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FROM THE ESTATE OF
GEORGE JAFFE
SALOME
SALOME
A TRAGEDY IN ONE ACT : TRANS-
LATED FROM THE FRENCH OF
OSCAR WILDE, WITH SIXTEEN
DRAWINGS BY AUBREY BEARDSLEY
LONDON : JOHN LANE, THE BODLEY HEAD
NEW YORK : JOHN LANE COMPANY, MCMVII
THE PERSONS OF THE PLAY.
HEROD ANTIPAS, Tetrarch of Judaea.
JOKANAAN, The Prophet.
THE YOUNG SYRIAN, Captain of the Guard,
TIGELLINUS, A Young Roman.
A CAPPADOCIAN.
A NUBIAN.
FIRST SOLDIER.
SECOND SOLDIER.
THE PAGE OF HERODIAS.
JEWS, NAZARENES, Etc.
A SLAVE.
NAAMAN, The Executioner.
HERODIAS, Wife of the Tetrarch.
SALOME, Daughter of Herodias.
THE SLAVES OF SALOME.
A NOTE ON "SALOME."
"QALOME" has made the author's name a
^ household word wherever the English lan-
guage is not spoken. Few English plays
have such a peculiar history. Written in French in
1892 it was in full rehearsal by Madame Bernhardt
at the Palace Theatre when it was prohibited by
the Censor. Oscar Wilde immediately announced
his intention of changing his nationality, a charac-
teristic jest, which was only taken seriously, oddly
enough, in Ireland. The interference of the Censor
has seldom been more popular or more heartily
endorsed by English critics. On its publication in
book form " Salome " was greeted by a chorus of
ridicule, and it may be noted in passing that at
least two of the more violent reviews were from the
pens of unsuccessful dramatists, while all those
whose French never went beyond Ollendorff were
glad to find in that venerable school classic an un-
suspected asset in their education — a handy
missile with which to pelt " Salome " and its author.
The correctness of the French was, of course,
impugned, although the scrip had been passed by a
distinguished French writer, to whom I have heard
the whole work attributed. The Times, while
depreciating the drama, gave its author credit for a
xiii
tour deforce, in being capable of writing a French
play for Madame Bernhardt, and this drew from
him the following letter: —
The Times, Thursday, March 2, 1893, p. 4.
Mr. Oscar Wilde on "Salome."
To the Editor of The Times.
SIR, My attention has been drawn to a review
of " Salome " which was published in your columns
last week. The opinions of English critics on a
French work of mine have, of course, little, if any,
interest for me. I write simply to ask you to allow
me to correct a misstatement that appears in the
review in question.
The fact that the greatest tragic actress of any
stage now living saw in my play such beauty that
she was anxious to produce it, to take herself the
part of the heroine, to lend to the entire poem the
glamour of her personality, and to my prose the
music of her flute-like voice — this was naturally,
and always will be, a source of pride and pleasure
to me, and I look forward with delight to seeing
Mme. Bernhardt present my play in Paris, that
vivid centre of art, where religious dramas are often
performed. But my play was in no sense of the
words written for this great actress. I have never
written a play for any actor or actress, nor shall I
ever do so. Such work is for the artisan in litera-
ture— not for the artist.
I remain, Sir, your obedient servant,
Oscar Wilde.
xiv
When " Salome " was translated into English by
Lord Alfred Douglas, the illustrator, Aubrey
Beardsley, shared some of the obloquy heaped on
Wilde. It is interesting that he should have found
inspiration for his finest work in a play he never
admired and by a writer he cordially disliked. The
motives are, of course, made to his hand, and never
was there a more suitable material for that odd
tangent art in which there are no tactile values.
The amusing caricatures of Wilde which appear in
the Frontispiece, " Enter Herodias " and " The Eyes
of Herod," are the only pieces of vraisemblance in
these exquisite designs. The colophon is a real
masterpiece and a witty criticism of the play as
well.
On the production of " Salome " by the New
Stage Club in May, 1905,1 the dramatic critics
again expressed themselves vehemently, vociferat-
ing their regrets that the play had been dragged
from its obscurity. The obscure drama, however,
had become for five years past part of the
literature of Europe. It is performed regularly or
intermittently in Holland, Sweden, Italy, France,
and Russia, and it has been translated into every
European language, including the Czech. It forms
1 A more recent performance of "Salome" (1906), by the
Literary Theatre Club, has again produced an ebullition of rancour
and deliberate misrepresentation on the part of the dramatic critics,
the majority of whom are anxious to parade their ignorance of the
continental stage. The production was remarkable on account of
the beautiful dresses and mounting, for which Mr. Charles Ricketts
was responsible, and the marvellous impersonation of Herod by
Mr. Robert Farquharson. Wilde used to say that "Salome" was a
mirror in which everyone could see himself. The artist, art ; the dull,
dulness ; the vulgar, vulgarity.
part of the repertoire of the German stage, where
it is performed more often than any play by any
English writer except Shakespeare. Owing, per-
haps, to what I must call its obscure popularity in
the continental theatres, Dr. Strauss was preparing
his remarkable opera at the very moment when
there appeared the criticisms to which I refer, and
since the production of the opera in Dresden in
December, 1905, English musical journalists and
correspondents always refer to the work as founded
on Wilde's drama. That is the only way in which
they can evade an awkward truth — a palpable
contravention to their own wishes and theories.
The music, however, has been set to the actual
words of "Salome" in Madame Hedwig Lachmann's
admirable translation. The words have not been
transfigured into ordinary operatic nonsense to
suit the score, or the susceptibilities of the
English people. I observe that admirers of Dr.
Strauss are a little mortified that the great master
should have found an occasion for composition in a
play which they long ago consigned to oblivion
and the shambles of Aubrey Beardsley. Wilde
himself, in a rhetorical period, seems to have con-
templated the possibility of his prose drama for a
musical theme. In " De Profundis" he says : "The
refrains, whose recurring motifs make ' Salome ' so
like a piece of music, and bind it together as a
ballad."
He was still incarcerated in 1896, when Mons.
Luigne Poe produced the play for the first time at
the Theatre Libre in Paris, with Lina Muntz in the
title role. A rather pathetic reference to this occa-
XVI
sion occurs in a letter Wilde wrote to me from
Reading : —
" Please say how gratified I was at the perform-
ance of my play, and have my thanks conveyed to
Luigne Poe. It is something that at a time of
disgrace and shame I should still be regarded as an
artist. I wish I could feel more pleasure, but I seem
dead to all emotions except those of anguish and
despair. However, please let Luigne Poe know
that I am sensible of the honour he has done me.
He is a poet himself. Write to me in answer to
this, and try and see what Lemaitre, Bauer, and
Sarcey said of ' Salome.' "
The bias of personal friendship precludes me
from praising qr defending " Salome," even if
it were necessary to do so. Nothing I might
say would add to the reputation of its detractors.
Its sources are obvious ; particularly Flaubert
and Maeterlinck, in whose peculiar and original
style it is an essay. A critic, for whom I
have a greater regard than many of his con-
temporaries, says that " Salome " is only a cata-
logue ; but a catalogue can be intensely dramatic,
as we know when the performance takes place at
Christie's ; few plays are more exciting than an
auction in King Street when the stars are fighting
for Sisera.
It has been remarked that Wilde confuses Herod
the Great (Mat. xi. i), Herod Antipas (Mat.
xiv. 3), and Herod Agrippa (Acts xiii), but the con-
fusion is intentional, as in mediaeval mystery plays
Herod is taken for a type, not an historical character,
and the criticism is about as valuable as that of
XVll
people who laboriously point out the anachronisms
in Beardsley's designs. With reference to the
charge of plagiarism brought against "Salome"
and its author, I venture to mention a personal
recollection.
Wilde complained to me one day that someone
in a well-known novel had stolen an idea of his. I
pleaded in defence of the culprit that Wilde him-
self was a fearless literary thief. " My dear fellow,"
he said, with his usual drawling emphasis, "when I
see a monstrous tulip with four wonderful petals in
someone else's garden, I am impelled to grow a
monstrous tulip with five wonderful petals, but that
is no reason why someone should grow a tulip with
only three petals." That WAS OSCAR WILDE.
Robert Ross.
LIST OF THE PICTURES
BY AUBREY BEARDSLEY.
i. THE WOMAN IN THE MOON.
2. TITLE PAGE.
3. COVER DESIGN.
4. LIST OF THE PICTURES.
5. THE PEACOCK SKIRT.
6. THE BLACK CAPE.
Kr m '' NBMMi
7. A PLATONIC LAMENT.
vi2Lji(*3
w 11 \ ^ mMI
8. JOHN AND SALOME.
1 »>?-. IBI
9. ENTER HERODIAS.
10. THE EYES OF HEROD.
11. THE STOMACH DANCE.
12. THE TOILETTE OF SALOME.—I.
13. THE TOILETTE OF SALOME.— II.
14. THE DANCER'S REWARD.
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15. THE CLIMAX.
