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diff --git a/42704-0.txt b/42704-0.txt index dfe3eb7..772b67a 100644 --- a/42704-0.txt +++ b/42704-0.txt @@ -1,4 +1,4 @@ -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 42704 *** +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 42704 *** [Illustration: THE WOMAN IN THE MOON] @@ -2529,5 +2529,4 @@ CURTAIN. End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Salomé, by Oscar Wilde - *** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 42704 *** diff --git a/42704-8.txt b/42704-8.txt deleted file mode 100644 index b32f7bb..0000000 --- a/42704-8.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,2920 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Salomé, by Oscar Wilde - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: Salomé - A Tragedy in One Act - -Author: Oscar Wilde - -Illustrator: Aubrey Beardsley - -Translator: Alfred, Lord Douglas - -Release Date: May 12, 2013 [EBook #42704] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SALOMÉ *** - - - - -Produced by Marc D'Hooghe at http://www.freeliterature.org -(Images generously made available by the Internet Archive.) - - - - - -[Illustration: THE WOMAN IN THE MOON] - -[Illustration: TITLE PAGE] - - -SALOMÉ - -A TRAGEDY IN ONE ACT: - -TRANSLATED FROM THE FRENCH OF - -OSCAR WILDE, - -WITH SIXTEEN DRAWINGS BY AUBREY BEARDSLEY - -LONDON: JOHN LANE, THE BODLEY HEAD - -NEW YORK: JOHN LANE COMPANY, MCMVII - -[Illustration: COVER DESIGN] - - - - - THE PERSONS OF THE PLAY. - - HEROD ANTIPAS, TETRARCH OF JUDÆA. - 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. - SALOMÉ, DAUGHTER OF HERODIAS. - THE SLAVES OF SALOMÉ. - - - - -A NOTE ON "SALOMÉ." - - -"SALOMÉ" has made the author's name a household word wherever the -English language 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 characteristic 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 "Salomé" 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 unsuspected asset in their -education--a handy missile with which to pelt "Salomé" 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 _tour de force_, 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 "SALOMÉ." - - To the Editor of The Times. - - Sir, My attention has been drawn to a review of - "Salomé" 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 literature--not for the artist. - - I remain, Sir, your obedient servant, - - OSCAR WILDE. - - - -When "Salomé" 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 "Salomé" by the New Stage Club in May, -1905,[1] the dramatic critics again expressed themselves -vehemently, vociferating 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 part of the -repertoire of the German stage, where it is performed more often -than any play by any English writer except Shakespeare. Owing, -perhaps, 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 "Salomé" 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 contemplated the possibility of his prose drama for a -musical theme. In "De Profundis" he says: "The refrains, whose -recurring motifs make 'Salomé' so like a piece of music, and bind -it together as a ballad." - -He was still incarcerated in 1896, when Mons. Luigne Poë produced -the play for the first time at the Théâtre Libre in Paris, with -Lina Muntz in the title role. A rather pathetic reference to this -occasion occurs in a letter Wilde wrote to me from Reading:-- - -"Please say how gratified I was at the performance of my play, -and have my thanks conveyed to Luigne Poë. 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 Poë 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 'Salomé.'" - -The bias of personal friendship precludes me from praising or -defending "Salomé," 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 contemporaries, -says that "Salomé" is only a catalogue; 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. 1), Herod Antipas (_Mat._ xiv. 3), and Herod Agrippa (Acts -xiii), but the confusion is intentional, as in mediæval mystery -plays Herod is taken for a type, not an historical character, and -the criticism is about as valuable as that of people who -laboriously point out the anachronisms in Beardsley's designs. -With reference to the charge of plagiarism brought against -"Salomé" 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 himself 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. - - -[1] A more recent performance of "Salomé" (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 "Salomé" -was a mirror in which everyone could see himself. The artist, -art; the dull, dulness; the vulgar, vulgarity. - - - -[Illustration] - -LIST OF THE PICTURES BY AUBREY BEARDSLEY. - -1. THE WOMAN IN THE MOON. 2. TITLE PAGE. 3. COVER DESIGN. 4. LIST -OF THE PICTURES. 5. THE PEACOCK SKIRT. 6. THE BLACK CAPE. 7. A -PLATONIC LAMENT. 8. JOHN AND SALOMÉ. 9. ENTER HERODIAS. 10. THE -EYES OF HEROD. 11. THE STOMACH DANCE. 12. THE TOILETTE OF -SALOMÉ--I. 13. THE TOILETTE OF SALOMÉ--II. 14. THE DANCER'S -REWARD. 15. THE CLIMAX. 16. CUL DE LAMPE. - - - * * * * * - - - - -Cast of the Performance of "Salomé," represented in England for -the first time. - -NEW STAGE CLUB. - -"SALOMÉ," - -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. - SALOMÉ -- 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. - - - - - * * * * * - - -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 Salomé 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-hall._] - -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 Salomé 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. - - -[Illustration: THE PEACOCK SKIRT] - - -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. - -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 Cæsar. - -THE CAPPADOCIAN - -I have never seen Cæsar. - -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 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 -solitary 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? - -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 terrible 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 butterflies. - -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? - -[Illustration: THE BLACK CAPE] - -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 Salomé_.] - -SALOMÉ - -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 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? - -SALOMÉ - -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. - -SALOMÉ - -How good to see the moon! She is like a little piece of money, -you would think she was a 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 herself. 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. - -SALOMÉ - -Who was that who cried out? - -SECOND SOLDIER - -The prophet, Princess. - -SALOMÉ - -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. - -SALOMÉ - -He says terrible things about my mother, does he not? - -SECOND SOLDIER - -We never understand what he says, Princess. - -SALOMÉ - -Yes; he says terrible things about her. - -[_Enter a Slave_.] - -THE SLAVE - -Princess, the Tetrarch prays you to return to the feast. - -SALOMÉ - -I will not go back. - -THE YOUNG SYRIAN - -Pardon me, Princess, but if you do not return some misfortune may -happen. - -SALOMÉ - -Is he an old man, this prophet? - -THE YOUNG SYRIAN - -Princess, it were better to return. Suffer me to lead you in. - -SALOMÉ - -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. - -SALOMÉ - -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. - -SALOMÉ - -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. - -SALOMÉ - -I desire to speak with him. - -FIRST SOLDIER - -It is impossible, Princess. - -SALOMÉ - -I will speak with him. - -THE YOUNG SYRIAN - -Would it not be better to return to the banquet? - -SALOMÉ - -Bring forth this prophet. - - [_Exit the slave._] - -FIRST SOLDIER - -We dare not, Princess. - -SALOMÉ - -[_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. - -SALOMÉ - -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. - -SALOMÉ - -[_Looking at the young Syrian._] - -Ah! - -THE PAGE OF HERODIAS - -Oh! what is going to happen? I am sure that some misfortune will -happen. - -SALOMÉ - -[_Going up to the young Syrian._] - -You will do this tiling 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. - -SALOMÉ - -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. - -SALOMÉ - -[_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 Salomé desires to see -him. - -SALOMÉ - -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. Salomé looks at him and -steps slowly back._] - -[Illustration: A PLATONIC LAMENT] - -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. - -SALOMÉ - -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? - -SALOMÉ - -It is of my mother that he speaks. - -THE YOUNG SYRIAN - -Oh, no, Princess. - -SALOMÉ - -Yes; it is of my mother that he speaks. - -JOKANAAN - -Where is she who gave herself unto the Captains of Assyria, who -have baldricks on their 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 incestuousness, 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 abominations; bid her come, for the fan of the Lord is in His -hand. - -SALOMÉ - -But he is terrible, he is terrible! - -THE YOUNG SYRIAN - -Do not stay here, Princess, I beseech you. - -SALOMÉ - -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. - -SALOMÉ - -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 moonbeam, like a shaft of silver. His flesh must be cool -like ivory. I would look closer at him. - -THE YOUNG SYRIAN - -No, no, Princess. - -SALOMÉ - -I must look at him closer. - -THE YOUNG SYRIAN - -Princess! Princess! - -JOKANAAN - -Who is this woman who is looking at me? I 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. - -SALOMÉ - -I am Salomé, daughter of Herodias, Princess of Judæa. - -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. - -SALOMÉ - -Speak again, Jokanaan. Thy voice is wine to me. - -THE YOUNG SYRIAN - -Princess! Princess! Princess! - -SALOMÉ - -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. - -SALOMÉ - -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. - -[Illustration: JOHN AND SALOMÉ] - -SALOMÉ - -Jokanaan! - -JOKANAAN - -Who speaketh? - -SALOMÉ - -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 Judæa, 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. - -SALOMÉ - -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 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. - -SALOMÉ - -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 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. - -SALOMÉ - -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. - -SALOMÉ - -I will kiss thy mouth, Jokanaan. - -THE YOUNG SYRIAN - -Ah! [_He kills himself and falls between Salomé 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. - -SALOMÉ - -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? - -[Illustration: ENTER HERODIAS] - -SALOMÉ - -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. - -SALOMÉ - -Let me kiss thy mouth. - -JOKANAAN - -Cursed be thou! daughter of an incestuous mother, be thou -accursed! - -SALOMÉ - -I will kiss thy mouth, Jokanaan. - -JOKANAAN - -I do no wish to look at thee. I will not look at thee, thou art -accursed, Salomé, thou art accursed. [_He goes down into the -cistern._] - -SALOMÉ - -I will kiss thy mouth, Jokanaan; I will kiss thy mouth. - -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 Salomé? Where is the Princess? Why did she not return to -the banquet as I commanded her? Ah! there she is! - -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 Cæsar. - -HERODIAS - -It is not because of them that you remain. - -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 themselves. Is it not true, Tigellinus, -that the philosophers 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? Cæsar is wonderful. He -can do everything.... It is strange that the young Syrian has -killed himself. 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 Salomé. Truly, I thought he looked too much at -her. - -HERODIAS - -There are others who look at her too much. - -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 blowing. 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. - -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_]. Salomé, come drink a -little wine with me. I have here a wine that is exquisite. Cæsar -himself sent it me. Dip into it thy little red lips, that I may -drain the cup. - -SALOMÉ - -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_]. Salomé, 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. - -SALOMÉ - -I am not hungry, Tetrarch. - -HEROD - -[_To Herodias._] 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 - -Salomé, come and sit next to me. I will give thee the throne of -thy mother. - -SALOMÉ - -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. - -[Illustration: THE EYES OF HEROD] - -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. Moreover, 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. - -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 Himself 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 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 regardeth 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. - -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 Cæsar takes. - -HEROD - -But Cæsar is not coming into Judæa. 