THE MEDEA
If one is a good servant, it's a terrible thing
When one's master's luck is out; it goes to one's heart. 55
So I myself have got into such a state of grief
That a longing stole over me to come outside here
And tell the earth and air of my mistress' sorrows.
Tutor
Has the poor lady not yet given up her crying?
Nurse
Given up? She's at the start, not halfway through her
tears. 60
Tutor
Poor fool—if I may call my mistress such a name—
How ignorant she is of trouble more to come.
Nurse
What do you mean, old man? You needn't fear to speak.
Tutor
Nothing. I take back the words which I used just now.
Nurse
Don't, by your beard, hide this from me, your fellow-
servant 65
If need be, I'll keep quiet about what you tell me.
Tutor
I heard a person saying, while I myself seemed
Not to be paying attention, when I was at the place
Where the old draught-players sit, by the holy fountain,
That Creon, ruler of the land, intends to drive 70
These children and their mother in exile from Corinth.
But whether what he said is really true or not
I do not know. I pray that it may not be true.
73