically, "springing from something bitter." So the second line means: may we learn to not be happy because of others' misfortunes.


"Forgiveness free of evil done" means that we'll forgive those who wrong us, and never remember again the evil they did. (Sort of the opposite of "I may forgive, but I'll never forget.")


In the last line, "under the sun" means "everyone in the world" - the expression is borrowed from Ecclesiastes (1:3).


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