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 Cæsar's titles. - -HEROD - -But Cæsar 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 come. Howbeit, -Cæsar is lord, he will come if he wishes. Nevertheless, I do not -think he will come. - -FIRST NAZARENE - -It was not concerning Cæsar that the prophet spake these words, -sire. - -HEROD - -Not of Cæsar? - -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! - -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 present 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. - -HERODIAS - -How these men weary me! They are ridiculous! [_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. - -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 neighbourhood 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 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. - -[Illustration: THE STOMACH DANCE] - -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? - -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 Cæsar. There are Romans -here, we must drink to Cæsar. - -ALL - -Cæsar! Cæsar! - -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. - -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 Salomé._] - -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 question, 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. - -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, Salomé. - -HERODIAS - -I will not have her dance. - -SALOMÉ - -I have no desire to dance, Tetrarch. - -HEROD - -Salomé, daughter of Herodias, dance for me. - -HERODIAS - -Let her alone. - -HEROD - -I command thee to dance, Salomé. - -SALOMÉ - -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? Cæsar, 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, Cæsar 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. - -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 Cappadocia 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 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 Cæsar's -ambassadors, must they not? - -SECOND SOLDIER - -What a sombre look the Tetrarch wears. - -FIRST SOLDIER - -Yes, he wears a sombre look. - -HEROD - -Salomé, Salomé, 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, Salomé, 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. - -[Illustration: THE TOILETTE OF SALOMÉ--I] - -SALOMÉ - -[_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. - -SALOMÉ - -You swear it, Tetrarch? - -HEROD - -I swear it, Salomé. - -HERODIAS - -Do not dance, my daughter. - -SALOMÉ - -By what will you swear, Tetrarch? - -HEROD - -By my life, by my crown, by my gods. Whatsoever you desire I will -give it you, even to the half of my kingdom, if you will but -dance for me. O, Salomé, Salomé, dance for me! - -SALOMÉ - -You have sworn, Tetrarch. - -HEROD - -I have sworn, Salomé. - -SALOMÉ - -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, Salomé, 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 ... wherefore 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 table._] -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, 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, Salomé? You have promised to dance for me. - -[Illustration: THE TOILETTE OF SALOMÉ--II] - -HERODIAS - -I will not have her dance. - -SALOMÉ - -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, Salomé. 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? - -SALOMÉ - -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 -ambassadors. He has spoken words that were wounding. But Cæsar -will crucify him when he comes to Rome. I am sure that Cæsar will -crucify him. And if not, yet will he die, being eaten of worms. -The prophet has prophesied it. Well! wherefore dost thou tarry, -Salomé? - -SALOMÉ - -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 Salomé._] - -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? - -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 greatness? -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, Salomé, dance for -me. - -HERODIAS - -Do not dance, my daughter. - -SALOMÉ - -I am ready, Tetrarch. - -[_Salomé dances the dance of the seven veils._] - -HEROD - -Ah! wonderful! wonderful! You see that she has danced for me, -your daughter. Come near, Salomé, 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. - -SALOMÉ - -[_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 Salomé, you who are fairer than all the -daughters of Judæa? 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, Salomé? - -SALOMÉ - -[_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, Salomé. 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. - -SALOMÉ - -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, Salomé, 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. - -SALOMÉ - -I ask of you the head of Jokanaan. - -HEROD - -No, no, I do not wish it. - -SALOMÉ - -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, Salomé, 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 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 Cæsar's minion sent me. If you look through this emerald -you can see things which happen at a great distance. Cæsar -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. - -[Illustration: THE DANCER'S REWARD] - -SALOMÉ - -I demand the head of Jokanaan. - -HEROD - -You are not listening. You are not listening. Suffer me to speak, -Salomé. - -SALOMÉ - -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 should one look. Only in mirrors should one look, for -mirrors do but show us masks. Oh! oh! bring wine! I thirst.... -Salomé, Salomé, let us be friends. Come now!... Ah! what would I -say? What was't? Ah! I remember!... Salomé--nay, but come nearer -to me; I fear you will not hear me--Salomé, 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 Cæsar 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._] - -SALOMÉ - -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 Salomé, -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, Salomé, you do not wish a misfortune to happen to -me? You do not wish that. Listen to me, then. - -SALOMÉ - -Give me the head of Jokanaan. - -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 chrysoprases 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 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 incrusted 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, Salomé? 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! - -SALOMÉ - -Give me the head of Jokanaan. - -HEROD - -[_Sinking back in his seat_]. Let her be given 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. - -SALOMÉ - -[_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 -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. -Salomé 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 terrible, 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, 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, Salomé, -daughter of Herodias, Princess of Judæa! 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 perfumes, 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, 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. - -[Illustration: THE CLIMAX] - -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 the stars! Let us hide ourselves in -our palace, Herodias. I begin to be afraid. - -[_The slaves put out the torches. The stars disappear. 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 SALOMÉ - -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 Salomé covering her with light._] - -HEROD - -[_Turning round and seeing Salomé_.] - -Kill that woman! - -[_The soldiers rush forward and crush beneath their shields -Salomé, daughter of Herodias, Princess of Judæa._] - -CURTAIN. - - -[Illustration: CUL DE LAMPE] - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Salomé, by Oscar Wilde - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SALOMÉ *** - -***** This file should be named 42704-8.txt or 42704-8.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/4/2/7/0/42704/ - -Produced by Marc D'Hooghe at http://www.freeliterature.org -(Images generously made available by the Internet Archive.) - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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diff --git a/42704.txt b/42704.txt deleted file mode 100644 index b8b1ba1..0000000 --- a/42704.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,2920 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Salome, by Oscar Wilde - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: Salome - A Tragedy in One Act - -Author: Oscar Wilde - -Illustrator: Aubrey Beardsley - -Translator: Alfred, Lord Douglas - -Release Date: May 12, 2013 [EBook #42704] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ASCII - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SALOME *** - - - - -Produced by Marc D'Hooghe at http://www.freeliterature.org -(Images generously made available by the Internet Archive.) - - - - - -[Illustration: THE WOMAN IN THE MOON] - -[Illustration: TITLE PAGE] - - -SALOME - -A TRAGEDY IN ONE ACT: - -TRANSLATED FROM THE FRENCH OF - -OSCAR WILDE, - -WITH SIXTEEN DRAWINGS BY AUBREY BEARDSLEY - -LONDON: JOHN LANE, THE BODLEY HEAD - -NEW YORK: JOHN LANE COMPANY, MCMVII - -[Illustration: COVER DESIGN] - - - - - 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." - - -"SALOME" has made the author's name a household word wherever the -English language 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 characteristic 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 unsuspected 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 _tour de force_, 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 literature--not for the artist. - - I remain, Sir, your obedient servant, - - OSCAR WILDE. - - - -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, vociferating 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 part of the -repertoire of the German stage, where it is performed more often -than any play by any English writer except Shakespeare. Owing, -perhaps, 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 contemplated 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 -occasion occurs in a letter Wilde wrote to me from Reading:-- - -"Please say how gratified I was at the performance 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 or -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 contemporaries, -says that "Salome" is only a catalogue; 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. 1), Herod Antipas (_Mat._ xiv. 3), and Herod Agrippa (Acts -xiii), but the confusion 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 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 himself 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. - - -[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. - - - -[Illustration] - -LIST OF THE PICTURES BY AUBREY BEARDSLEY. - -1. THE WOMAN IN THE MOON. 2. TITLE PAGE. 3. COVER DESIGN. 4. LIST -OF THE PICTURES. 5. THE PEACOCK SKIRT. 6. THE BLACK CAPE. 7. A -PLATONIC LAMENT. 8. JOHN AND SALOME. 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. 15. THE CLIMAX. 16. CUL DE LAMPE. - - - * * * * * - - - - -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. - - - - - * * * * * - - -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-hall._] - -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. - - -[Illustration: THE PEACOCK SKIRT] - - -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. - -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 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 -solitary 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? - -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 terrible 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 butterflies. - -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? - -[Illustration: THE BLACK CAPE] - -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 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 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 herself. 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? - -SECOND SOLDIER - -We never understand what he says, Princess. - -SALOME - -Yes; he says terrible things about her. - -[_Enter a Slave_.] - -THE SLAVE - -Princess, the Tetrarch prays you to return to the feast. - -SALOME - -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. - -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. - -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. - -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 tiling 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. - -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 back._] - -[Illustration: A PLATONIC LAMENT] - -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 Captains of Assyria, who -have baldricks on their 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 incestuousness, 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 abominations; 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. - -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 moonbeam, 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? I 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. - -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. - -[Illustration: JOHN AND SALOME] - -SALOME - -Jokanaan! - -JOKANAAN - -Who speaketh? - -SALOME - -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 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. - -SALOME - -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 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. - -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? - -[Illustration: ENTER HERODIAS] - -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. - -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 commanded her? Ah! there she is! - -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. - -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 themselves. Is it not true, Tigellinus, -that the philosophers 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 himself. 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. - -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 blowing. 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. - -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. - -SALOME - -I am not hungry, Tetrarch. - -HEROD - -[_To Herodias._] 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. - -[Illustration: THE EYES OF HEROD] - -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. Moreover, 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. - -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 Himself 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 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 regardeth 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. - -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 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! - -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 present 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. - -HERODIAS - -How these men weary me! They are ridiculous! [_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. - -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 neighbourhood 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 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. - -[Illustration: THE STOMACH DANCE] - -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? - -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! - -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. - -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 question, 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. - -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. - -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. - -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 Cappadocia 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 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 -ambassadors, 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. - -[Illustration: THE TOILETTE OF SALOME--I] - -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. Whatsoever 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, Salome. - -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 ... wherefore 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 table._] -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, 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. - -[Illustration: THE TOILETTE OF SALOME--II] - -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 -ambassadors. He has spoken words that were wounding. 