16. CUL DE LAMPE.
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SALOME
Cast of the Performance of <{ Salome*," represented
in England for the first time.
NEW STAGE CLUB.
"SALOME,"
By OSCAR WILDE.
May 10th and 13th, 1905.
A Young Syrian Captain
Mr HERBERT ALEXANDER.
Page of Herodias Mrs. GWENDOLEN BISHOP.
First Soldier - - Mr. CHARLES GEE.
Second Soldier - Mr. RALPH DE ROHAN.
Cappadocian - - Mr. CHARLES DALMON.
Jokanaan - - - - Mr. VINCENT NELLO.
Naaman, the Executioner
Mr. W. EVELYN OSBORN.
Salome - - - - Miss MILLICENT MURBY.
Slave Miss CARRIE KEITH.
Herod Mr. ROBERT FARQUHARSON.
Herodias - - - - Miss LOUISE SALOM.
Tigellinus - - - Mr. C. L. DELPH.
Slave ----- Miss STANSFELD.
First Jew - - - Mr. F. STANLEY SMITH.
Second Jew - - - Mr. BERNHARD SMITH.
Third Jew - - - Mr. JOHN BATE.
Fourth Jew - - - STEPHEN BAGEHOT
Fifth Jew - - - FREDERICK LAWRENCE.
Scene - THE GREAT TERRACE OUTSIDE THE PALACE.
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33
ten
Scene. — A great terrace in the Palace of Herod,
set above the banqueting-hall. Some soldiers are
leaning over the balcony. To the right there is a
gigantic staircase, to the left, at the back, an old
cistern surrounded by a wall of green bronze.
Moonlight.
THE YOUNG SYRIAN
How beautiful is the Princess Salome to-night !
THE PAGE OF HERODIAS
Look at the moon ! How strange the moon
seems ! She is like a woman rising from a tomb.
She is like a dead woman. You would fancy she
was looking for dead things.
THE YOUNG SYRIAN
She has a strange look. She is like a little
princess who wears a yellow veil, and whose feet
are of silver. She is like a princess who has
little white doves for feet. You would fancy she
was dancing.
THE PAGE OF HERODIAS
She is like a woman who is dead. She moves
very slowly.
[Noise in the banqueting-halQ
FIRST SOLDIER
What an uproar ! Who are those wild beasts
howling ?
SECOND SOLDIER
The Jews. They are always like that. They
are disputing about their religion.
FIRST SOLDIER
Why do they dispute about their religion ?
SECOND SOLDIER
I cannot tell. They are always doing it. The
Pharisees, for instance, say that there are angels,
and the Sadducees declare that angels do not
exist.
FIRST SOLDIER
I think it is ridiculous to dispute about such
things.
THE YOUNG SYRIAN
How beautiful is the Princess Salome to-night !
THE PAGE OF HERODIAS
You are always looking at her. You look at
her too much. It is dangerous to look at people
in such fashion. Something terrible may happen.
THE YOUNG SYRIAN
She is very beautiful to-night.
FIRST SOLDIER
The Tetrarch has a sombre look.
SECOND SOLDIER
Yes ; he has a sombre look.
FIRST SOLDIER
He is looking at something.
SECOND SOLDIER
He is looking at some one.
FIRST SOLDIER
At whom is he looking ?
SECOND SOLDIER
I cannot tell.
THE YOUNG SYRIAN
How pale the Princess is ! Never have I seen
her so pale. She is like the shadow of a white
rose in a mirror of silver.
THE PAGE OF HERODIAS
You must not look at her. You look too much
at her.
FIRST SOLDIER
Herodias has filled the cup of the Tetrarch.
3 »3
THE CAPPADOCIAN
Is that the Queen Herodias, she who wears a
black mitre sewn with pearls, and whose hair is
powdered with blue dust ?
FIRST SOLDIER
Yes ; that is Herodias, the Tetrarch's wife.
SECOND SOLDIER
The Tetrarch is very fond of wine. He has
wine of three sorts. One which is brought from
the Island of Samothrace, and is purple like the
cloak of Caesar.
THE CAPPADOCIAN
I have never seen Caesar.
SECOND SOLDIER
Another that comes from a town called Cyprus,
and is yellow like gold.
THE CAPPADOCIAN
I love gold.
SECOND SOLDIER
And the third is a wine of Sicily. That wine is
red like blood.
THE NUBIAN
The gods of my country are very fond of blood.
Twice in the year we sacrifice to them young men
4
and maidens ; fifty young men and a hundred
maidens. But it seems we never give them quite
enough, for they are very harsh to us.
THE CAPPADOCIAN
In my country there are no gods left. The
Romans have driven them out. There are some
who say that they have hidden themselves in the
mountains, but I do not believe it. Three nights
I have been on the mountains seeking them
everywhere. I did not find them. And at last
I called them by their names, and they did not
come. I think they are dead.
FIRST SOLDIER
The Jews worship a God that you cannot see.
THE CAPPADOCIAN
I cannot understand that.
FIRST SOLDIER
In fact, they only believe in things that you
cannot see.
THE CAPPADOCIAN
That seems to me altogether ridiculous.
THE VOICE OF JOKANAAN
After me shall come another mightier than I.
I am not worthy so much as to unloose the
latchet of his shoes. When he cometh, the soli-
tary places shall be glad. They shall blossom
like the lily. The eyes of the blind shall see the
day, and the ears of the deaf shall be opened.
The new-born child shall put his hand upon the
dragon's lair, he shall lead the lions by their
manes.
SECOND SOLDIER
Make him be silent. He is always saying
ridiculous things.
FIRST SOLDIER
No, no. He is a holy man. He is very
gentle, too. Every day, when I give him to eat
he thanks me.
THE CAPPADOCIAN
Who is he ?
FIRST SOLDIER
A prophet
THE CAPPADOCIAN
What is his name ?
FIRST SOLDIER
Jokanaan.
THE CAPPADOCIAN
Whence comes he ?
6
FIRST SOLDIER
From the desert, where he fed on locusts and
wild honey. He was clothed in camel's hair, and
round his loins he had a leathern belt. He was
very terrible to look upon. A great multitude
used to follow him. He even had disciples.
THE CAPPADOCIAN
What is he talking of ?
*
FIRST SOLDIER
We can never tell. Sometimes he says ter-
rible things, but it is impossible to understand
what he says.
THE CAPPADOCIAN
May one see him ?
FIRST SOLDIER . .
No. The Tetrarch has forbidden it.
THE YOUNG SYRIAN
The Princess has hidden her face behind her
fan ! Her little white hands are fluttering like
doves that fly to their dove-cots. They are like
white butterflies. They are just like white butter-
flies.
THE PAGE OF HERODIAS
What is that to you ? Why do you look at
her? You must not look at her.
Something terrible may happen.
The CappAdoCian
[Pointing to the cistern^
What a strange prison !
SECOND SOLDIER
It is an old cistern.
THE CAPPADOCIAN
An old cistern ! It must be very unhealthy.
SECOND SOLDIER
Oh no! For instance, the Tetrarch's brother,
his elder brother, the first husband of Herodias
the Queen, was imprisoned there for twelve years.
It did not kill him. At the end of the twelve
years he had to be strangled.
THE CAPPADOCIAN
Strangled ? Who dared to do that ?
SECOND SOLDIER
{Pointing to the Executioner, a huge Negro.]
That man yonder, Naaman.
THE CAPPADOCIAN
He was not afraid ?
SECOND SOLDIER
Oh no ! The Tetrarch sent him the ring.
THE CAPPADOCIAN
What ring ?
8
SECOND SOLDIER
The death-ring. So he was not afraid.
THE CAPPADOCIAN
Yet it is a terrible thing to strangle a king.
FIRST SOLDIER
Why? Kings have but one neck, like other
folk.
THE CAPPADOCIAN
I think it terrible.
THE YOUNG SYRIAN
The Princess rises ! She is leaving the table !
She looks very troubled. Ah, she is coming
this way. Yes, she is coming towards us.
How pale she is ! Never have I seen her so pale.
THE PAGE OF HERODIAS
Do not look at her. I pray you not to look
at her.
THE YOUNG SYRIAN
She is like a dove that has strayed. . . .
She is like a narcissus trembling in the wind.
. . . . She is like a silver flower.
[Enter Salome".]
SALOME
I will not stay. I cannot stay. Why does the
Tetrarch look at me all the while with his mole's
eyes under his shaking eyelids ? It is strange
9
that the husband of my mother looks at me like
that. I know not what it means. In truth, yes,
I know it.
THE. YOUNG SYRIAN
You have just left the feast, Princess ?
