CREUSA (taking her hand).
Poor, lonely soul!
MEDEA. Gentle art thou, and mild, and gracious
too;
I
read it in thy face. But oh, beware!
The
way seems smooth.—One step may mean
thy fall!
Light
is the skiff that bears thee down the stream,
Advance
upon the silvery, shining waves,
Past
gaily-flowered banks, where thou would’st pause.—
Ah,
gentle pilot, is thy skill so sure?
Beyond
thee roars the sea! Oh, venture not
To
quit these flowery banks’ secure embrace,
Else
will the current seize thy slender craft
And
sweep thee out upon the great gray sea.—
Why
that fixed gaze? Dost shudder at me still?
There
was a time when I had shuddered, too,
At
thought of such a thing as I’m become!
[She hides her face on CREUSA’s neck.]
CREUSA. She is no wild thing! Father, see, she weeps!
MEDEA. I am a stranger, from a far land
come,
Naught
knowing of this country’s ancient ways;
And
so they flout me, look at me askance
As
at some savage, untamed animal.
I
am the lowest, meanest of mankind,
I,
the proud child of Colchis’ mighty king!—
Teach
me what I must do. Oh, I will learn
Gladly
from thee, for thou art gentle, mild.
’Tis
patient teaching, and not angry scorn,
Will
tame me.—
Is’t
thy wont to be so calm
And
so serene? To me that happy gift
The
gods denied. But I will learn of thee!
Thou
hast the skill to know what pleases him,
What
makes him glad. Oh, teach me how I may
Once
more find favor in my husband’s sight,
And
I will thank thee, thank thee!
CREUSA. Look, my father!
KING. Ay, bring her with thee.
CREUSA. Wilt thou come, Medea?
MEDEA. I’ll follow gladly, whereso’er
thou goest.
Have
pity on me, lone, unfriended, sad,
And
hide me from the king’s stern, pitiless eyes!
(To the KING.)
Now may’st thou
gaze thy fill. My fears are fled,
E’en while I know thy musings bode
me ill.
Thy child is tenderer than her father.
CREUSA. Come!
He
would not harm thee. Come, ye children, too.
[CREUSA leads MEDEA and the children away.]
KING. Hast heard?
JASON. I have.
KING. And so, that is thy wife!
That
thou wert wedded, Rumor long since cried,
But
I believed not. Now, when I have seen,
Belief
is still less easy. She—thy wife?