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 Salome._] - -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? - -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 greatness? -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. - -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? - -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. - -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 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. - -[Illustration: THE DANCER'S REWARD] - -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 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 remember!... 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._] - -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. - -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 chrysoprases 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 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 incrusted 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 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 -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 terrible, 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, 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 perfumes, 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, 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. - -[Illustration: THE CLIMAX] - -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 the stars! Let us hide ourselves in -our palace, Herodias. I begin to be afraid. - -[_The slaves put out the torches. The stars disappear. 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 Salome_.] - -Kill that woman! - -[_The soldiers rush forward and crush beneath their shields -Salome, daughter of Herodias, Princess of Judaea._] - -CURTAIN. - - -[Illustration: CUL DE LAMPE] - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Salome, by Oscar Wilde - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SALOME *** - -***** This file should be named 42704.txt or 42704.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/4/2/7/0/42704/ - -Produced by Marc D'Hooghe at http://www.freeliterature.org -(Images generously made available by the Internet Archive.) - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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Hart was the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm -concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared -with anyone. For forty years, he produced and distributed Project -Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support. - -Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed -editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S. -unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily -keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. - -Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: - - www.gutenberg.org - -This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, -including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to -subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. diff --git a/42704.zip b/42704.zip Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 69e3e5c..0000000 --- a/42704.zip +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/42704-8.txt b/old/42704-8.txt deleted file mode 100644 index b32f7bb..0000000 --- a/old/42704-8.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,2920 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Salomé, by Oscar Wilde - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: Salomé - A Tragedy in One Act - -Author: Oscar Wilde - -Illustrator: Aubrey Beardsley - -Translator: Alfred, Lord Douglas - -Release Date: May 12, 2013 [EBook #42704] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SALOMÉ *** - - - - -Produced by Marc D'Hooghe at http://www.freeliterature.org -(Images generously made available by the Internet Archive.) - - - - - -[Illustration: THE WOMAN IN THE MOON] - -[Illustration: TITLE PAGE] - - -SALOMÉ - -A TRAGEDY IN ONE ACT: - -TRANSLATED FROM THE FRENCH OF - -OSCAR WILDE, - -WITH SIXTEEN DRAWINGS BY AUBREY BEARDSLEY - -LONDON: JOHN LANE, THE BODLEY HEAD - -NEW YORK: JOHN LANE COMPANY, MCMVII - -[Illustration: COVER DESIGN] - - - - - THE PERSONS OF THE PLAY. - - HEROD ANTIPAS, TETRARCH OF JUDÆA. - 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. - SALOMÉ, DAUGHTER OF HERODIAS. - THE SLAVES OF SALOMÉ. - - - - -A NOTE ON "SALOMÉ." - - -"SALOMÉ" has made the author's name a household word wherever the -English language 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 characteristic 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 "Salomé" 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 unsuspected asset in their -education--a handy missile with which to pelt "Salomé" 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 _tour de force_, 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 "SALOMÉ." - - To the Editor of The Times. - - Sir, My attention has been drawn to a review of - "Salomé" 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 literature--not for the artist. - - I remain, Sir, your obedient servant, - - OSCAR WILDE. - - - -When "Salomé" 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 "Salomé" by the New Stage Club in May, -1905,[1] the dramatic critics again expressed themselves -vehemently, vociferating 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 part of the -repertoire of the German stage, where it is performed more often -than any play by any English writer except Shakespeare. Owing, -perhaps, 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 "Salomé" 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 contemplated the possibility of his prose drama for a -musical theme. In "De Profundis" he says: "The refrains, whose -recurring motifs make 'Salomé' so like a piece of music, and bind -it together as a ballad." - -He was still incarcerated in 1896, when Mons. Luigne Poë produced -the play for the first time at the Théâtre Libre in Paris, with -Lina Muntz in the title role. A rather pathetic reference to this -occasion occurs in a letter Wilde wrote to me from Reading:-- - -"Please say how gratified I was at the performance of my play, -and have my thanks conveyed to Luigne Poë. 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 Poë 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 'Salomé.'" - -The bias of personal friendship precludes me from praising or -defending "Salomé," 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 contemporaries, -says that "Salomé" is only a catalogue; 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. 1), Herod Antipas (_Mat._ xiv. 3), and Herod Agrippa (Acts -xiii), but the confusion is intentional, as in mediæval mystery -plays Herod is taken for a type, not an historical character, and -the criticism is about as valuable as that of people who -laboriously point out the anachronisms in Beardsley's designs. -With reference to the charge of plagiarism brought against -"Salomé" 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 himself 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. - - -[1] A more recent performance of "Salomé" (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 "Salomé" -was a mirror in which everyone could see himself. The artist, -art; the dull, dulness; the vulgar, vulgarity. - - - -[Illustration] - -LIST OF THE PICTURES BY AUBREY BEARDSLEY. - -1. THE WOMAN IN THE MOON. 2. TITLE PAGE. 3. COVER DESIGN. 4. LIST -OF THE PICTURES. 5. THE PEACOCK SKIRT. 6. THE BLACK CAPE. 7. A -PLATONIC LAMENT. 8. JOHN AND SALOMÉ. 9. ENTER HERODIAS. 10. THE -EYES OF HEROD. 11. THE STOMACH DANCE. 12. THE TOILETTE OF -SALOMÉ--I. 13. THE TOILETTE OF SALOMÉ--II. 14. THE DANCER'S -REWARD. 15. THE CLIMAX. 16. CUL DE LAMPE. - - - * * * * * - - - - -Cast of the Performance of "Salomé," represented in England for -the first time. - -NEW STAGE CLUB. - -"SALOMÉ," - -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. - SALOMÉ -- 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. - - - - - * * * * * - - -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 Salomé 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-hall._] - -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 Salomé 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. - - -[Illustration: THE PEACOCK SKIRT] - - -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. - -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 Cæsar. - -THE CAPPADOCIAN - -I have never seen Cæsar. - -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 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 -solitary 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? - -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 terrible 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 butterflies. - -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? - -[Illustration: THE BLACK CAPE] - -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 Salomé_.] - -SALOMÉ - -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 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? - -SALOMÉ - -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. - -SALOMÉ - -How good to see the moon! She is like a little piece of money, -you would think she was a 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 herself. 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. - -SALOMÉ - -Who was that who cried out? - -SECOND SOLDIER - -The prophet, Princess. - -SALOMÉ - -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. - -SALOMÉ - -He says terrible things about my mother, does he not? - -SECOND SOLDIER - -We never understand what he says, Princess. - -SALOMÉ - -Yes; he says terrible things about her. - -[_Enter a Slave_.] - -THE SLAVE - -Princess, the Tetrarch prays you to return to the feast. - -SALOMÉ - -I will not go back. - -THE YOUNG SYRIAN - -Pardon me, Princess, but if you do not return some misfortune may -happen. - -SALOMÉ - -Is he an old man, this prophet? - -THE YOUNG SYRIAN - -Princess, it were better to return. Suffer me to lead you in. - -SALOMÉ - -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. - -SALOMÉ - -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. - -SALOMÉ - -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. - -SALOMÉ - -I desire to speak with him. - -FIRST SOLDIER - -It is impossible, Princess. - -SALOMÉ - -I will speak with him. - -THE YOUNG SYRIAN - -Would it not be better to return to the banquet? - -SALOMÉ - -Bring forth this prophet. - - [_Exit the slave._] - -FIRST SOLDIER - -We dare not, Princess. - -SALOMÉ - -[_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. - -SALOMÉ - -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. - -SALOMÉ - -[_Looking at the young Syrian._] - -Ah! - -THE PAGE OF HERODIAS - -Oh! what is going to happen? I am sure that some misfortune will -happen. - -SALOMÉ - -[_Going up to the young Syrian._] - -You will do this tiling 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. - -SALOMÉ - -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. - -SALOMÉ - -[_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 Salomé desires to see -him. - -SALOMÉ - -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. Salomé looks at him and -steps slowly back._] - -[Illustration: A PLATONIC LAMENT] - -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. - -SALOMÉ - -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? - -SALOMÉ - -It is of my mother that he speaks. - -THE YOUNG SYRIAN - -Oh, no, Princess. - -SALOMÉ - -Yes; it is of my mother that he speaks. - -JOKANAAN - -Where is she who gave herself unto the Captains of Assyria, who -have baldricks on their 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 incestuousness, 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 abominations; bid her come, for the fan of the Lord is in His -hand. - -SALOMÉ - -But he is terrible, he is terrible! - -THE YOUNG SYRIAN - -Do not stay here, Princess, I beseech you. - -SALOMÉ - -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. - -SALOMÉ - -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 moonbeam, like a shaft of silver. His flesh must be cool -like ivory. I would look closer at him. - -THE YOUNG SYRIAN - -No, no, Princess. - -SALOMÉ - -I must look at him closer. - -THE YOUNG SYRIAN - -Princess! Princess! - -JOKANAAN - -Who is this woman who is looking at me? I 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. - -SALOMÉ - -I am Salomé, daughter of Herodias, Princess of Judæa. - -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. - -SALOMÉ - -Speak again, Jokanaan. Thy voice is wine to me. - -THE YOUNG SYRIAN - -Princess! Princess! Princess! - -SALOMÉ - -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. - -SALOMÉ - -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. - -[Illustration: JOHN AND SALOMÉ] - -SALOMÉ - -Jokanaan! - -JOKANAAN - -Who speaketh? - -SALOMÉ - -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 Judæa, 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. - -SALOMÉ - -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 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. - -SALOMÉ - -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 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. - -SALOMÉ - -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. - -SALOMÉ - -I will kiss thy mouth, Jokanaan. - -THE YOUNG SYRIAN - -Ah! [_He kills himself and falls between Salomé 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. - -SALOMÉ - -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? - -[Illustration: ENTER HERODIAS] - -SALOMÉ - -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. - -SALOMÉ - -Let me kiss thy mouth. - -JOKANAAN - -Cursed be thou! daughter of an incestuous mother, be thou -accursed! - -SALOMÉ - -I will kiss thy mouth, Jokanaan. - -JOKANAAN - -I do no wish to look at thee. I will not look at thee, thou art -accursed, Salomé, thou art accursed. [_He goes down into the -cistern._] - -SALOMÉ - -I will kiss thy mouth, Jokanaan; I will kiss thy mouth. - -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 Salomé? Where is the Princess? Why did she not return to -the banquet as I commanded her? Ah! there she is! - -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 Cæsar. - -HERODIAS - -It is not because of them that you remain. - -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 themselves. Is it not true, Tigellinus, -that the philosophers 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? Cæsar is wonderful. He -can do everything.... It is strange that the young Syrian has -killed himself. 