SALOME
How sweet the air is here ! I can breathe
here ! Within there are Jews from Jerusalem
who are tearing each other in pieces over their
foolish ceremonies, and barbarians who drink
and drink, and spill their wine on the pavement,
and Greeks from Smyrna with painted eyes and
painted cheeks, and frizzed hair curled in twisted
coils, and silent, subtle Egyptians, with long nails
of jade and russett cloaks, and Romans brutal
and coarse, with their uncouth jargon. Ah!
how I loathe the Romans! They are rough and
common, and they give themselves the airs of
noble lords.
THE YOUNG SYRIAN
Will you be seated, Princess ?
THE PAGE OF HERODIAS
Why do you speak to her ? Why do you look
at her ? Oh ! something terrible will happen.
SALOME
How good to see the moon ! She is like a
little piece of money, you would think she was a
10
little silver flower. The moon is cold and chaste.
I am sure she is a virgin, she has a virgin's beauty.
Yes, she is a virgin. She has never defiled her-
self. She has never abandoned herself to men,
like the other goddesses.
THE VOICE OF JOKANAAN
The Lord hath come. The son of man hath
come. The centaurs have hidden themselves in
the rivers, and the sirens have left the rivers, and
are lying beneath the leaves of the forest.
SALOME
Who was that who cried out ?
SECOND SOLDIER
The prophet, Princess.
SALOME
Ah, the prophet ! He of whom the Tetrarch
is afraid ?
SECOND SOLDIER
We know nothing of that, Princess. It was the
prophet Jokanaan who cried out.
THE YOUNG SYRIAN
Is it your pleasure that I bid them bring your
litter, Princess ? The night is fair in the garden.
SALOME
He says terrible things about my mother, does
he not ?
ii
SECOND SOLDIER
We never understand what he says, Princess.
SALOM&
Yes ; he says terrible things about her.
\Enter a Slave.]
THE SLAVE
Princess, the Tetrarch prays you to return to
the feast.
SALOMfi
I will not go back.
THE YOUNG SYRIAN
Pardon me, Princess, but if you do not return
some misfortune may happen.
SALOME
Is he an old man, this prophet ?
THE YOUNG SYRIAN
Princess, it were better to return. Suffer me
to lead you in.
SALOME
This prophet . . . is he an old man ?
FIRST SOLDIER
No, Princess, he is quite a young man.
SECOND SOLDIER
You cannot be sure. There are those who say
he is Elias.
12
SALOME
Who is Elias ?
SECOND SOLDIER
A very ancient prophet of this country,
Princess.
THE SLAVE
What answer may I give the Tetrarch from the
Princess ?
THE VOICE OF JOKANAAN
Rejoice not thou, land of Palestine, because the
rod of him who smote thee is broken. For from
the seed of the serpent shall come forth a basilisk,
and that which is born of it shall devour the birds.
SALOME
What a strange voice ! I would speak with
him.
FIRST SOLDIER
I fear it is impossible, Princess. The Tetrarch
does not wish any one to speak with him. He
has even forbidden the high priest to speak with
him.
SALOME
I desire to speak with him.
FIRST SOLDIER
It is impossible, Princess.
13
SALOME
I will speak with him.
THE YOUNG SYRIAN
Would it not be better to return to the banquet ?
SALOME
Bring forth this prophet.
[Exit the slave]
FIRST SOLDIER
We dare not, Princess.
SALOME
{Approaching the cistern and looking down into
it.]
How black it is, down there ! It must be
terrible to be in so black a pit ! It is like a tomb.
. . . . [To the soldiers] Did you not hear
me ? Bring out the prophet. I wish to see him.
SECOND SOLDIER
Princess, I beg you do not require this of us.
SALOME
You keep me waiting!
FIRST SOLDIER
Princess, our lives belong to you, but we cannot
do what you have asked of us. And indeed, it is
not of us that you should ask this thing.
H
salome
[Looking at the young Syrian]
Ah!
THE PAGE OF HERODIAS
Oh ! what is going to happen ? I am sure
that some misfortune will happen.
SALOME
[Going up to the young Syrian]
You will do this thing for me, will you not,
Narraboth? You will do this thing for me. I
have always been kind to you. You will do
it for me. I would but look at this strange
prophet. Men have talked so much of him.
Often have I heard the Tetrarch talk of him.
I think the Tetrarch is afraid of him. Are you,
even you, also afraid of him, Narraboth ?
THE YOUNG SYRIAN
I fear him not, Princess ; there is no man I
fear. But the Tetrarch has formally forbidden
that any man should raise the cover of this well.
SALOME
You will do this thing for me, Narraboth, and
to-morrow when I pass in my litter beneath the
gateway of the idol-sellers I will let fall for you
a little flower, a little green flower.
THE YOUNG SYRIAN
Princess, I cannot, I cannot.
i5
SALOME
[Smiling.']
You will do this thing for me, Narraboth.
You know that you will do this thing for me.
And to-morrow when I pass in my litter by
the bridge of the idol-buyers, I will look at you
through the muslin veils, I will look at you,
Narraboth, it may be I will smile at you. Look
at me, Narraboth, look at me. Ah ! you know
that you will do what I ask of you. You know
it well. ... I know that you will do this
thing.
THE YOUNG SYRIAN
[Signing to the third soldier \]
Let the prophet come forth. . . . The
Princess Salome desires to see him.
SALOME
Ah!
THE PAGE OF HERODIAS
Oh ! How strange the moon looks. You would
think it was the hand of a dead woman who is
seeking to cover herself with a shroud.
THE YOUNG SYRIAN
She has a strange look ! She is like a little
princess, whose eyes are eyes of amber. Through
the clouds of muslin she is smiling like a little
princess.
[The prophet comes out of the cistern. Salome'
looks at him and steps slowly frack.]
16
JOKANAAN
Where is he whose cup of abominations is now
full ? Where is he, who in a robe of silver shall
one day die in the face of all the people ? Bid
him come forth, that he may hear the voice of
him who hath cried in the waste places and in
the houses of kings.
SALOME
Of whom is he speaking ?
THE YOUNG SYRIAN
You can never tell, Princess.
JOKANAAN
Where is she who having seen the images of
men painted on the walls, the images of the
Chaldeans limned in colours, gave herself up unto
the lust of her eyes, and sent ambassadors into
Chaldea ?
SALOME
It is of my mother that he speaks.
THE YOUNG SYRIAN
Oh, no, Princess.
SALOME
Yes ; it is of my mother that he speaks.
JOKANAAN
Where is she who gave herself unto the Cap-
tains of Assyria, who have baldricks on their
17 c
loins, and tiaras of divers colours on their
heads ? Where is she who hath given herself
to the young men of Egypt, who are clothed
in fine linen and purple, whose shields are of
gold, whose helmets are of silver, whose bodies
are mighty ? Bid her rise up from the bed
of her abominations, from the bed of her inces-
tuousness, that she may hear the words of him
who prepareth the way of the Lord, that she
may repent her of her iniquities. Though she
will never repent, but will stick fast in her abomina-
tions ; bid her come, for the fan of the Lord is in
His hand.
SALOME
But he is terrible, he is terrible !
THE YOUNG SYRIAN
Do not stay here, Princess, I beseech you.
SALOME
It is his eyes above all that are terrible. They
are like black holes burned by torches in a Tyrian
tapestry. They are like black caverns where
dragons dwell. They are like the black caverns
of Egypt in which the dragons make their lairs.
They are like black lakes' troubled by fantastic
moons. ... Do you think he will speak
again ?
THE YOUNG SYRIAN
Do not stay here, Princess. I pray you do not
stay here.
18
salome
How wasted he is ! He is like a thin ivory
statue. He is like an image of silver. I am sure
he is chaste as the moon is. He is like a moon-
beam, like a shaft of silver. His flesh must be
cool like ivory. I would look closer at him.
THE YOUNG SYRIAN
No, no, Princess.
SALOME
I must look at him closer.
THE YOUNG SYRIAN
Princess ! Princess !
JOKANAAN
Who is this woman who is looking at me ? 1
will not have her look at me. Wherefore doth
she look at me with her golden eyes, under her
gilded eyelids ? I know not who she is. I do
not wish to know who she is. Bid her begone.
It is not to her that I would speak.
SALOME
I am Salome, daughter of Herodias, Princess
of Judaea.
JOKANAAN
Back ! daughter of Babylon ! Come not near
the chosen of the Lord. Thy mother hath filled
the earth with the wine of her iniquities, and the
cry of her sins hath come up to the ears of God.
19 c 2
SALOME
Speak again, Jokanaan. Thy voice is wine
to me.
THE YOUNG SYRIAN
Princess ! Princess ! Princess !
SALOME
Speak again ! Speak again, Jokanaan, and tell
me what I must do.
JOKANAAN
Daughter of Sodom, come not near me ! But
cover thy face with a veil, and scatter ashes upon
thine head, and get thee to the desert and seek
out the Son of Man.
