Beneath the practical plot details, the symbolism of the silver continues. These laborers are so happy in their fidelity to the rulers that they actually sing while being towed back and forth to their job (a symbolic towing by the material interests that recalls Ribiera's ). Note the nature of a "chorus," being a collective which plays a backup role to the protagonist (i.e., the ruler). Note also the subtle phrasing in which the lighters are "empty" without their material load, despite being filled with men. Laborers who sing through such exploitation would indeed have no occasion to approach the symbolic silver of independent worth.