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 Salomé. Truly, I thought he looked too much at -her. - -HERODIAS - -There are others who look at her too much. - -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 blowing. 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. - -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_]. Salomé, come drink a -little wine with me. I have here a wine that is exquisite. Cæsar -himself sent it me. Dip into it thy little red lips, that I may -drain the cup. - -SALOMÉ - -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_]. Salomé, 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. - -SALOMÉ - -I am not hungry, Tetrarch. - -HEROD - -[_To Herodias._] 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 - -Salomé, come and sit next to me. I will give thee the throne of -thy mother. - -SALOMÉ - -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. - -[Illustration: THE EYES OF HEROD] - -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. Moreover, 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. - -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 Himself 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 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 regardeth 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. - -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 Cæsar takes. - -HEROD - -But Cæsar is not coming into Judæa. 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 Cæsar's titles. - -HEROD - -But Cæsar 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 come. Howbeit, -Cæsar is lord, he will come if he wishes. Nevertheless, I do not -think he will come. - -FIRST NAZARENE - -It was not concerning Cæsar that the prophet spake these words, -sire. - -HEROD - -Not of Cæsar? - -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! - -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 present 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. - -HERODIAS - -How these men weary me! They are ridiculous! [_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. - -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 neighbourhood 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 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. - -[Illustration: THE STOMACH DANCE] - -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? - -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 Cæsar. There are Romans -here, we must drink to Cæsar. - -ALL - -Cæsar! Cæsar! - -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. - -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 Salomé._] - -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 question, 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. - -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, Salomé. - -HERODIAS - -I will not have her dance. - -SALOMÉ - -I have no desire to dance, Tetrarch. - -HEROD - -Salomé, daughter of Herodias, dance for me. - -HERODIAS - -Let her alone. - -HEROD - -I command thee to dance, Salomé. - -SALOMÉ - -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? Cæsar, 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, Cæsar 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. - -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 Cappadocia 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 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 Cæsar's -ambassadors, must they not? - -SECOND SOLDIER - -What a sombre look the Tetrarch wears. - -FIRST SOLDIER - -Yes, he wears a sombre look. - -HEROD - -Salomé, Salomé, 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, Salomé, 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. - -[Illustration: THE TOILETTE OF SALOMÉ--I] - -SALOMÉ - -[_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. - -SALOMÉ - -You swear it, Tetrarch? - -HEROD - -I swear it, Salomé. - -HERODIAS - -Do not dance, my daughter. - -SALOMÉ - -By what will you swear, Tetrarch? - -HEROD - -By my life, by my crown, by my gods. Whatsoever you desire I will -give it you, even to the half of my kingdom, if you will but -dance for me. O, Salomé, Salomé, dance for me! - -SALOMÉ - -You have sworn, Tetrarch. - -HEROD - -I have sworn, Salomé. - -SALOMÉ - -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, Salomé, 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 ... wherefore 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 table._] -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, 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, Salomé? You have promised to dance for me. - -[Illustration: THE TOILETTE OF SALOMÉ--II] - -HERODIAS - -I will not have her dance. - -SALOMÉ - -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, Salomé. 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? - -SALOMÉ - -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 -ambassadors. He has spoken words that were wounding. But Cæsar -will crucify him when he comes to Rome. I am sure that Cæsar will -crucify him. And if not, yet will he die, being eaten of worms. -The prophet has prophesied it. Well! wherefore dost thou tarry, -Salomé? - -SALOMÉ - -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 Salomé._] - -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? - -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 greatness? -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, Salomé, dance for -me. - -HERODIAS - -Do not dance, my daughter. - -SALOMÉ - -I am ready, Tetrarch. - -[_Salomé dances the dance of the seven veils._] - -HEROD - -Ah! wonderful! wonderful! You see that she has danced for me, -your daughter. Come near, Salomé, 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. - -SALOMÉ - -[_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 Salomé, you who are fairer than all the -daughters of Judæa? 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, Salomé? - -SALOMÉ - -[_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, Salomé. 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. - -SALOMÉ - -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, Salomé, 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. - -SALOMÉ - -I ask of you the head of Jokanaan. - -HEROD - -No, no, I do not wish it. - -SALOMÉ - -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, Salomé, 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 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 Cæsar's minion sent me. If you look through this emerald -you can see things which happen at a great distance. Cæsar -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. - -[Illustration: THE DANCER'S REWARD] - -SALOMÉ - -I demand the head of Jokanaan. - -HEROD - -You are not listening. You are not listening. Suffer me to speak, -Salomé. - -SALOMÉ - -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 should one look. Only in mirrors should one look, for -mirrors do but show us masks. Oh! oh! bring wine! I thirst.... -Salomé, Salomé, let us be friends. Come now!... Ah! what would I -say? What was't? Ah! I remember!... Salomé--nay, but come nearer -to me; I fear you will not hear me--Salomé, 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 Cæsar 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._] - -SALOMÉ - -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 Salomé, -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, Salomé, you do not wish a misfortune to happen to -me? You do not wish that. Listen to me, then. - -SALOMÉ - -Give me the head of Jokanaan. - -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 chrysoprases 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 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 incrusted 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, Salomé? 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! - -SALOMÉ - -Give me the head of Jokanaan. - -HEROD - -[_Sinking back in his seat_]. Let her be given 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. - -SALOMÉ - -[_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 -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. -Salomé 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 terrible, 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, 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, Salomé, -daughter of Herodias, Princess of Judæa! 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 perfumes, 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, 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. - -[Illustration: THE CLIMAX] - -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 the stars! Let us hide ourselves in -our palace, Herodias. I begin to be afraid. - -[_The slaves put out the torches. The stars disappear. 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 SALOMÉ - -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 Salomé covering her with light._] - -HEROD - -[_Turning round and seeing Salomé_.] - -Kill that woman! - -[_The soldiers rush forward and crush beneath their shields -Salomé, daughter of Herodias, Princess of Judæa._] - -CURTAIN. - - -[Illustration: CUL DE LAMPE] - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Salomé, by Oscar Wilde - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SALOMÉ *** - -***** This file should be named 42704-8.txt or 42704-8.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/4/2/7/0/42704/ - -Produced by Marc D'Hooghe at http://www.freeliterature.org -(Images generously made available by the Internet Archive.) - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: Salomé - A Tragedy in One Act - -Author: Oscar Wilde - -Illustrator: Aubrey Beardsley - -Translator: Alfred, Lord Douglas - -Release Date: May 12, 2013 [EBook #42704] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SALOMÉ *** - - - - -Produced by Marc D'Hooghe at http://www.freeliterature.org -(Images generously made available by the Internet Archive.) - - - - - - -</pre> - - - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> -<a id="img001"></a> -<img src="images/sal_0012w.jpg" width="500" height="711" alt="The Woman in the Moon" /> -</div> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> -<a id="img002"></a> -<img src="images/sal_0013b.jpg" width="500" height="659" alt="" /> -</div> - -<hr class="tb" /> - - -<h1>SALOMÉ</h1> - -<h3>A TRAGEDY IN ONE ACT:</h3> - -<h4>TRANSLATED FROM THE FRENCH OF</h4> - -<h2>OSCAR WILDE,</h2> - -<h4>WITH SIXTEEN DRAWINGS BY AUBREY BEARDSLEY</h4> - -<h5>LONDON: JOHN LANE, THE BODLEY HEAD</h5> - -<h5>NEW YORK: JOHN LANE COMPANY, MCMVII</h5> - -<hr class="tb" /> - - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> -<a id="img003"></a> -<img src="images/sal_0015w.jpg" width="500" height="640" alt="" /> -</div> - - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p style="margin-left: 35%; font-size: 0.8em;"> -THE PERSONS OF THE PLAY.<br /><br /> - - HEROD ANTIPAS, TETRARCH OF JUDÆA.<br /> - JOKANAAN, THE PROPHET.<br /> - THE YOUNG SYRIAN, CAPTAIN of the GUARD.<br /> - TIGELLINUS, A YOUNG ROMAN.<br /> - A CAPPADOCIAN.<br /> - A NUBIAN.<br /> - FIRST SOLDIER.<br /> - SECOND SOLDIER.<br /> - THE PAGE OF HERODIAS. - JEWS, NAZARENES, ETC.<br /> - A SLAVE.<br /> - NAAMAN, THE EXECUTIONER.<br /> - HERODIAS, WIFE OF THE TETRARCH.<br /> - SALOMÉ, DAUGHTER OF HERODIAS.<br /> - THE SLAVES OF SALOMÉ.<br /> -</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - - -<h3>A NOTE ON "SALOMÉ."</h3> - - -<p>"SALOMÉ" has made the author's name a household word wherever the -English language 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 characteristic 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 "Salomé" 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 unsuspected asset in their education—a -handy missile with which to pelt "Salomé" 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 <i>tour de force</i>, in being capable of writing a -French play for Madame Bernhardt, and this drew from him the following -letter:—</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>The Times, Thursday, March 2, 1893, p. 4.</p> - -<p>MR. OSCAR WILDE ON "SALOMÉ."</p> - -<p>To the Editor of The Times.</p> - -<p>Sir, My attention has been drawn to a review of "Salomé" -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.</p> - -<p>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 literature—not for the artist.</p> - -<p>I remain, Sir, your obedient servant,</p> - -<p>OSCAR WILDE.</p></blockquote> - - -<p>When "Salomé" 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 <i>Frontispiece</i>, "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.