SALOME
Who is he, the Son of Man ? Is he as beautiful
as thou art, Jokanaan ?
JOKANAAN
Get thee behind me ! I hear in the palace the
beating of the wings of the angel of death.
THE YOUNG SYRIAN
Princess, I beseech thee to go within.
JOKANAAN
Angel of the Lord God, what dost thou here
with thy sword ? Whom seekest thou in this foul
palace ? The day of him who shall die in a robe
of silver has not yet come.
20
SALOME
Jokanaan !
JOKANAAN
Who speaketh ?
SALOMfi
Jokanaan, I am amorous of thy body! Thy
body is white like the lilies of a field that the
mower hath never mowed. Thy body is white
like the snows that lie on the mountains, like the
snows that lie on the mountains of Judaea, and come
down into the valleys. The roses in the garden
of the Queen of Arabia are not so white as thy
body. Neither the roses in the garden of the Queen
of Arabia, the perfumed garden of spices of the
Queen of Arabia, nor the feet of the dawn when
they light on the leaves, nor the breast of the moon
when she lies on the breast of the sea. .
There is nothing in the world so white as thy body.
Let me touch thy body.
JOKANAAN
Back ! daughter of Babylon ! By woman came
evil into the world. Speak not to me. I will not
listen to thee. I listen but to the voice of the
Lord God.
SALOME
Thy body is hideous. It is like the body of a
leper. It is like a plastered wall where vipers
have crawled ; like a plastered wall where the
21
scorpions have made their nest. It is like a
whitened sepulchre full of loathsome things. It
is horrible, thy body is horrible. It is of thy
hair that I am enamoured, Jokanaan. Thy hair is
like clusters of grapes, like the clusters of black
grapes that hang from the vine-trees of Edom in
the land of the Edomites. Thy hair is like the
cedars of Lebanon, like the great cedars of
Lebanon that give their shade to the lions and
to the robbers who would hide themselves by day.
The long black nights, when the moon hides
her face, when the stars are afraid, are not so
black. The silence that dwells in the forest is
not so black. There is nothing in the world so
black as thy hair. . . . Let me touch thy hair.
JOKANAAN
Back, daughter of Sodom ! Touch me not.
Profane not the temple of the Lord God.
SALOMfi
Thy hair is horrible. It is covered with mire
and dust. It is like a crown of thorns which
they have placed on thy forehead. It is like
a knot of black serpents writhing round thy
neck. I love not thy hair. . . It is thy
mouth that I desire, Jokanaan. Thy mouth
is like a band of scarlet on a tower of ivory.
It is like a pomegranate cut with a knife of
ivory. The pomegranate-flowers that blossom in
the gardens of Tyre, and are redder than roses,
are not so red. The red blasts of trumpets that
herald the approach of kings, and make afraid the
22
enemy, are not so red. Thy mouth is redder
than the feet of those who tread the wine in
the wine-press. Thy mouth is redder than
the feet of the doves who haunt the temples
and are fed by the priests. It is redder than
the feet of him who cometh from a forest where
he hath slain a lion, and seen gilded tigers. Thy
mouth is like a branch of coral that fishers have
found in the twilight of the sea, the coral that
they keep for the kings ! ... It is like the
vermilion that the Moabites find in the mines of
Moab, the vermilion that the kings take from
them. It is like the bow of the King of the
Persians, that is painted with vermilion, and is
tipped with coral. There is nothing in the world
so red as thy mouth. . . . Let me kiss thy
mouth.
JOKANAAN
Never ! daughter of Babylon ! Daughter of
Sodom ! Never.
SALOME
I will kiss thy mouth, Jokanaan. I will kiss
thy mouth.
THE YOUNG SYRIAN
Princess, Princess, thou who art like a garden
of myrrh, thou who art the dove of all doves,
look not at this man, look not at him ! Do not
speak such words to him. I cannot suffer them.
. . . Princess, Princess, do not speak these things.
23
SALOME
I will kiss thy mouth, Jokanaan.
THE YOUNG SYRIAN
Ah ! [He kills himself and falls between Salome*
and Jokanaan?^
THE PAGE OF HERODIAS
The young Syrian has slain himself! The
young captain has slain himself! He has slain
himself who was my friend ! I gave him a little
box of perfumes and ear-rings wrought in silver,
and now he has killed himself! Ah, did he not
foretell that some misfortune would happen ? I,
too, foretold it, and it has happened. Well I knew
that the moon was seeking a dead thing, but I
knew not that it was he whom she sought. Ah !
why did I not hide him from the moon ? If I
had hidden him in a cavern she would not have
seen him.
FIRST SOLDIER
Princess, the young captain has just killed
himself.
SALOME
Let me kiss thy mouth, Jokanaan.
JOKANAAN
Art thou not afraid, daughter of Herodias ?
Did I not tell thee that I had heard in the palace
the beatings of the wings of the angel of death,
and hath he not come, the angel of death ?
24
SALOME
Let me kiss thy mouth.
JOKANAAN
Daughter of adultery, there is but one who can
save thee, it is He of whom I spake. Go seek Him.
He is in a boat on the sea of Galilee, and He
talketh with His disciples. Kneel down on the
shore of the sea, and call unto Him by His name.
When He cometh to thee (and to all who call on
Him He cometh), bow thyself at His feet and ask
of Him the remission of thy sins.
SALOME
Let me kiss thy mouth.
JOKANAAN
Cursed be thou! daughter of an incestuous
mother, be thou accursed !
SALOME
I will kiss thy mouth, Jokanaan.
JOKANAAN
I do no wish to look at thee. I will not look
at thee, thou art accursed, Salome, thou art
accursed. [He goes down into the cistern.]
SALOME
I will kiss thy mouth, Jokanaan ; I will kiss
thy mouth.
25
FIRST SOLDIER
We must bear away the body to another place.
The Tetrarch does not care to see dead bodies,
save the bodies of those whom he himself has
slain.
THE PAGE OF HERODIAS
He was my brother, and nearer to me than a
brother. I gave him a little box full of perfumes,
and a ring of agate that he wore always on his
hand. In the evening we used to walk by the
river, among the almond trees, and he would tell
me of the things of his country. He spake ever
very low. The sound of his voice was like the
sound of the flute, of a flute player. Also he
much loved to gaze at himself in the river. I
used to reproach him for that.
SECOND SOLDIER
You are right ; we must hide the body. The
Tetrarch must not see it.
FIRST SOLDIER
The Tetrarch will not come to this place. He
never comes on the terrace. He is too much
afraid of the prophet.
\Enter Herod, Herodias, and all the Court]
HEROD
Where is Salome ? Where is the Princess ?
Why did she not return to the banquet as I com-
manded her ? Ah ! there she is !
26
HERODIAS
You must not look at her! You are always
looking at her !
HEROD
The moon has a strange look to-night. Has
she not a strange look ? She is like a mad woman,
a mad woman who is seeking everywhere for lovers.
She is naked too. She is quite naked. The
clouds are seeking to clothe her nakedness, but
she will not let them. She shows herself naked
in the sky. She reels through the clouds like a
drunken woman. ... I am sure she is
looking for lovers. Does she not reel like a
drunken woman ? She is like a mad woman, is
she not ?
HERODIAS
No ; the moon is like the moon, that is all.
Let us go within. . . . You have nothing to
do here.
HEROD
I will stay here ! Manesseh, lay carpets there.
Light torches, bring forth the ivory tables, and the
tables of jasper. The air here is delicious. I will
drink more wine with my guests. We must show
all honours to the ambassadors of Caesar.
HERODIAS
It is not because of them that you remain.
27
HEROD
Yes ; the air is delicious. Come, Herodias, our
guests await us. Ah ! I have slipped ! I have
slipped in blood ! It is an ill omen. It is a very
evil omen. Wherefore is there blood here ? .
and this body, what does this body here ? Think
you I am like the King of Egypt, who gives no
feast to his guests but that he shows them a corpse ?
Whose is it ? I will not look on it.
FIRST SOLDIER
It is our captain, sire. He is the young Syrian
whom you made captain only three days ago.
HEROD
I gave no order that he should be slain.
SECOND SOLDIER
He killed himself, sire.
HEROD
For what reason ? I had made him captain.
SECOND SOLDIER
We do not know, sire. But he killed himself.
HEROD
That seems strange to me. I thought it was
only the Roman philosophers who killed them-
28
selves. Is it not true, Tigellinus, that the philo-
sophers at Rome kill themselves ?
TIGELLINUS
There are some who kill themselves, sire. They
are the Stoics. The Stoics are coarse people.
They are ridiculous people. I myself regard
them as being perfectly ridiculous.
HEROD
I also. It is ridiculous to kill oneself.
TIGELLINUS
Everybody at Rome laughs at them. The
Emperor has written a satire against them. It is
recited everywhere.
