rnel lies within its shell;
It shall contain a man, a woman, a child,
A dozen men and women if I will.
So far the gods and I run neck and neck,
Nay, so far I can beat them at their trade;
I am no bungler--all the men I make
Are straight limbed fellows, each magnificent
In the perfection of his manly grace;
I make no crook-backs; all my men are gods,
My women, goddesses, in outward form.
But there's my tether--I can go so far,
And go no farther--at that point I stop,
To curse the bonds that hold me sternly back.
To curse the arrogance of those proud gods,
Who say, "Thou shalt be greatest among men,
And yet infinitesimally small!"

GALATEA [_from behind curtain_]. Pygmalion!

PYG. Who called?

GAL. Pygmalion!

[PYGMALION _tears away curtain and, discovers_ GALATEA _alive_.

PYG. Ye gods! It lives!

GAL. Pygmalion!

PYG. It speaks!
I have my prayer! my Galatea breathes!

GAL. Where am I? Let me speak, Pygmalion;
Give me thy hand--both hands--how soft and warm!
Whence came I? [_Descends._

PYG. Why, from yonder pedestal.

GAL. That pedestal! Ah, yes, I recollect.
There was a time when it was part of me.

PYG. That time has passed forever, thou art now
A living, breathing woman, excellent
In every attribute of womankind.

GAL. Where am I, then?

PYG. Why, born into the world
By miracle.

GAL. Is this the world?

PYG. It is.

GAL. This room?

PYG. This room is portion of a house;
The house stands in a grove, the grove itself
Is one of many, many thousand groves
In Athens.

GAL. And is Athens then the world?

PYG. To an Athenian--Yes--

GAL. And I am one?

PYG. By birth and parentage, not by descent.

GAL. But how came I to be?

PYG. Well--let me see.
Oh--you were quarried in Pentelicus;
I modeled you in clay--my artisans
Then roughed you out in marble--I, in turn,
Brought my artistic skill to bear on you,
And