</p> - -<p>On the production of "Salomé" by the New Stage Club in May, 1905,<a name="FNanchor_1_1" id="FNanchor_1_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a> the -dramatic critics again expressed themselves vehemently, vociferating -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 part of the -repertoire of the German stage, where it is performed more often than -any play by any English writer except Shakespeare. Owing, perhaps, to -what I must call its <i>obscure</i> 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 "Salomé" 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 contemplated the possibility of his -prose drama for a musical theme. In "De Profundis" he says: "The -refrains, whose recurring motifs make 'Salomé' so like a piece of music, -and bind it together as a ballad."</p> - -<p>He was still incarcerated in 1896, when Mons. Luigne Poë produced the -play for the first time at the Théâtre Libre in Paris, with Lina Muntz -in the title role. A rather pathetic reference to this occasion occurs -in a letter Wilde wrote to me from Reading:—</p> - -<p>"Please say how gratified I was at the performance of my play, and have -my thanks conveyed to Luigne Poë. 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 Poë 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 'Salomé.'"</p> - -<p>The bias of personal friendship precludes me from praising or defending -"Salomé," 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 contemporaries, says that "Salomé" is only a catalogue; 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 <i>for</i> Sisera.</p> - -<p>It has been remarked that Wilde confuses Herod the Great (<i>Mat.</i> xi. 1), -Herod Antipas (<i>Mat.</i> xiv. 3), and Herod Agrippa (Acts xiii), but the -confusion is intentional, as in mediæval mystery plays Herod is taken -for a type, not an historical character, and the criticism is about as -valuable as that of people who laboriously point out the anachronisms in -Beardsley's designs. With reference to the charge of plagiarism brought -against "Salomé" and its author, I venture to mention a personal -recollection.</p> - -<p>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 -himself 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.</p> - -<p style="margin-left: 75%;">ROBERT ROSS.</p> - - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_1_1" id="Footnote_1_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_1"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> A more recent performance of "Salomé" (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 "Salomé" was a mirror in which -everyone could see himself. The artist, art; the dull, dulness; the -vulgar, vulgarity.</p></div> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> -<a id="img004"></a> -<img src="images/sal_0025b.jpg" width="450" height="566" alt="" /> -</div> - - -<p style="font-size: 0.8em;">1. <a href="#img001">THE WOMAN IN THE MOON</a>. 2. <a href="#img002">TITLE PAGE</a>. 3. <a href="#img003">COVER DESIGN</a>. 4. <a href="#img004">LIST OF THE -PICTURES</a>. 5. <a href="#img005">THE PEACOCK SKIRT</a>. 6. <a href="#img006">THE BLACK CAPE</a>. 7. <a href="#img007">A PLATONIC LAMENT</a>. -8. <a href="#img008">JOHN AND SALOMÉ</a>. 9. <a href="#img009">ENTER HERODIAS</a>. 10. <a href="#img010">THE EYES OF HEROD</a>. 11. <a href="#img011">THE -STOMACH DANCE</a>. 12. <a href="#img012">THE TOILETTE OF SALOMÉ—I</a>. 13. <a href="#img013">THE TOILETTE OF -SALOMÉ—II</a>. 14. <a href="#img014">THE DANCER'S REWARD</a>. 15. <a href="#img015">THE CLIMAX</a>. 16. <a href="#img016">CUL DE LAMPE</a>.</p> - - -<hr class="tb" /> - - - -<p class="center">Cast of the Performance of "Salomé," represented in England for the -first time.</p> - -<h4>NEW STAGE CLUB.</h4> - -<h4>"SALOMÉ,"</h4> - -<h4>BY OSCAR WILDE.</h4> - -<h4>May 10th and 13th 1905.</h4> - - -<div class="center" style="font-size: 0.8em;"> <table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary=""> -<tr><td align="left"></td><td align="left">A YOUNG SYRIAN CAPTAIN</td><td align="left">—</td><td align="left">MR. HERBERT ALEXANDER.</td></tr> -<tr><td align="left"></td><td align="left">PAGE OF HERODIAS</td><td align="left">—</td><td align="left">MRS. GWENDOLEN BISHOP.</td></tr> -<tr><td align="left"></td><td align="left">FIRST SOLDIER</td><td align="left">—</td><td align="left">MR. CHARLES GEE.</td></tr> -<tr><td align="left"></td><td align="left">SECOND SOLDIER</td><td align="left">—</td><td align="left">MR. RALPH DE ROHAN.</td></tr> -<tr><td align="left"></td><td align="left">CAPPADOCIAN</td><td align="left">—</td><td align="left">MR. CHARLES DALMON.</td></tr> -<tr><td align="left"></td><td align="left">JOKANAAN</td><td align="left">—</td><td align="left">MR. VINCENT NELLO.</td></tr> -<tr><td align="left"></td><td align="left">NAAMAN, THE EXECUTIONER</td><td align="left">—</td><td align="left">MR. W. EVELYN OSBORN.</td></tr> -<tr><td align="left"></td><td align="left">SALOMÉ</td><td align="left">—</td><td align="left">Miss MILLICENT MURBY.</td></tr> -<tr><td align="left"></td><td align="left">SLAVE</td><td align="left">—</td><td align="left">Miss CARRIE KEITH.</td></tr> -<tr><td align="left"></td><td align="left">HEROD</td><td align="left">—</td><td align="left">MR. ROBERT FARQUHARSON.</td></tr> -<tr><td align="left"></td><td align="left">HERODIAS</td><td align="left">—</td><td align="left">Miss LOUISE SALOM.</td></tr> -<tr><td align="left"></td><td align="left">TIGELLINUS</td><td align="left">—</td><td align="left">MR. C.L. DELPH.</td></tr> -<tr><td align="left"></td><td align="left">SLAVE</td><td align="left">—</td><td align="left">Miss STANSFELD.</td></tr> -<tr><td align="left"></td><td align="left">FIRST JEW</td><td align="left">—</td><td align="left">MR. F. STANLEY SMITH.</td></tr> -<tr><td align="left"></td><td align="left">SECOND JEW</td><td align="left">—</td><td align="left">MR. BERNHARD SMITH.</td></tr> -<tr><td align="left"></td><td align="left">THIRD JEW</td><td align="left">—</td><td align="left">MR. JOHN BATE.</td></tr> -<tr><td align="left"></td><td align="left">FOURTH JEW</td><td align="left">—</td><td align="left">STEPHEN BAGEHOT</td></tr> -<tr><td align="left"></td><td align="left">FIFTH JEW</td><td align="left">—</td><td align="left">FREDERICK LAWRENCE.</td></tr> -</table></div> - - -<p class="center">Scene—<span style="font-size: 0.8em;">THE GREAT TERRACE OUTSIDE THE PALACE</span>.</p> - - -<hr class="tb" /> - - -<p>SCENE.—<i>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.</i></p> - -<p>THE YOUNG SYRIAN</p> - -<p>How beautiful is the Princess Salomé to-night!</p> - -<p>THE PAGE OF HERODIAS</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>THE YOUNG SYRIAN</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>THE PAGE OF HERODIAS</p> - -<p>She is like a woman who is dead. She moves very slowly.</p> - -<p>[<i>Noise in the banqueting-hall.</i>]</p> - -<p>FIRST SOLDIER</p> - -<p>What an uproar! Who are those wild beasts howling?</p> - -<p>SECOND SOLDIER</p> - -<p>The Jews. They are always like that. They are disputing about their -religion.</p> - -<p>FIRST SOLDIER</p> - -<p>Why do they dispute about their religion?</p> - -<p>SECOND SOLDIER</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>FIRST SOLDIER</p> - -<p>I think it is ridiculous to dispute about such things.</p> - -<p>THE YOUNG SYRIAN</p> - -<p>How beautiful is the Princess Salomé to-night!</p> - -<p>THE PAGE OF HERODIAS</p> - -<p>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.</p> - - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> -<a id="img005"></a> -<img src="images/sal_0035w.jpg" width="500" height="688" alt="" /> -</div> - - -<p>THE YOUNG SYRIAN </p> - -<p>She is very beautiful to-night.</p> - -<p>FIRST SOLDIER</p> - -<p>The Tetrarch has a sombre look.</p> - -<p>SECOND SOLDIER</p> - -<p>Yes; he has a sombre look.</p> - -<p>FIRST SOLDIER</p> - -<p>He is looking at something.</p> - -<p>SECOND SOLDIER</p> - -<p>He is looking at some one.</p> - -<p>FIRST SOLDIER</p> - -<p>At whom is he looking?</p> - -<p>SECOND SOLDIER</p> - -<p>I cannot tell.</p> - -<p>THE YOUNG SYRIAN</p> - -<p>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. </p> - -<p>THE PAGE OF HERODIAS</p> - -<p>You must not look at her. You look too much at her.</p> - -<p>FIRST SOLDIER</p> - -<p>Herodias has filled the cup of the Tetrarch.</p> - -<p>THE CAPPADOCIAN</p> - -<p>Is that the Queen Herodias, she who wears a black mitre sewn with -pearls, and whose hair is powdered with blue dust?</p> - -<p>FIRST SOLDIER</p> - -<p>Yes; that is Herodias, the Tetrarch's wife.</p> - -<p>SECOND SOLDIER</p> - -<p>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 Cæsar.</p> - -<p>THE CAPPADOCIAN</p> - -<p>I have never seen Cæsar.</p> - -<p>SECOND SOLDIER</p> - -<p>Another that comes from a town called Cyprus, and is yellow like gold.</p> - -<p>THE CAPPADOCIAN</p> - -<p>I love gold.</p> - -<p>SECOND SOLDIER</p> - -<p>And the third is a wine of Sicily. That wine is red like blood.</p> - -<p>THE NUBIAN</p> - -<p>The gods of my country are very fond of blood. Twice in the year we -sacrifice to them young men 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.</p> - -<p>THE CAPPADOCIAN</p> - -<p> -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. -</p> - -<p>FIRST SOLDIER</p> - -<p>The Jews worship a God that you cannot see.</p> - -<p>THE CAPPADOCIAN</p> - -<p>I cannot understand that.</p> - -<p>FIRST SOLDIER</p> - -<p>In fact, they only believe in things that you cannot see.</p> - -<p>THE CAPPADOCIAN</p> - -<p>That seems to me altogether ridiculous.</p> - -<p>THE VOICE OF JOKANAAN</p> - -<p>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 solitary 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.</p> - -<p>SECOND SOLDIER</p> - -<p>Make him be silent. He is always saying ridiculous things.</p> - -<p>FIRST SOLDIER</p> - -<p>No, no. He is a holy man. He is very gentle, too. Every day, when I give -him to eat he thanks me.</p> - -<p>THE CAPPADOCIAN</p> - -<p>Who is he?</p> - -<p>FIRST SOLDIER</p> - -<p>A prophet.</p> - -<p>THE CAPPADOCIAN</p> - -<p>What is his name?</p> - -<p>FIRST SOLDIER</p> - -<p>Jokanaan.</p> - -<p>THE CAPPADOCIAN</p> - -<p>Whence comes he?</p> - -<p>FIRST SOLDIER</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>THE CAPPADOCIAN</p> - -<p>What is he talking of?</p> - -<p>FIRST SOLDIER</p> - -<p>We can never tell. Sometimes he says terrible things, but it is -impossible to understand what he says.</p> - -<p>THE CAPPADOCIAN</p> - -<p>May one see him?</p> - -<p>FIRST SOLDIER</p> - -<p>No. The Tetrarch has forbidden it.</p> - -<p>THE YOUNG SYRIAN</p> - -<p>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 butterflies.</p> - -<p>THE PAGE OF HERODIAS</p> - -<p>What is that to you? Why do you look at her? You must not look at -her.... Something terrible may happen.</p> - -<p>THE CAPPADOCIAN</p> - -<p>[<i>Pointing to the cistern.</i>]</p> - -<p>What a strange prison!</p> - -<p>SECOND SOLDIER</p> - -<p>It is an old cistern.</p> - -<p>THE CAPPADOCIAN</p> - -<p>An old cistern! It must be very unhealthy.</p> - -<p>SECOND SOLDIER</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>THE CAPPADOCIAN</p> - -<p>Strangled? Who dared to do that?</p> - -<p>SECOND SOLDIER</p> - -<p>[<i>Pointing to the Executioner, a huge Negro.</i>]</p> - -<p>That man yonder, Naaman.</p> - -<p>THE CAPPADOCIAN</p> - -<p>He was not afraid?</p> - -<p>SECOND SOLDIER</p> - -<p>Oh no! The Tetrarch sent him the ring.</p> - -<p>THE CAPPADOCIAN</p> - -<p>What ring?</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> -<a id="img006"></a> -<img src="images/sal_0043w.jpg" width="500" height="703" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p>SECOND SOLDIER</p> - -<p>The death-ring. So he was not afraid.</p> - -<p>THE CAPPADOCIAN</p> - -<p>Yet it is a terrible thing to strangle a king.</p> - -<p>FIRST SOLDIER</p> - -<p>Why? Kings have but one neck, like other folk.</p> - -<p>THE CAPPADOCIAN</p> - -<p>I think it terrible.</p> - -<p>THE YOUNG SYRIAN</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>THE PAGE OF HERODIAS</p> - -<p>Do not look at her. I pray you not to look at her.</p> - -<p>THE YOUNG SYRIAN</p> - -<p>She is like a dove that has strayed.... She is like a narcissus -trembling in the wind.... She is like a silver flower.</p> - -<p>[<i>Enter Salomé</i>.]</p> - -<p>SALOMÉ</p> - -<p>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 that -the husband of my mother looks at me like that. I know not what it -means. In truth, yes, I know it.</p> - -<p>THE YOUNG SYRIAN</p> - -<p>You have just left the feast, Princess?</p> - -<p>SALOMÉ</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>THE YOUNG SYRIAN</p> - -<p>Will you be seated, Princess?</p> - -<p>THE PAGE OF HERODIAS</p> - -<p>Why do you speak to her? Why do you look at her? Oh! something terrible -will happen.</p> - -<p>SALOMÉ</p> - -<p>How good to see the moon! She is like a little piece of money, you would -think she was a 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 herself. She has never abandoned herself to men, -like the other goddesses.</p> - -<p>THE VOICE OF JOKANAAN</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>SALOMÉ</p> - -<p>Who was that who cried out?</p> - -<p>SECOND SOLDIER</p> - -<p>The prophet, Princess.</p> - -<p>SALOMÉ</p> - -<p>Ah, the prophet! He of whom the Tetrarch is afraid?</p> - -<p>SECOND SOLDIER</p> - -<p>We know nothing of that, Princess. It was the prophet Jokanaan who cried -out.</p> - -<p>THE YOUNG SYRIAN</p> - -<p>Is it your pleasure that I bid them bring your litter, Princess? The -night is fair in the garden.</p> - -<p>SALOMÉ</p> - -<p>He says terrible things about my mother, does he not?</p> - -<p>SECOND SOLDIER</p> - -<p>We never understand what he says, Princess.</p> - -<p>SALOMÉ</p> - -<p>Yes; he says terrible things about her.</p> - -<p>[<i>Enter a Slave</i>.]</p> - -<p>THE SLAVE</p> - -<p>Princess, the Tetrarch prays you to return to the feast.</p> - -<p>SALOMÉ</p> - -<p>I will not go back.</p> - -<p>THE YOUNG SYRIAN</p> - -<p>Pardon me, Princess, but if you do not return some misfortune may -happen.</p> - -<p>SALOMÉ</p> - -<p>Is he an old man, this prophet?</p> - -<p>THE YOUNG SYRIAN</p> - -<p>Princess, it were better to return. Suffer me to lead you in.</p> - -<p>SALOMÉ</p> - -<p>This prophet ... is he an old man?</p> - -<p>FIRST SOLDIER</p> - -<p>No, Princess, he is quite a young man.</p> - -<p>SECOND SOLDIER</p> - -<p>You cannot be sure. There are those who say he is Elias.</p> - -<p>SALOMÉ</p> - -<p>Who is Elias?