HEROD
Ah ! he has written a satire against them ?
Caesar is wonderful. He can do everything. . . .
It is strange that the young Syrian has killed him-
self. I am sorry he has killed himself. I am very
sorry ; for he was fair to look upon. He was
even very fair. He had very languorous eyes. I
remember that I saw that he looked languorously
at Salome. Truly, I thought he looked too much
at her.
HERODIAS
There are others who look at her too much.
29
HEROD
His father was a king. I drove him from his
kingdom. And you made a slave of his mother,
who was a queen, Herodias. So he was here as
my guest, as it were, and for that reason I made
him my captain. I am sorry he is dead. Ho !
why have you left the body here ? I will not
look at it — away with it ! \They take away the
body.'] It is cold here. There is a wind blow-
ing. Is there not a wind blowing ?
HERODIAS
No ; there is no wind.
HEROD
I tell you there is a wind that blows. . . .
And I hear in the air something that is like the
beating of wings, like the beating of vast wings.
Do you not hear it ?
HERODIAS
I hear nothing.
HEROD
I hear it no longer. But I heard it. It was the
blowing of the wind, no doubt. It has passed away.
But no, I hear it again. Do you not hear it ? It is
just like the beating of wings.
HERODIAS
I tell you there is nothing. You are ill. Let
us go within.
30
HEROD
I am not ill. It is your daughter who is sick.
She has the mien of a sick person. Never have
I seen her so pale.
HERODIAS
I have told you not to look at her.
HEROD
Pour me forth wine [wine is brought]. Salome,
come drink a little wine with me. I have here a
wine that is exquisite. Caesar himself sent it me.
Dip into it thy little red lips, that I may drain the
cup.
SALOME
I am not thirsty, Tetrarch.
HEROD
You hear how she answers me, this daughter of
yours ?
HERODIAS
She does right. Why are you always gazing
at her ?
HEROD
Bring me ripe fruits [fruits are brought], Salome,
come and eat fruit with me. I love to see in a
fruit the mark of thy little teeth. Bite but a little
of this fruit and then I will eat what is left.
3i
SALOME
I am not hungry, Tetrarch.
HEROD
[To Herodzas.] You see how you have brought
up this daughter of yours.
HERODIAS
My daughter and I come of a royal race. As
for thee, thy father was a camel driver ! He was
also a robber !
HEROD
Thou liest !
HERODIAS
Thou knowest well that it is true.
HEROD
Salome, come and sit next to me. I will give
thee the throne of thy mother.
SALOME
I am not tired, Tetrarch.
HERODIAS
You see what she thinks of you.
HEROD
Bring me — what is it that I desire ? I forget.
Ah ! ah ! I remember.
32
THE VOICE OF JOKANAAN
Lo ! the time is come ! That which I foretold
has come to pass, saith the Lord God. Lo ! the
day of which I spoke.
HERODIAS
Bid him be silent. I will not listen to his voice.
This man is for ever vomiting insults against me.
HEROD
He has said nothing against you. Besides, he
is a very great prophet.
HERODIAS
I do not believe in prophets. Can a man tell
what will come to pass ? No man knows it. More-
over, he is for ever insulting me. But. I think you
are afraid of him. ... I know well that you are
afraid of him.
HEROD
I am not afraid of him. I am afraid of no man.
HERODIAS
I tell you, you are afraid of him. If you are
not afraid of him why do you not deliver him to
the Jews, who for these six months past have been
clamouring for him ?
A JEW
Truly, my lord, it were better to deliver him
into our hands.
33 r>
HEROD
Enough on this subject. I have already given
you my answer. I will not deliver him into your
hands. He is a holy man. He is a man who
has seen God.
A JEW
That cannot be. There is no man who hath
seen God since the prophet Elias. He is the last
man who saw God. In these days God doth not
show Himself. He hideth Himself. Therefore
great evils have come upon the land.
ANOTHER JEW
Verily, no man knoweth if Elias the prophet
did indeed see God. Peradventure it was but the
shadow of God that he saw.
A THIRD JEW
God is at no time hidden. He showeth Him-
self at all times and in everything. God is in what
is evil even as He is in what is good.
A FOURTH JEW
That must not be said. It is a very dangerous
doctrine. It is a doctrine that cometh from the
schools at Alexandria, where men teach the
philosophy of the Greeks. And the Greeks are
Gentiles : They are not even circumcised.
A FIFTH JEW
No one can tell how God worketh. His ways
are very mysterious. It may be that the things
34
which we call evil are good, and that the things
which we call good are evil. There is no knowledge
of any thing. We must needs submit to everything,
for God is very strong. He breaketh in pieces
the strong together with the weak, for He re-
gardeth not any man.
FIRST JEW
Thou speaketh truly. God is terrible ; He
breaketh the strong and the weak as a man brays
corn in a mortar. But this man hath never seen
God. No man hath seen God since the prophet
Elias.
HERODIAS
Make them be silent. They weary me.
HEROD
But I have heard it said that Jokanaan himself
is your prophet Elias.
THE JEW
That cannot be. It is more than three hundred
years since the days of the prophet Elias.
HEROD
There be some who say that this man is the
prophet Elias.
A NAZARENE
I am sure that he is the prophet Elias.
35 d 2
THE JEW
Nay, but he is not the prophet Elias.
THE VOICE OF JOKANAAN
So the day is come, the day of the Lord, and I
hear upon the mountains the feet of Him who
shall be the Saviour of the world.
HEROD
What does that mean ? The Saviour of the
world.
TIGELLINUS
It is a title that Caesar takes.
HEROD
But Caesar is not coming into Judaea. Only
yesterday I received letters from Rome. They
contained nothing concerning this matter. And
you, Tigellinus, who were at Rome during the
winter, you heard nothing concerning this matter,
did you ?
TIGELLINUS
Sire, I heard nothing concerning the matter.
I was explaining the title. It is one of Caesar's
titles.
HEROD
But Caesar cannot come. He is too gouty.
They say that his feet are like the feet of an
elephant. Also there are reasons of State. He
who leaves Rome loses Rome. He will not
36
come. Howbeit, Caesar is lord, he will come if
he wishes. Nevertheless, I do not think he will
come.
FIRST NAZARENE
It was not concerning Caesar that the prophet
spake these words, sire.
HEROD
Not of Caesar ?
FIRST NAZARENE
No, sire.
HEROD
Concerning whom then did he speak ?
FIRST NAZARENE
Concerning Messias who has come.
A JEW
Messiah hath not come.
FIRST NAZARENE
He hath come, and everywhere He worketh
miracles.
HERODIAS
Ho ! ho ! miracles ! I do not believe in
miracles. I have seen too many. [To the page.]
My fan !
37
FIRST NAZARENE
This man worketh true miracles. Thus, at a
marriage which took place in a little town of
Galilee, a town of some importance, He changed
water into wine. Certain persons who were pre-
sent related it to me. Also He healed two lepers
that were seated before the Gate of Capernaum
simply by touching them.
SECOND NAZARENE
Nay, it was blind men that he healed at
Capernaum.
FIRST NAZARENE
Nay ; they were lepers. But He hath healed
blind people also, and He was seen on a mountain
talking with angels.
A SADDUCEE
Angels do not exist.
A PHARISEE
Angels exist, but I do not believe that this Man
has talked with them.
FIRST NAZARENE
He was seen by a great multitude of people
talking with angels.
A SADDUCEE
Not with angels.
38
HERODIAS
How these men weary me ! They are ridi-
culous ! [To the page] Well ! my fan ! [The
page gives her the fan] You have a dreamer's
look ; you must not dream. It is only sick people
who dream. [She strikes the page with her fan]
SECOND NAZARENE
There is also the miracle of the daughter of
Jairus.
FIRST NAZARENE
Yes, that is sure. No man can gainsay it.
HERODIAS
These men are mad. They have looked too
long on the moon. Command them to be silent.
HEROD
What is this miracle of the daughter of Jairus ?
FIRST NAZARENE
The daughter of Jairus was dead. He raised
her from the dead.
HEROD
He raises the dead ?
FIRST NAZARENE
Yea, sire, He raiseth the dead.
39
HEROD
I do not wish Him to do that. I forbid Him
to do that. I allow no man to raise the dead.
This Man must be found and told that I forbid
Him to raise the dead. Where is this Man at
present ?
SECOND NAZARENE
He is in every place, my lord, but it is hard to
find Him.
FIRST NAZARENE
It is said that He is now in Samaria.
A JEW
It is easy to see that this is not Messias, if He
is in Samaria. It is not to the Samaritans that
Messias shall come. The Samaritans are accursed.
They bring no offerings to the Temple.
SECOND NAZARENE
He left Samaria a few days since. I think that
at the present moment He is in the neighbour-
hood of Jerusalem.
