Racine: Phaedra

112 EURIPIDES
Medea.— O i^geus, he I wedded
To me hath proved of all mankind most base.
iEcEus.—What mean'st thou ? In plain terms thy grief declare.
Medea.— Jason hath wronged me, though without a cause.
^Egeus.—Be more explicit, what injurious treatment
Complain'st thou of ?
Medea.— To me hath he preferred
Another wife, the mistress of this house.
-(^geus.—Dared he to act so basely ?
Medea.— Be assured
That I, whom erst he loved, am now forsaken.
JEgeus.—What amorous passion triumphs o'er his soul ?
Or doth he loathe thy bed ?
Medea.— 'Tis mighty love,
That to his first attachment makes him false.
JEoEUS.—Let him depart then, if he be so void
Of honor as thou say'st.
Medea.— He sought to form
Alliance with a monarch.
iEcEus. Who bestows
On him a royal bride? Conclude thy tale.
Medea.—Creon, the ruler of this land.
i^GEus. Thy sorrows
Are then excusable.
Medea.— I am undone,
And banished hence.
.(Egeus.— By whom ? There is not a word
Thou utter'st but unfolds fresh scenes of woe.
Medea.—Me from this realm to exile Creon drives.
.^geus.—Doth Jason suffer this ? I cannot praise
Such conduct.
Medea.— Not in words : though he submits
Without reluctance. But I by that beard,
And by those knees, a wretched suppliant, crave
Your pity ; see me not cast forth forlorn,
But to your realms and to your social hearth
Receive me as a guest ; so may your desire
For children be accomplished by the gods,
And happiness your close of life attend.
But how important a discovery Fortune