</p> - -<p>SECOND SOLDIER</p> - -<p>A very ancient prophet of this country, Princess.</p> - -<p>THE SLAVE</p> - -<p>What answer may I give the Tetrarch from the Princess?</p> - -<p>THE VOICE OF JOKANAAN</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>SALOMÉ</p> - -<p>What a strange voice! I would speak with him.</p> - -<p>FIRST SOLDIER</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>SALOMÉ</p> - -<p>I desire to speak with him.</p> - -<p>FIRST SOLDIER</p> - -<p>It is impossible, Princess.</p> - -<p>SALOMÉ</p> - -<p>I will speak with him.</p> - -<p>THE YOUNG SYRIAN</p> - -<p>Would it not be better to return to the banquet?</p> - -<p>SALOMÉ</p> - -<p>Bring forth this prophet.</p> - -<p> -<span style="margin-left: 14.5em;">[<i>Exit the slave.</i>]</span><br /> -</p> - -<p>FIRST SOLDIER</p> - -<p>We dare not, Princess.</p> - -<p>SALOMÉ</p> - -<p>[<i>Approaching the cistern and looking down into it.</i>]</p> - -<p>How black it is, down there! It must be terrible to be in so black a -pit! It is like a tomb.... [<i>To the soldiers.</i>] Did you not hear me? -Bring out the prophet. I wish to see him.</p> - -<p>SECOND SOLDIER</p> - -<p>Princess, I beg you do not require this of us.</p> - -<p>SALOMÉ</p> - -<p>You keep me waiting!</p> - -<p>FIRST SOLDIER</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>SALOMÉ</p> - -<p>[<i>Looking at the young Syrian.</i>]</p> - -<p>Ah!</p> - -<p>THE PAGE OF HERODIAS</p> - -<p>Oh! what is going to happen? I am sure that some misfortune will happen.</p> - -<p>SALOMÉ</p> - -<p>[<i>Going up to the young Syrian.</i>]</p> - -<p>You will do this tiling 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?</p> - -<p>THE YOUNG SYRIAN</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>SALOMÉ</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>THE YOUNG SYRIAN</p> - -<p>Princess, I cannot, I cannot.</p> - -<p>SALOMÉ</p> - -<p>[<i>Smiling</i>.]</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>THE YOUNG SYRIAN</p> - -<p>[<i>Signing to the third soldier.</i>]</p> - -<p>Let the prophet come forth.... The Princess Salomé desires to see him.</p> - -<p>SALOMÉ</p> - -<p>Ah!</p> - -<p>THE PAGE OF HERODIAS</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>THE YOUNG SYRIAN</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>[<i>The prophet comes out of the cistern. Salomé looks at him and steps -slowly back.</i>]</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> -<a id="img007"></a> -<img src="images/sal_0053w.jpg" width="500" height="692" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p>JOKANAAN</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>SALOMÉ</p> - -<p>Of whom is he speaking?</p> - -<p>THE YOUNG SYRIAN</p> - -<p>You can never tell, Princess.</p> - -<p>JOKANAAN</p> - -<p>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?</p> - -<p>SALOMÉ</p> - -<p>It is of my mother that he speaks.</p> - -<p>THE YOUNG SYRIAN</p> - -<p>Oh, no, Princess.</p> - -<p>SALOMÉ</p> - -<p>Yes; it is of my mother that he speaks.</p> - -<p>JOKANAAN</p> - -<p>Where is she who gave herself unto the Captains of Assyria, who have -baldricks on their 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 incestuousness, 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 abominations; bid her come, for the fan of the Lord is -in His hand.</p> - -<p>SALOMÉ</p> - -<p>But he is terrible, he is terrible!</p> - -<p>THE YOUNG SYRIAN</p> - -<p>Do not stay here, Princess, I beseech you.</p> - -<p>SALOMÉ</p> - -<p>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?</p> - -<p>THE YOUNG SYRIAN</p> - -<p>Do not stay here, Princess. I pray you do not stay here.</p> - -<p>SALOMÉ</p> - -<p>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 moonbeam, -like a shaft of silver. His flesh must be cool like ivory. I would look -closer at him.</p> - -<p>THE YOUNG SYRIAN</p> - -<p>No, no, Princess.</p> - -<p>SALOMÉ</p> - -<p>I must look at him closer.</p> - -<p>THE YOUNG SYRIAN</p> - -<p>Princess! Princess!</p> - -<p>JOKANAAN</p> - -<p>Who is this woman who is looking at me? I 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.</p> - -<p>SALOMÉ</p> - -<p>I am Salomé, daughter of Herodias, Princess of Judæa.</p> - -<p>JOKANAAN</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>SALOMÉ</p> - -<p>Speak again, Jokanaan. Thy voice is wine to me.</p> - -<p>THE YOUNG SYRIAN</p> - -<p>Princess! Princess! Princess!</p> - -<p>SALOMÉ</p> - -<p>Speak again! Speak again, Jokanaan, and tell me what I must do.</p> - -<p>JOKANAAN</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>SALOMÉ</p> - -<p>Who is he, the Son of Man? Is he as beautiful as thou art, Jokanaan?</p> - -<p>JOKANAAN</p> - -<p>Get thee behind me! I hear in the palace the beating of the wings of the -angel of death.</p> - -<p>THE YOUNG SYRIAN</p> - -<p>Princess, I beseech thee to go within.</p> - -<p>JOKANAAN</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> -<a id="img008"></a> -<img src="images/sal_0059w.jpg" width="500" height="719" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p>SALOMÉ</p> - -<p>Jokanaan!</p> - -<p>JOKANAAN</p> - -<p>Who speaketh?</p> - -<p>SALOMÉ</p> - -<p>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 Judæa, 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.</p> - -<p>JOKANAAN</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>SALOMÉ</p> - -<p>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 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.</p> - -<p>JOKANAAN</p> - -<p>Back, daughter of Sodom! Touch me not. Profane not the temple of the -Lord God.</p> - -<p>SALOMÉ</p> - -<p>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 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.</p> - -<p>JOKANAAN</p> - -<p>Never! daughter of Babylon! Daughter of Sodom! Never.</p> - -<p>SALOMÉ</p> - -<p>I will kiss thy mouth, Jokanaan. I will kiss thy mouth.</p> - -<p>THE YOUNG SYRIAN</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>SALOMÉ</p> - -<p>I will kiss thy mouth, Jokanaan.</p> - -<p>THE YOUNG SYRIAN</p> - -<p>Ah! [<i>He kills himself and falls between Salomé and Jokanaan.</i>]</p> - -<p>THE PAGE OF HERODIAS</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>FIRST SOLDIER</p> - -<p>Princess, the young captain has just killed himself.</p> - -<p>SALOMÉ</p> - -<p>Let me kiss thy mouth, Jokanaan.</p> - -<p>JOKANAAN</p> - -<p>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?</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> -<a id="img009"></a> -<img src="images/sal_0065w.jpg" width="500" height="694" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p>SALOMÉ</p> - -<p>Let me kiss thy mouth.</p> - -<p>JOKANAAN</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>SALOMÉ</p> - -<p>Let me kiss thy mouth.</p> - -<p>JOKANAAN</p> - -<p>Cursed be thou! daughter of an incestuous mother, be thou accursed!</p> - -<p>SALOMÉ</p> - -<p>I will kiss thy mouth, Jokanaan.</p> - -<p>JOKANAAN</p> - -<p>I do no wish to look at thee. I will not look at thee, thou art -accursed, Salomé, thou art accursed. [<i>He goes down into the cistern.</i>]</p> - -<p>SALOMÉ</p> - -<p>I will kiss thy mouth, Jokanaan; I will kiss thy mouth.</p> - -<p>FIRST SOLDIER</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>THE PAGE OF HERODIAS</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>SECOND SOLDIER</p> - -<p>You are right; we must hide the body. The Tetrarch must not see it.</p> - -<p>FIRST SOLDIER</p> - -<p>The Tetrarch will not come to this place. He never comes on the terrace. -He is too much afraid of the prophet.</p> - -<p>[<i>Enter Herod, Herodias, and all the Court.</i>]</p> - -<p>HEROD</p> - -<p>Where is Salomé? Where is the Princess? Why did she not return to the -banquet as I commanded her? Ah! there she is!</p> - -<p>HERODIAS</p> - -<p>You must not look at her! You are always looking at her!</p> - -<p>HEROD</p> - -<p>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?</p> - -<p>HERODIAS </p> - -<p>No; the moon is like the moon, that is all. Let us go within.... You -have nothing to do here.</p> - -<p>HEROD</p> - -<p>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 Cæsar.</p> - -<p>HERODIAS</p> - -<p>It is not because of them that you remain.</p> - -<p>HEROD</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>FIRST SOLDIER</p> - -<p>It is our captain, sire. He is the young Syrian whom you made captain -only three days ago.</p> - -<p>HEROD </p> - -<p>I gave no order that he should be slain.</p> - -<p>SECOND SOLDIER</p> - -<p>He killed himself, sire.</p> - -<p>HEROD</p> - -<p>For what reason? I had made him captain.</p> - -<p>SECOND SOLDIER</p> - -<p>We do not know, sire. But he killed himself.</p> - -<p>HEROD</p> - -<p>That seems strange to me. I thought it was only the Roman philosophers -who killed themselves. Is it not true, Tigellinus, that the philosophers -at Rome kill themselves?</p> - -<p>TIGELLINUS</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>HEROD</p> - -<p>I also. It is ridiculous to kill oneself.</p> - -<p>TIGELLINUS</p> - -<p>Everybody at Rome laughs at them. The Emperor has written a satire -against them. It is recited everywhere.</p> - -<p>HEROD</p> - -<p>Ah! he has written a satire against them? Cæsar is wonderful. He can do -everything.... It is strange that the young Syrian has killed himself. 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 Salomé. Truly, I thought he -looked too much at her.</p> - -<p>HERODIAS</p> - -<p>There are others who look at her too much.</p> - -<p>HEROD</p> - -<p>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! [<i>They take away the body.</i>] It is cold here. There is -a wind blowing. Is there not a wind blowing?</p> - -<p>HERODIAS</p> - -<p>No; there is no wind.</p> - -<p>HEROD</p> - -<p>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?</p> - -<p>HERODIAS</p> - -<p>I hear nothing.</p> - -<p>HEROD</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>HERODIAS</p> - -<p>I tell you there is nothing. You are ill. Let us go within.</p> - -<p>HEROD</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>HERODIAS</p> - -<p>I have told you not to look at her.</p> - -<p>HEROD</p> - -<p>Pour me forth wine [<i>wine is brought</i>]. Salomé, come drink a little wine -with me. I have here a wine that is exquisite. Cæsar himself sent it me. -Dip into it thy little red lips, that I may drain the cup. </p> - -<p>SALOMÉ</p> - -<p>I am not thirsty, Tetrarch.</p> - -<p>HEROD</p> - -<p>You hear how she answers me, this daughter of yours?</p> - -<p>HERODIAS</p> - -<p>She does right. Why are you always gazing at her?</p> - -<p>HEROD</p> - -<p>Bring me ripe fruits [<i>fruits are brought</i>]. Salomé, 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.</p> - -<p>SALOMÉ</p> - -<p>I am not hungry, Tetrarch.</p> - -<p>HEROD</p> - -<p>[<i>To Herodias.</i>] You see how you have brought up this daughter of yours.</p> - -<p>HERODIAS</p> - -<p>My daughter and I come of a royal race. As for thee, thy father was a -camel driver! He was also a robber!</p> - -<p>HEROD</p> - -<p>Thou liest!</p> - -<p>HERODIAS</p> - -<p>Thou knowest well that it is true.</p> - -<p>HEROD</p> - -<p>Salomé, come and sit next to me. I will give thee the throne of thy -mother.</p> - -<p>SALOMÉ</p> - -<p>I am not tired, Tetrarch.</p> - -<p>HERODIAS</p> - -<p>You see what she thinks of you.</p> - -<p>HEROD</p> - -<p>Bring me—what is it that I desire? I forget. Ah! ah! I remember.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> -<a id="img010"></a> -<img src="images/sal_0075w.jpg" width="450" height="618" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p>THE VOICE OF JOKANAAN</p> - -<p>Lo! the time is come! That which I foretold has come to pass, saith the -Lord God. Lo! the day of which I spoke.</p> - -<p>HERODIAS</p> - -<p>Bid him be silent. I will not listen to his voice. This man is for ever -vomiting insults against me.</p> - -<p>HEROD</p> - -<p>He has said nothing against you. Besides, he is a very great prophet.</p> - -<p>HERODIAS</p> - -<p>I do not believe in prophets. Can a man tell what will come to pass? No -man knows it. Moreover, he is for ever insulting me. But I think you are -afraid of him.... I know well that you are afraid of him.</p> - -<p>HEROD</p> - -<p>I am not afraid of him. I am afraid of no man.</p> - -<p>HERODIAS</p> - -<p>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?</p> - -<p>A JEW</p> - -<p>Truly, my lord, it were better to deliver him into our hands.</p> - -<p>HEROD</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>A JEW</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>ANOTHER JEW</p> - -<p>Verily, no man knoweth if Elias the prophet did indeed see God. -Peradventure it was but the shadow of God that he saw.</p> - -<p>A THIRD JEW</p> - -<p>God is at no time hidden. He showeth Himself at all times and in -everything. God is in what is evil even as He is in what is good.</p> - -<p>A FOURTH JEW</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>A FIFTH JEW</p> - -<p>No one can tell how God worketh. His ways are very mysterious. It may be -that the things 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 regardeth not any man.</p> - -<p>FIRST JEW</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>HERODIAS</p> - -<p>Make them be silent. They weary me.</p> - -<p>HEROD</p> - -<p>But I have heard it said that Jokanaan himself is your prophet Elias.</p> - -<p>THE JEW</p> - -<p>That cannot be. It is more than three hundred years since the days of -the prophet Elias.</p> - -<p>HEROD</p> - -<p>There be some who say that this man is the prophet Elias.</p> - -<p>A NAZARENE</p> - -<p>I am sure that he is the prophet Elias.</p> - -<p>THE JEW</p> - -<p>Nay, but he is not the prophet Elias.</p> - -<p>THE VOICE OF JOKANAAN </p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>HEROD</p> - -<p>What does that mean? The Saviour of the world.</p> - -<p>TIGELLINUS</p> - -<p>It is a title that Cæsar takes.</p> - -<p>HEROD</p> - -<p>But Cæsar is not coming into Judæa. 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?</p> - -<p>TIGELLINUS</p> - -<p>Sire, I heard nothing concerning the matter. I was explaining the title. -It is one of Cæsar's titles.</p> - -<p>HEROD</p> - -<p>But Cæsar 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 come. Howbeit, Cæsar is lord, he will come -if he wishes. Nevertheless, I do not think he will come.