FIRST NAZARENE
No ; He is not there. I have just come from
Jerusalem. For two months they have had no
tidings of Him.
HEROD
No matter! But let them find Him, and tell
Him from me, I will not allow him to raise the
40
dead! To change water into wine, to heal the
lepers and the blind. . . . He may do these things
if He will. I say nothing against these things.
In truth I hold it a good deed to heal a leper.
But I allow no man to raise the dead. It would
be terrible if the dead came back.
THE VOICE OF JOKANAAN
Ah! the wanton! The harlot! Ah! the
daughter of Babylon with her golden eyes and
her gilded eyelids ! Thus saith the Lord God,
Let there come up against her a multitude of
men. Let the people take stones and stone
her.
HERODIAS
Command him to be silent.
THE VOICE OF JOKANAAN
Let the war captains pierce her with their swords,
let them crush her beneath their shields.
HERODIAS
Nay, but it is infamous.
THE VOICE OF JOKANAAN
It is thus that I will wipe out all wickedness
from the earth, and that all women shall learn not
to imitate her abominations.
HERODIAS
You hear what he says against me ? You allow
him to revile your wife ?
4i
HEROD
He did not speak your name.
HERODIAS
What does that matter ? You know well that it
is I whom he seeks to revile. And I am your wife,
am I not ?
HEROD
Of a truth, dear and noble Herodias, you are
my wife, and before that you were the wife of my
brother.
HERODIAS
It was you who tore me from his arms.
HEROD
Of a truth I was stronger. . . . But let us not
talk of that matter. I do not desire to talk of it.
It is the cause of the terrible words that the
prophet has spoken. Peradventure on account of
it a misfortune will come. Let us not speak of
this matter. Noble Herodias, we are not mindful
of our guests. Fill thou my cup, my well-beloved.
Fill with wine the great goblets of silver, and the
great goblets of glass. I will drink to Caesar.
There are Romans here, we must drink to Caesar.
ALL
Caesar ! Caesar !
42
HEROD
Do you not see your daughter, how pale
she is ?
HERODIAS
What is it to you if she be pale or not ?
HEROD
'Never have I seen her so pale.
HERODIAS
You must not look at her.
THE VOICE OF JOKANAAN
In that day the sun shall become black like
sackcloth of hair, and the moon shall become like
blood, and the stars of the heavens shall fall upon
the earth like ripe figs that fall from the fig-tree,
and the kings of the earth shall be afraid.
HERODIAS
Ah ! Ah ! I should like to see that day of
which he speaks, when the moon shall become
like blood, and when the stars shall fall upon the
earth like ripe figs. This prophet talks like a
drunken man .... but I cannot suffer the
sound of his voice. I hate his voice. Command
him to be silent.
HEROD
I will not. I cannot understand what it is that
he saith, but it may be an omen.
43
HERODIAS
I do not believe in omens. He speaks like a
drunken man.
HEROD
It may be he is drunk with the wine of God.
HERODIAS
What wine is that, the wine of God ? From
what vineyards is it gathered ? In what wine-
press may one find it ?
HEROD
[From this point he looks all the while at Salome*.]
Tigellinus, when you were at Rome of late, did
the Emperor speak with you on the subject
of ... ?
TIGELLINUS
On what subject, sire ?
HEROD
On what subject? Ah! I asked you a ques-
tion, did I not? I have forgotten what I would
have asked you.
HERODIAS
You are looking again at my daughter. You
must not look at her. I have already said so.
HEROD
You say nothing else.
44
HERODIAS
I say it again.
HEROD
And that restoration of the Temple about which
they have talked so much, will anything be done ?
They say the veil of the Sanctuary has disappeared,
do they not ?
HERODIAS
It was thyself didst steal it. Thou speakest at
random. I will not stay here. Let us go within.
HEROD
Dance for me, Salome.
HERODIAS
I will not have her dance.
SALOME
I have no desire to dance, Tetrarch.
HEROD
Salome, daughter of Herodias, dance for me.
HERODIAS
Let her alone.
HEROD
I command thee to dance, Salome.
45
salome
I will not dance, Tetrarch.
HERODIAS
\Laughing\.
You see how she obeys you.
HEROD
What is it to me whether she dance or not ?
It is naught to me. To-night I am happy, I am
exceeding happy. Never have I been so happy.
FIRST SOLDIER
The Tetrarch has a sombre look. Has he not
a sombre look ?
SECOND SOLDIER
Yes, he has a sombre look.
HEROD
Wherefore should I not be happy ? Caesar,
who is lord of the world, who is lord of all things,
loves me well. He has just sent me most precious
gifts. Also he has promised me to summon to
Rome the King of Cappadocia, who is my enemy.
It may be that at Rome he will crucify him, for he
is able to do all things that he wishes. Verily,
Caesar is lord. Thus you see I have a right to be
happy. Indeed, I am happy. I have never been
so happy. There is nothing in the world that can
mar my happiness.
46
THE VOICE OF JOKANAAN
He shall be seated on this throne. He shall be
clothed in scarlet and purple. In his hand he
shall bear a golden cup full of his blasphemies.
And the angel of the Lord shall smite him. He
shall be eaten of worms.
HERODIAS
You hear what he says about you. He says
that you will be eaten of worms.
HEROD
It is not of me that he speaks. He speaks
never against me. It is of the King of Cappa-
docia that he speaks ; the King of Cappadocia,
who is mine enemy. It is he who shall be eaten
of worms. It is not I. Never has he spoken
word against me, this prophet, save that I sinned
in taking to wife the wife of my brother. It may
be he is right. For, of a truth, you are sterile.
HERODIAS
I am sterile, I ? You say that, you that are
ever looking at my daughter, you that would have
her dance for your pleasure ? It is absurd to say
that. I have borne a child. You have gotten no
child, no, not even from one of your slaves. It
is you who are sterile, not I.
HEROD
Peace, woman ! I say that you are sterile.
You have borne me no child, and the prophet
47
says that our marriage is not a true marriage.
He says that it is an incestuous marriage, a marriage
that will bring evils. ... I fear he is right ;
I am sure that he is right. But it is not the moment
to speak of such things. I would be happy at
this moment. Of a truth, I am happy. There is
nothing I lack.
HERODIAS
I am glad you are of so fair a humour to-night.
It is not your custom. But it is late. Let us go
within. Do not forget that we hunt at sunrise.
All honours must be shown to Caesar's ambassa-
dors, must they not ?
SECOND SOLDIER
What a sombre look the Tetrarch wears.
FIRST SOLDIER
Yes, he wears a sombre look.
HEROD
Salome, Salome, dance for me. I pray thee
dance for me. I am sad to-night. Yes ; I am
passing sad to-night. When I came hither I
slipped in blood, which is an evil omen ; and I
heard, I am sure I heard in the air a beating of
wings, a beating of giant wings. I cannot tell what
they mean ... I am sad to-night. Therefore
dance for me. Dance for me, Salome, I beseech
you. If you dance for me you may ask of me
what you will, and I will give it you, even unto the
half of my kingdom.
48
SALOME
[Rising.] Will you indeed give me whatsoever
I shall ask, Tetrarch ?
HERODIAS
Do not dance, my daughter.
HEROD
Everything, even the half of my kingdom.
SALOME
You swear it, Tetrarch ?
HEROD
I swear it, Salome.
HERODIAS
Do not dance, my daughter.
SALOME
By what will you swear, Tetrarch ?
HEROD
By my life, by my crown, by my gods. What-
soever you desire I will give it you, even to the
half of my kingdom, if you will but dance for
me. O, Salome, Salome, dance for me !
SALOME
You have sworn, Tetrarch.
HEROD
I have sworn, Salom£.
49 e
SALOME
All this I ask, even the half of your kingdom.
HERODIAS
My daughter, do not dance.
HEROD
Even to the half of my kingdom. Thou wilt
be passing fair as a queen, Salome, if it please
thee to ask for the half of my kingdom. Will
she not be fair as a queen ? Ah ! it is cold here !
There is an icy wind, and I hear . . . where-
fore do I hear in the air this beating of wings ?
Ah ! one might fancy a bird, a huge black bird that
hovers over the terrace. Why can I not see it,
this bird ? The beat of its wings is terrible. The
breath of the wind of its wings is terrible. It is
a chill wind. Nay, but it is not cold, it is hot.
I am choking. Pour water on my hands. Give
me snow to eat Loosen my mantle. Quick !
quick ! loosen my mantle. Nay, but leave it. It
is my garland that hurts me, my garland of roses.
The flowers are like fire. They have burned my
forehead. [He tears the wreath from his head and
throws it on the tabled Ah ! I can breathe now.
How red those petals are ! They are like stains
of blood on the cloth. That does not matter.
You must not find symbols in everything you
see. It makes life impossible. It were better
to say that stains of blood are as lovely as rose
petals. It were better far to say that . . . .