</p> - -<p>FIRST NAZARENE</p> - -<p>It was not concerning Cæsar that the prophet spake these words, sire.</p> - -<p>HEROD</p> - -<p>Not of Cæsar?</p> - -<p>FIRST NAZARENE</p> - -<p>No, sire.</p> - -<p>HEROD</p> - -<p>Concerning whom then did he speak?</p> - -<p>FIRST NAZARENE</p> - -<p>Concerning Messias who has come.</p> - -<p>A JEW</p> - -<p>Messiah hath not come.</p> - -<p>FIRST NAZARENE</p> - -<p>He hath come, and everywhere He worketh miracles.</p> - -<p>HERODIAS Ho! ho! miracles! I do not believe in miracles. I have seen too -many. [<i>To the page.</i>] My fan!</p> - -<p>FIRST NAZARENE</p> - -<p>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 present related it to me. Also He -healed two lepers that were seated before the Gate of Capernaum simply -by touching them.</p> - -<p>SECOND NAZARENE</p> - -<p>Nay, it was blind men that he healed at Capernaum.</p> - -<p>FIRST NAZARENE</p> - -<p>Nay; they were lepers. But He hath healed blind people also, and He was -seen on a mountain talking with angels.</p> - -<p>A SADDUCEE</p> - -<p>Angels do not exist.</p> - -<p>A PHARISEE</p> - -<p>Angels exist, but I do not believe that this Man has talked with them.</p> - -<p>FIRST NAZARENE</p> - -<p>He was seen by a great multitude of people talking with angels.</p> - -<p>A SADDUCEE</p> - -<p>Not with angels.</p> - -<p>HERODIAS</p> - -<p>How these men weary me! They are ridiculous! [<i>To the page.</i>] Well! my -fan! [<i>The page gives her the fan.</i>] You have a dreamer's look; you must -not dream. It is only sick people who dream. [<i>She strikes the page with -her fan.</i>]</p> - -<p>SECOND NAZARENE</p> - -<p>There is also the miracle of the daughter of Jairus.</p> - -<p>FIRST NAZARENE</p> - -<p>Yes, that is sure. No man can gainsay it.</p> - -<p>HERODIAS</p> - -<p>These men are mad. They have looked too long on the moon. Command them -to be silent.</p> - -<p>HEROD</p> - -<p>What is this miracle of the daughter of Jairus?</p> - -<p>FIRST NAZARENE</p> - -<p>The daughter of Jairus was dead. He raised her from the dead.</p> - -<p>HEROD</p> - -<p>He raises the dead?</p> - -<p>FIRST NAZARENE</p> - -<p>Yea, sire, He raiseth the dead.</p> - -<p>HEROD</p> - -<p>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?</p> - -<p>SECOND NAZARENE</p> - -<p>He is in every place, my lord, but it is hard to find Him.</p> - -<p>FIRST NAZARENE</p> - -<p>It is said that He is now in Samaria.</p> - -<p>A JEW</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>SECOND NAZARENE</p> - -<p>He left Samaria a few days since. I think that at the present moment He -is in the neighbourhood of Jerusalem.</p> - -<p>FIRST NAZARENE</p> - -<p>No; He is not there. I have just come from Jerusalem. For two months -they have had no tidings of Him.</p> - -<p>HEROD</p> - -<p>No matter! But let them find Him, and tell Him from me, I will not allow -him to raise the 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.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> -<a id="img011"></a> -<img src="images/sal_0085w.jpg" width="450" height="607" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p>THE VOICE OF JOKANAAN</p> - -<p>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....</p> - -<p>HERODIAS</p> - -<p>Command him to be silent.</p> - -<p>THE VOICE OF JOKANAAN</p> - -<p>Let the war captains pierce her with their swords, let them crush her -beneath their shields.</p> - -<p>HERODIAS</p> - -<p>Nay, but it is infamous.</p> - -<p>THE VOICE OF JOKANAAN</p> - -<p>It is thus that I will wipe out all wickedness from the earth, and that -all women shall learn not to imitate her abominations.</p> - -<p>HERODIAS</p> - -<p>You hear what he says against me? You allow him to revile your wife?</p> - -<p>HEROD</p> - -<p>He did not speak your name.</p> - -<p>HERODIAS</p> - -<p>What does that matter? You know well that it is I whom he seeks to -revile. And I am your wife, am I not?</p> - -<p>HEROD</p> - -<p>Of a truth, dear and noble Herodias, you are my wife, and before that -you were the wife of my brother.</p> - -<p>HERODIAS</p> - -<p>It was you who tore me from his arms.</p> - -<p>HEROD</p> - -<p>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 Cæsar. There are Romans here, we must drink to Cæsar.</p> - -<p>ALL</p> - -<p>Cæsar! Cæsar!</p> - -<p>HEROD</p> - -<p>Do you not see your daughter, how pale she is?</p> - -<p>HERODIAS</p> - -<p>What is it to you if she be pale or not?</p> - -<p>HEROD</p> - -<p>Never have I seen her so pale.</p> - -<p>HERODIAS</p> - -<p>You must not look at her.</p> - -<p>THE VOICE OF JOKANAAN</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>HERODIAS</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>HEROD</p> - -<p>I will not. I cannot understand what it is that he saith, but it may be -an omen.</p> - -<p>HERODIAS</p> - -<p>I do not believe in omens. He speaks like a drunken man.</p> - -<p>HEROD</p> - -<p>It may be he is drunk with the wine of God.</p> - -<p>HERODIAS</p> - -<p>What wine is that, the wine of God? From what vineyards is it gathered? -In what wine-press may one find it?</p> - -<p>HEROD</p> - -<p>[<i>From this point he looks all the while at Salomé.</i>]</p> - -<p>Tigellinus, when you were at Rome of late, did the Emperor speak with -you on the subject of...?</p> - -<p>TIGELLINUS</p> - -<p>On what subject, sire?</p> - -<p>HEROD</p> - -<p>On what subject? Ah! I asked you a question, did I not? I have forgotten -what I would have asked you.</p> - -<p>HERODIAS</p> - -<p>You are looking again at my daughter. You must not look at her. I have -already said so.</p> - -<p>HEROD</p> - -<p>You say nothing else.</p> - -<p>HERODIAS</p> - -<p>I say it again.</p> - -<p>HEROD</p> - -<p>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?</p> - -<p>HERODIAS</p> - -<p>It was thyself didst steal it. Thou speakest at random. I will not stay -here. Let us go within.</p> - -<p>HEROD</p> - -<p>Dance for me, Salomé.</p> - -<p>HERODIAS</p> - -<p>I will not have her dance.</p> - -<p>SALOMÉ</p> - -<p>I have no desire to dance, Tetrarch.</p> - -<p>HEROD</p> - -<p>Salomé, daughter of Herodias, dance for me.</p> - -<p>HERODIAS</p> - -<p>Let her alone.</p> - -<p>HEROD</p> - -<p>I command thee to dance, Salomé.</p> - -<p>SALOMÉ</p> - -<p>I will not dance, Tetrarch.</p> - -<p>HERODIAS</p> - -<p>[<i>Laughing</i>].</p> - -<p>You see how she obeys you.</p> - -<p>HEROD</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>FIRST SOLDIER</p> - -<p>The Tetrarch has a sombre look. Has he not a sombre look?</p> - -<p>SECOND SOLDIER</p> - -<p>Yes, he has a sombre look.</p> - -<p>HEROD</p> - -<p>Wherefore should I not be happy? Cæsar, 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, Cæsar 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.</p> - -<p>THE VOICE OF JOKANAAN</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>HERODIAS</p> - -<p>You hear what he says about you. He says that you will be eaten of -worms.</p> - -<p>HEROD</p> - -<p>It is not of me that he speaks. He speaks never against me. It is of the -King of Cappadocia 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.</p> - -<p>HERODIAS</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>HEROD</p> - -<p>Peace, woman! I say that you are sterile. You have borne me no child, -and the prophet 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.</p> - -<p>HERODIAS</p> - -<p>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 Cæsar's ambassadors, must they not?</p> - -<p>SECOND SOLDIER</p> - -<p>What a sombre look the Tetrarch wears.</p> - -<p>FIRST SOLDIER</p> - -<p>Yes, he wears a sombre look.</p> - -<p>HEROD</p> - -<p>Salomé, Salomé, 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, -Salomé, 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.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> -<a id="img012"></a> -<img src="images/sal_0095w.jpg" width="450" height="644" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p>SALOMÉ</p> - -<p>[<i>Rising.</i>] Will you indeed give me whatsoever I shall ask, Tetrarch?</p> - -<p>HERODIAS</p> - -<p>Do not dance, my daughter.</p> - -<p>HEROD </p> - -<p>Everything, even the half of my kingdom.</p> - -<p>SALOMÉ</p> - -<p>You swear it, Tetrarch?</p> - -<p>HEROD</p> - -<p>I swear it, Salomé.</p> - -<p>HERODIAS</p> - -<p>Do not dance, my daughter.</p> - -<p>SALOMÉ</p> - -<p>By what will you swear, Tetrarch?</p> - -<p>HEROD</p> - -<p>By my life, by my crown, by my gods. Whatsoever you desire I will give -it you, even to the half of my kingdom, if you will but dance for me. O, -Salomé, Salomé, dance for me!</p> - -<p>SALOMÉ</p> - -<p>You have sworn, Tetrarch.</p> - -<p>HEROD</p> - -<p>I have sworn, Salomé.</p> - -<p>SALOMÉ</p> - -<p>All this I ask, even the half of your kingdom.</p> - -<p>HERODIAS</p> - -<p>My daughter, do not dance.</p> - -<p>HEROD</p> - -<p>Even to the half of my kingdom. Thou wilt be passing fair as a queen, -Salomé, 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 ... wherefore 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. [<i>He tears the -wreath from his head and throws it on the table.</i>] 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, 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, Salomé? You have promised to dance for me.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 491px;"> -<a id="img013"></a> -<img src="images/sal_0099w.jpg" width="491" height="683" alt="" /> -<span class="caption">THE TOILETTE OF SALOMÉ—II</span> -</div> - -<p>HERODIAS</p> - -<p>I will not have her dance.</p> - -<p>SALOMÉ</p> - -<p>I will dance for you, Tetrarch.</p> - -<p>HEROD</p> - -<p>You hear what your daughter says. She is going to dance for me. You do -well to dance for me, Salomé. 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?</p> - -<p>SALOMÉ</p> - -<p>You have sworn it, Tetrarch.</p> - -<p>HEROD</p> - -<p>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 ambassadors. He has spoken words that were -wounding. But Cæsar will crucify him when he comes to Rome. I am sure -that Cæsar will crucify him. And if not, yet will he die, being eaten of -worms. The prophet has prophesied it. Well! wherefore dost thou tarry, -Salomé?</p> - -<p>SALOMÉ</p> - -<p>I am awaiting until my slaves bring perfumes to me and the seven veils, -and take off my sandals. [<i>Slaves bring perfumes and the seven veils, -and take off the sandals of Salomé.</i>]</p> - -<p>HEROD</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>HERODIAS</p> - -<p>What is it to you if she dance on blood? Thou hast waded deep enough -therein....</p> - -<p>HEROD</p> - -<p>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?</p> - -<p>HERODIAS</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>THE VOICE OF JOKANAAN</p> - -<p>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 greatness? Wherefore is thy raiment -stained with scarlet?</p> - -<p>HERODIAS</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>HEROD</p> - -<p>Do not rise, my wife, my queen, it will avail thee nothing. I will not -go within till she hath danced. Dance, Salomé, dance for me.</p> - -<p>HERODIAS</p> - -<p>Do not dance, my daughter.</p> - -<p>SALOMÉ</p> - -<p>I am ready, Tetrarch.</p> - -<p>[<i>Salomé dances the dance of the seven veils.</i>]</p> - -<p>HEROD</p> - -<p>Ah! wonderful! wonderful! You see that she has danced for me, your -daughter. Come near, Salomé, 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.</p> - -<p>SALOMÉ</p> - -<p>[<i>Kneeling</i>].</p> - -<p>I would that they presently bring me in a silver charger....</p> - -<p>HEROD</p> - -<p>[Laughing.]</p> - -<p>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 Salomé, you who are fairer than all the daughters of Judæa? 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, Salomé?</p> - -<p>SALOMÉ</p> - -<p>[<i>Rising</i>].</p> - -<p>The head of Jokanaan.</p> - -<p>HERODIAS</p> - -<p>Ah! that is well said, my daughter.</p> - -<p>HEROD</p> - -<p>No, no!</p> - -<p>HERODIAS</p> - -<p>That is well said, my daughter.</p> - -<p>HEROD </p> - -<p>No, no, Salomé. 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.</p> - -<p>SALOMÉ</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>HEROD</p> - -<p>I know it. I have sworn by my gods. I know it well. But I pray you, -Salomé, 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.</p> - -<p>SALOMÉ</p> - -<p>I ask of you the head of Jokanaan.</p> - -<p>HEROD</p> - -<p>No, no, I do not wish it.</p> - -<p>SALOMÉ</p> - -<p>You have sworn, Herod.</p> - -<p>HERODIAS</p> - -<p>Yes, you have sworn. Everybody heard you. You swore it before -everybody.</p> - -<p>HEROD</p> - -<p>Be silent! It is not to you I speak.</p> - -<p>HERODIAS</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>HEROD</p> - -<p>Be silent, speak not to me!... Come, Salomé, 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 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 Cæsar's minion sent me. If you look through this emerald -you can see things which happen at a great distance. Cæsar 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.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> -<a id="img014"></a> -<img src="images/sal_0107w.jpg" width="500" height="681" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p>SALOMÉ</p> - -<p>I demand the head of Jokanaan.</p> - -<p>HEROD</p> - -<p>You are not listening. You are not listening. Suffer me to speak, -Salomé.</p> - -<p>SALOMÉ</p> - -<p>The head of Jokanaan.</p> - -<p>HEROD</p> - -<p>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 should one look. Only in -mirrors should one look, for mirrors do but show us masks. Oh! oh! bring -wine! I thirst.... Salomé, Salomé, let us be friends. Come now!... Ah! -what would I say? What was't? Ah! I remember!... Salomé—nay, but come -nearer to me; I fear you will not hear me—Salomé, 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 Cæsar 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.</p> - -<p> -<span style="margin-left: 12em;">[<i>He empties the cup of wine.</i>]</span><br /> -</p> - -<p>SALOMÉ</p> - -<p>Give me the head of Jokanaan.</p> - -<p>HERODIAS</p> - -<p>Well said, my daughter! As for you, you are ridiculous with your -peacocks.</p> - -<p>HEROD</p> - -<p>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 Salomé, 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, -Salomé, you do not wish a misfortune to happen to me? You do not wish -that. Listen to me, then.</p> - -<p>SALOMÉ</p> - -<p>Give me the head of Jokanaan.</p> - -<p>HEROD</p> - -<p>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 chrysoprases 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 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 incrusted 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, Salomé? -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.</p> - -<p>THE JEWS</p> - -<p>Oh! oh! </p> - -<p>SALOMÉ</p> - -<p>Give me the head of Jokanaan.</p> - -<p>HEROD</p> - -<p>[<i>Sinking back in his seat</i>]. Let her be given what she asks! Of a truth -she is her mother's child! [<i>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.</i>] 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. [<i>The Executioner goes down into the cistern.</i>] 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.</p> - -<p>HERODIAS</p> - -<p>My daughter has done well.</p> - -<p>HEROD</p> - -<p>I am sure that some misfortune will happen.</p> - -<p>SALOMÉ</p> - -<p>[<i>She leans over the cistern and listens.</i>]</p> - -<p>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 is a coward, this slave! Let soldiers be sent. -[<i>She sees the Page of Herodias and addresses him.</i>] 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. [<i>The Page recoils. She turns to the soldiers.</i>] -Hither, ye soldiers. Get ye down into this cistern and bring me the head -of this man. [<i>The Soldiers recoil.</i>] Tetrarch, Tetrarch, command your -soldiers that they bring me the head of Jokanaan.</p> - -<p>[<i>A huge black arm, the arm of the Executioner, comes forth from the -cistern, bearing on a silver shield the head of Jokanaan. Salomé seizes -it. Herod hides his face with his cloak. Herodias smiles and fans -herself. The Nazarenes fall on their knees and begin to pray.</i>]</p> - -<p>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 terrible, 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, 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, Salomé, daughter of Herodias, Princess of Judæa! 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 perfumes, 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, 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.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> -<a id="img015"></a> -<img src="images/sal_0117w.jpg" width="500" height="679" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p>HEROD</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>HERODIAS</p> - -<p>I approve of what my daughter has done. And I will stay here now.</p> - -<p>HEROD</p> - -<p>[<i>Rising</i>].</p> - -<p>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 the -stars! Let us hide ourselves in our palace, Herodias. I begin to be -afraid.</p> - -<p>[<i>The slaves put out the torches. The stars disappear. A great black -cloud crosses the moon and conceals it completely. The stage becomes -very dark. The Tetrarch begins to climb the staircase.</i>]</p> - -<p>THE VOICE OF SALOMÉ</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>[<i>A moonbeam falls on Salomé covering her with light.</i>]</p> - -<p>HEROD</p> - -<p>[<i>Turning round and seeing Salomé</i>.]</p> - -<p>Kill that woman!</p> - -<p>[<i>The soldiers rush forward and crush beneath their shields Salomé, -daughter of Herodias, Princess of Judæa.</i>]</p> - -<p>CURTAIN.</p> - - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 350px;"> -<a id="img016"></a> -<img src="images/sal_0121w.jpg" width="350" height="330" alt="" /> -</div> - - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Salomé, by Oscar Wilde - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SALOMÉ *** - -***** This file should be named 42704-h.htm or 42704-h.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/4/2/7/0/42704/ - -Produced by Marc D'Hooghe at http://www.freeliterature.org -(Images generously made available by the Internet Archive.) - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: Salome - A Tragedy in One Act - -Author: Oscar Wilde - -Illustrator: Aubrey Beardsley - -Translator: Alfred, Lord Douglas - -Release Date: May 12, 2013 [EBook #42704] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ASCII - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SALOME *** - - - - -Produced by Marc D'Hooghe at http://www.freeliterature.org -(Images generously made available by the Internet Archive.) - - - - - -[Illustration: THE WOMAN IN THE MOON] - -[Illustration: TITLE PAGE] - - -SALOME - -A TRAGEDY IN ONE ACT: - -TRANSLATED FROM THE FRENCH OF - -OSCAR WILDE, - -WITH SIXTEEN DRAWINGS BY AUBREY BEARDSLEY - -LONDON: JOHN LANE, THE BODLEY HEAD - -NEW YORK: JOHN LANE COMPANY, MCMVII - -[Illustration: COVER DESIGN] - - - - - 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." - - -"SALOME" has made the author's name a household word wherever the -English language 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 characteristic 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 unsuspected 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 _tour de force_, 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 literature--not for the artist. - - I remain, Sir, your obedient servant, - - OSCAR WILDE. - - - -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, vociferating 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 part of the -repertoire of the German stage, where it is performed more often -than any play by any English writer except Shakespeare. Owing, -perhaps, 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 contemplated 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 -occasion occurs in a letter Wilde wrote to me from Reading:-- - -"Please say how gratified I was at the performance 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 or -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 contemporaries, -says that "Salome" is only a catalogue; 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. 1), Herod Antipas (_Mat._ xiv. 3), and Herod Agrippa (Acts -xiii), but the confusion 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 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 himself 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. - - -[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. - - - -[Illustration] - -LIST OF THE PICTURES BY AUBREY BEARDSLEY. - -1. THE WOMAN IN THE MOON. 2. TITLE PAGE. 3. COVER DESIGN. 4. LIST -OF THE PICTURES. 5. THE PEACOCK SKIRT. 6. THE BLACK CAPE. 7. A -PLATONIC LAMENT. 8. JOHN AND SALOME. 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. 15. THE CLIMAX. 16. CUL DE LAMPE. - - - * * * * * - - - - -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. - - - - - * * * * * - - -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-hall._] - -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. - - -[Illustration: THE PEACOCK SKIRT] - - -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. - -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 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 -solitary 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? - -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 terrible 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 butterflies. - -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? - -[Illustration: THE BLACK CAPE] - -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 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 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 herself. 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? - -SECOND SOLDIER - -We never understand what he says, Princess. - -SALOME - -Yes; he says terrible things about her. - -[_Enter a Slave_.] - -THE SLAVE - -Princess, the Tetrarch prays you to return to the feast. - -SALOME - -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. - -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. - -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. - -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 tiling 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. - -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 back._] - -[Illustration: A PLATONIC LAMENT] - -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 Captains of Assyria, who -have baldricks on their 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 incestuousness, 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 abominations; 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. - -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 moonbeam, 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? I 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. - -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. - -[Illustration: JOHN AND SALOME] - -SALOME - -Jokanaan! - -JOKANAAN - -Who speaketh? - -SALOME - -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 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. - -SALOME - -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 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. - -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? - -[Illustration: ENTER HERODIAS] - -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. - -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 commanded her? Ah! there she is! - -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. - -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 themselves. Is it not true, Tigellinus, -that the philosophers 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 himself. 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. - -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 blowing. 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. - -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. - -SALOME - -I am not hungry, Tetrarch. - -HEROD - -[_To Herodias._] 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. - -[Illustration: THE EYES OF HEROD] - -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. Moreover, 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. - -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 Himself 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 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 regardeth 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. - -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 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! - -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 present 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. - -HERODIAS - -How these men weary me! They are ridiculous! [_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. - -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 neighbourhood 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 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. - -[Illustration: THE STOMACH DANCE] - -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? - -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! - -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. - -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 question, 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. - -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. - -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. - -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 Cappadocia 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 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 -ambassadors, 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. - -[Illustration: THE TOILETTE OF SALOME--I] - -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. Whatsoever 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, Salome. - -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 ... wherefore 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 table._] -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, 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. - -[Illustration: THE TOILETTE OF SALOME--II] - -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 -ambassadors. He has spoken words that were wounding. 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 Salome._] - -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? - -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 greatness? -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. - -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? - -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. - -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 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. - -[Illustration: THE DANCER'S REWARD] - -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 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 remember!... 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._] - -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. - -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 chrysoprases 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 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 incrusted 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 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 -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 terrible, 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, 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 perfumes, 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, 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. - -[Illustration: THE CLIMAX] - -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 the stars! Let us hide ourselves in -our palace, Herodias. I begin to be afraid. - -[_The slaves put out the torches. The stars disappear. 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 Salome_.] - -Kill that woman! - -[_The soldiers rush forward and crush beneath their shields -Salome, daughter of Herodias, Princess of Judaea._] - -CURTAIN. - - -[Illustration: CUL DE LAMPE] - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Salome, by Oscar Wilde - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SALOME *** - -***** This file should be named 42704.txt or 42704.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/4/2/7/0/42704/ - -Produced by Marc D'Hooghe at http://www.freeliterature.org -(Images generously made available by the Internet Archive.) - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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