But we will not speak of this. Now I am happy,
5°
I am passing happy. Have I not the right to be
happy ? Your daughter is going to dance for me.
Will you not dance for me, Salome ? You have
promised to dance for me.
HERODIAS
I will not have her dance.
SALOME
I will dance for you, Tetrarch.
HEROD
You hear what your daughter says. She is
going to dance for me. You do well to dance
for me, Salome. And when you have danced for
me, forget not to ask of me whatsoever you wish.
Whatsoever you wish I will give it you, even to
the half of my kingdom. I have sworn it, have
I not?
SALOME
You have sworn it, Tetrarch.
HEROD
And I have never broken my word. I am not
of those who break their oaths. I know not how
to lie. I am the slave of my word, and my word
is the word of a king. The King of Cappadocia
always lies, but he is no true king. He is
a coward. Also he owes me money that he
will not repay. He has even insulted my ambas-
sadors. He has spoken words that were wound-
51 E 7,
ing. But Caesar will crucify him when he comes
to Rome. I am sure that Caesar will crucify
him. And if not, yet will he die, being eaten
of worms. The prophet has prophesied it. Well !
wherefore dost thou tarry, Salome ?
SALOME
I am awaiting until my slaves bring perfumes to
me and the seven veils, and take off my sandals.
[Slaves bring perfumes and the seven veils, and take
off the sandals of Salom/.]
HEROD
Ah, you are going to dance with naked feet. 'Tis
well ! 'Tis well. Your little feet will be like white
doves. They will be like little white flowers that
dance upon the trees. . . . No, no, she is going
to dance on blood. There is blood spilt on the
ground. She must not dance on blood. It were
an evil omen.
HERODIAS
What is it to you if she dance on blood ? Thou
hast waded deep enough therein. . . .
HEROD
What is it to me ? Ah ! look at the moon !
She has become red. She has become red as
blood. Ah ! the prophet prophesied truly. He
prophesied that the moon would become red as
blood. Did he not prophesy it ? All of you
heard him. And now the moon has become red
as blood. Do ye not see it ?
52
HERODIAS
Oh, yes, I see it well, and the stars are falling
like ripe figs, are they not ? and the sun is
becoming black like sackcloth of hair, and the
kings of the earth are afraid. That at least one
can see. The prophet, for once in his life, was
right, the kings of the earth are afraid. . . .
Let us go within. You are sick. They will say
at Rome that you are mad. Let us go within,
I tell you.
THE VOICE OF JOKANAAN
Who is this who cometh from Edom, who is
this who cometh from Bozra, whose raiment is
dyed with purple, who shineth in the beauty of
his garments, who walketh mighty in his great-
ness ? Wherefore is thy raiment stained with
scarlet ?
HERODIAS
Let us go within. The voice of that man
maddens me. I will not have my daughter dance
while he is continually crying out. I will not have
her dance while you look at her in this fashion.
In a word, I will not have her dance.
HEROD
Do not rise, my wife, my queen, it will avail
thee nothing. I will not go within till she hath
danced. Dance, Salome, dance for me.
53
HERODIAS
Do not dance, my daughter.
SALOME
I am ready, Tetrarch.
{Salome* dances the dance of the seven veils.]
HEROD
Ah ! wonderful ! wonderful ! You see that she
has danced for me, your daughter. Come near,
Salome, come near, that I may give you your
reward. Ah ! I pay the dancers well. I will pay
thee royally. I will give thee whatsoever thy
soul desireth. What wouldst thou have ? Speak.
SALOME
\Kneeling\.
I would that they presently bring me in a silver
charger . . .
HEROD
\Laughing\.
In a silver charger ? Surely yes, in a silver
charger. She is charming, is she not ? What is
it you would have in a silver charger, O sweet
and fair Salome, you who are fairer than all the
daughters of Judaea ? What would you have
them bring thee in a silver charger ? Tell me.
Whatsoever it may be, they shall give it you.
My treasures belong to thee. What is it,
Salome ?
54
salome
[Rising],
The head of Jokanaan.
HERODIAS
Ah ! that is well said, my daughter.
HEROD
No, no !
HERODIAS
That is well said, my daughter.
HEROD
No, no, Salome. You do not ask me that.
Do not listen to your mother's voice. She is ever
giving you evil counsel. Do not heed her.
SALOME
I do not heed my mother. It is for mine
own pleasure that I ask the head of Jokanaan
in a silver charger. You hath sworn, Herod.
Forget not that you have sworn an oath.
HEROD
I know it. I have sworn by my gods. I know
it well. But I pray you, Salome, ask of me
something else. Ask of me the half of my
kingdom, and I will give it you. But ask not of
me what you have asked.
55
salome
I ask of you the head of Jokanaan.
HEROD
No, no, I do not wish it.
SALOME
You have sworn, Herod.
HERODIAS
Yes, you have sworn. Everybody heard you.
You swore it before everybody.
HEROD
Be silent ! It is not to you I speak.
HERODIAS
My daughter has done well to ask the head of
Jokanaan. He has covered me with insults. He
has said monstrous things against me. One can
see that she loves her mother well. Do not yield,
my daughter. He has sworn, he has sworn.
HEROD
Be silent, speak not to me ! . . . . Come,
Salome, be reasonable. I have never been hard
to you. I have ever loved you. . . . It may
be that I have loved you too much. Therefore
ask not this thing of me. This is a terrible thing,
an awful thing to ask of me. Surely, I think
thou art jesting. The head of a man that is cut
from his body is ill to look upon, is it not ? It
56
is not meet that the eyes of a virgin should look
upon such a thing. What pleasure could you have
in it ? None. No, no, it is not what you desire.
Hearken to me. I have an emerald, a great
round emerald, which Caesar's minion sent me.
If you look through this emerald you can see
things which happen at a great distance. Caesar
himself carries such an emerald when he goes to
the circus. But my emerald is larger. I know
well that it is larger. It is the largest emerald
in the whole world. You would like that, would
you not ? Ask it of me and I will give it you.
SALOME
I demand the head of Jokanaan.
HEROD
You are not listening. You are not listening.
Suffer me to speak, Salome.
SALOME
The head of Jokanaan.
HEROD
No, no, you would not have that. You say
that to trouble me, because I have looked at
you all this evening. It is true, I have looked
at you all this evening. Your beauty troubled
me. Your beauty has grievously troubled me, and
I have looked at you too much. But I will look
at you no more. Neither at things, nor at people
57
should one look. Only in mirrors should one
look, for mirrors do but show us masks. Oh! oh!
bring wine ! I thirst. . . . Salome, Salome,
let us be friends. Come now! .... Ah!
what would I say ? What was't ? Ah ! I re-
member! .... Salome — nay, but come nearer
to me ; I fear you will not hear me — Salome,
you know my white peacocks, my beautiful white
peacocks, that walk in the garden between the
myrtles and the tall cypress trees. Their beaks
are gilded with gold, and the grains that they eat
are gilded with gold also, and their feet are stained
with purple. When they cry out the rain comes,
and the moon shows herself in the heavens when
they spread their tails. Two by two they walk
between the cypress trees and the black myrtles,
and each has a slave to tend it. Sometimes they
fly across the trees, and anon they crouch in the
grass, and round the lake. There are not in all
the world birds so wonderful. There is no king
in all the world who possesses such wonderful
birds. I am sure that Caesar himself has no birds
so fair as my birds. I will give you fifty of my
peacocks. They will follow you whithersoever you
go, and in the midst of them you will be like the
moon in the midst of a great white cloud. . . .
I will give them all to you. I have but a hundred,
and in the whole world there is no king who has
peacocks like unto my peacocks. But I will give
them all to you. Only you must loose me from
my oath, and must not ask of me that which you
have asked of me.
[He empties the cup of wine.]
58
SALOME
Give me the head of Jokanaan.
HERODIAS
Well said, my daughter! As for you, you are
ridiculous with your peacocks.
HEROD
Be silent ! You cry out always ; you cry out like
a beast of prey. You must not. Your voice
wearies me. Be silent, I say Salome,
think of what you are doing. This man comes
perchance from God. He is a holy man. The
finger of God has touched him. God has put into
his mouth terrible words. In the palace as in the
desert God is always with' him At
least it is possible. One does not know. It is
possible that God is for him and with him.
Furthermore, if he died some misfortune might
happen to me. In any case, he said that the day
he dies a misfortune will happen to some one.
That could only be to me. Remember, I slipped
in blood when I entered. Also, I heard a beating
of wings in the air, a beating of mighty wings.
These are very evil omens, and there were others.
I am sure there were others though I did not see
them. Well, Salome, you do not wish a misfortune
to happen to me ? You do not wish that. Listen
to me, then.
SALOME
Give me the head of Jokanaan.
59
HEROD
Ah ! you are not listening to me. Be calm.
I — I am calm. I am quite calm. Listen. I
have jewels hidden in this place — jewels that
your mother even has never seen ; jewels that
are marvellous. I have a collar of pearls, set
in four rows. They are like unto moons chained
with rays of silver. They are like fifty moons
caught in a golden net. On the ivory of her
breast a queen has worn it. Thou shalt be as fair
as a queen when thou wearest it. I have amethysts
of two kinds, one that is black like wine, and one
that is red like wine which has been coloured with
water. I have topazes, yellow as are the eyes of
tigers, and topazes that are pink as the eyes of a
wood-pigeon, and green topazes that are as the
eyes of cats. I have opals that burn always,
with an icelike flame, opals that make sad
men's minds, and are fearful of the shadows. I
have onyxes like the eyeballs of a dead woman.
I have moonstones that change when the moon
changes, and are wan when they see the sun. I
have sapphires big like eggs, and as blue as blue
flowers. The sea wanders within them and the
moon comes never to trouble the blue of their
waves. I have chrysolites and beryls and chryso-
prases and rubies. I have sardonyx and hyacinth
stones, and stones of chalcedony, and I will give
them all to you, all, and other things will I add
to them. The King of the Indies has but even
now sent me four fans fashioned from the feathers
of parrots, and the King of Numidia a garment
of ostrich feathers. I have a crystal, into which
60
it is not lawful for a woman to look, nor may
young men behold it until they have been beaten
with rods. In a coffer of nacre I have three
wondrous turquoises. He who wears them on
his forehead can imagine things which are not,
and he who carries them in his hand can make
women sterile. These are great treasures above
all price. They are treasures without price. But
this is not all. In an ebony coffer I have
two cups of amber, that are like apples of gold.
If an enemy pour poison into these cups, they
become like an apple of silver. In a coffer in-
crusted with amber I have sandals incrusted with
glass. I have mantles that have been brought
from the land of the Seres, and bracelets decked
about with carbuncles and with jade that come
from the city of Euphrates What
desirest thou more than this, Salome ? Tell me
the thing that thou desirest, and I will give it
thee. All that thou askest I will give thee, save
one thing. I will give thee all that is mine, save
one life. I will give thee the mantle of the
high priest. I will give thee the veil of the
sanctuary.
THE JEWS
Oh! oh!
SALOME
Give me the head of Jokanaan.
HEROD
[Sinking back in his seat]. Let her be given
61
what she asks! Of a truth she is her mother's
child ! [ The first Soldier approaches. Herodias
draws from the hand of the Tetrarch the ring of
death and gives it to the Soldier, who straightway
bears it to the Executioner. The Executioner looks
scared] Who has taken my ring ? There was
a ring on my right hand. Who has drunk my
wine ? There was wine in my cup. It was full
of wine. Someone has drunk it! Oh! surely
some evil will befall some one. [The Executioner
goes down into the cistern] Ah ! Wherefore did
I give my oath ? Kings ought never to pledge
their word. If they keep it not, it is terrible,
and if they keep it, it is terrible also.
HERODIAS
My daughter has done well.
HEROD
I am sure that some misfortune will happen.
SALOME
[She leans over the cistern and listens]
There is no sound. I hear nothing. Why
does he not cry out, this man ? Ah ! if any man
sought to kill me, I would cry out, I would
struggle, I would not suffer. . . Strike, strike,
Naaman, strike, I tell you. . . . No, I hear
nothing. There is a silence, a terrible silence.
Ah ! something has fallen upon the ground. I
heard something fall. It is the sword of the
headsman. He is afraid, this slave. He has
let his sword fall. He dare not kill him. He
62
is a coward, this slave ! Let soldiers be sent.
[She sees the Page of Herodias and addresses him.]
Come hither, thou wert the friend of him who is
dead, is it not so ? Well, I tell thee, there are
not dead men enough. Go to the soldiers and
bid them go down and bring me the thing I ask,
the thing the Tetrarch has promised me, the
thing that is mine. [The Page recoils. She turns
to the soldiers] Hither, ye soldiers. Get ye
down into this cistern and bring me the head of
this man. [The Soldiers recoil] Tetrarch, Tetrarch,
command your soldiers that they bring me the
head of Jokanaan.
[A huge black arm, the arm of the Executioner ;
comes forth from the cistern, bearing on a silver
shield the head of Jokanaan. Salome' seizes it,
Herod hides his face with his cloak. Herodias
smiles and fans herself. The Nazarenes fall on their
knees and begin to pray]
Ah ! thou wouldst not suffer me to kiss thy
mouth, Jokanaan. Well ! I will kiss it now. I will
bite it with my teeth as one bites a ripe fruit.
Yes, I will kiss thy mouth, Jokanaan. I said it ;
did I not say it ? I said it. Ah ! I will kiss it
now. . . . But, wherefore dost thou not look
at me, Jokanaan ? Thine eyes that were so ter-
rible, so full of rage and scorn, are shut now.
Wherefore are they shut ? Open thine eyes ! Lift
up thine eyelids, Jokanaan ! Wherefore dost thou
not look at me ? Art thou afraid of me, Jokanaan,
that thou wilt not look at me ? . And thy
tongue, that was like a red snake darting poison,
it moves no more, it says nothing now, Jokanaan,
63
that scarlet viper that spat its venom upon me.
It is strange, is it not ? How is it that the red
viper stirs no longer ? Thou wouldst
have none of me, Jokanaan. Thou didst reject me.
Thou didst speak evil words against me. Thou
didst treat me as a harlot, as a wanton, me, Salome,
daughter of Herodias, Princess of Judaea ! Well,
Jokanaan, I still live, but thou, thou art dead, and
thy head belongs to me. I can do with it what
I will. I can throw it to the dogs and to the
birds of the air. That which the dogs leave,
the birds of the air shall devour. . . . Ah,
Jokanaan, Jokanaan, thou wert the only man that
I have loved. All other men are hateful to me.
But thou, thou wert beautiful ! Thy body was
a column of ivory set on a silver socket. It
was a garden full of doves and of silver lilies.
It was a tower of silver decked with shields
of ivory. There was nothing in the world so
white as thy body. There was nothing in the
world so black as thy hair. In the whole world
there was nothing so red as thy mouth. Thy
voice was a censer that scattered strange per-
fumes, and when I looked on thee I heard a
strange music. Ah ! wherefore didst thou not
look at me, Jokanaan ? Behind thine hands and
thy curses thou didst hide thy face. Thou didst
put upon thine eyes the covering of him who
would see his God. Well, thou hast seen thy
God, Jokanaan, but me, me, thou didst never see.
If thou hadst seen me thou wouldst have loved
me. I, I saw thee, Jokanaan, and I loved thee.
Oh, how I loved thee ! I love thee yet, Jokanaan,
64
I love thee only. . . . I am athirst for
thy beauty ; I am hungry for thy body ; and
neither wine nor fruits can appease my desire.
What shall I do now, Jokanaan ? Neither the
floods nor the great waters can quench my passion.
I was a princess, and thou didst scorn me. I was
a virgin, and thou didst take my virginity from
me. I was chaste, and thou didst fill my veins
with fire. . . . Ah ! ah ! wherefore didst thou
not look at me, Jokanaan ? If thou hadst looked
at me thou hadst loved me. Well I know that
thou wouldst have loved me, and the mystery
of love is greater than the mystery of death.
Love only should one consider.
HEROD
She is monstrous, thy daughter, she is altogether
monstrous. In truth, what she has done is a great
crime. I am sure that it was a crime against an
unknown God.
HERODIAS
I approve of what my daughter has done. And
I will stay here now.
HEROD
[Rising],
Ah ! There speaks the incestuous wife ! Come !
I will not stay here. Come, I tell thee. Surely
some terrible thing will befall. Manasseh, Issachar,
Ozias, put out the torches. I will not look at
things, I will not suffer things to look at me.
Put out the torches ! Hide the moon ! Hide
65 F
the stars ! Let us hide ourselves in our palace,
Herodias. I begin to be afraid.
[The slaves put out the torches. The stars dis-
appear. A great black cloud crosses the moon and
conceals it completely. The stage becomes very dark.
The Tetrarch begins to climb the staircase^
THE VOICE OF SALOME
Ah ! I have kissed thy mouth, Jokanaan, I
have kissed thy mouth. There was a bitter taste
on thy lips. Was it the taste of blood ? . . .
But perchance it is the taste of love. . . . They
say that love hath a bitter taste. . . . But what
of that ? what of that ? I have kissed thy mouth,
Jokanaan.
[A moonbeam falls on Salome' covering her with
light.]
HEROD
[Turning round and seeing Salomi\
Kill that woman !
[The soldiers rush forward and crush beneath
their shields Salom^ daughter of Herodias, Princess
of Jud<za?[
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