the Lord, that she may repent her of
her iniquities. Though she will not
repent, but will stick fast in her abom-
inations, go bid her come, for the fan
of the Lord is in His hand.
SALOME
Ah, but he is terrible, he is terrible !
THE YOUNG SYRIAN
Do not stay here, Princess, I beseech
you.
29
^ Salome
SALOME
It is his eyes above all that are ter-
rible. They are like black holes burned
by torches in a tapestry of Tyre. They
are like the black caverns where the
dragons live, 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
30
Salome ^
a shaft of silver. His flesh must be very
cold, cold as ivory. ... I w^ould look
closer at him.
THE YOUNG SYRIAN
No, no. Princess.
SALOME
I must look closer at him.
THE YOUNG SYRIAN
Princess ! Princess !
lOKANAAN
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 desire
to know who she is. Bid her begone.
It is not to her that I would speak.
3^
-^ Salome
SALOME
I am Salome, daughter of Herodias,
Pnncess of Judaea.
lOKANAAN
Back 1 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
sinning hath come up even to the ears
of God.
SALOME
Speak again, lokanaan. Thy voice
is as music to mine ear.
THE YOUNG SYRIAN
Princess ! Princess ! Princess !
SALOME
Speak again! Speak again, loka-
naan, and tell me what I must do.
32
Salome ^
lOKANAAN
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, lokanaan ?
lOKANAAN
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.
lOKANAAN
Angel of the Lord God, what dost
thou here with thy sword ? Whom
33
•^ Salome
seekest thou in this palace ? The day of
him who shall die in a robe of silver
has not yet come.
SALOME
lokanaan !
lOKANAAN
Who speaketh ?
SALOME
I am amorous of thy body, lokanaan !
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 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 of the garden of the Queen
34
Salome ^
of Arabia, the garden of spices of the
Queen of Arabia, nor the feet of the
dawn when they Hght 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. Suffer me to touch thy body.
lOKANAAN
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
35
^ Salome
made their nest. It is like a whited
sepulchre, full of loathsome things.
It is horrible, thy body is horrible. It
is of thy hair that I am enamoured,
lokanaan. 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 them by day. The
long black nights, when the moon hides
her face, when the stars are afraid, are
not so black as thy hair. The silence
that dwells in the forest is not so black.
There is nothing in the world that is so
black as thy hair. . . . Suffer me to
touch thy hair.
36
Salome ^
lOKANAAN
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 placed on thy head. It is like a
knot of serpents coiled round thy neck.
I love not thy hair. ... It is thy
mouth that I desire, lokanaan. Thy
mouth is like a band of scarlet on a
tower of ivory. It is like a pomegranate
cut in twain 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 ap-
^ Salome
proach 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. It is redder
than the feet of the doves who inhabit
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 I ... 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
38
Salome
^
as thy mouth. . . . Suffer me to kiss
thy mouth.
lOKANAAN
Never 1 daughter of Babylon ! Daugh-
ter of Sodom ! never !
SALOME
I will kiss thy mouth, lokanaan. 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 endure it. . . .
Princess, do not speak these things.
SALOME
I will kiss thy mouth, lokanaan.
39
\
^ Salome
THE YOUNG SYRIAN
Ah! [He kills himself and falls be-
tween Salome and lokanaan.]
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 say
that some misfortune would happen ?
I, too, said it, and it has come to pass.
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.
40
Salome ^
FIRST SOLDIER
Princess, the young captain has just
slain himself.
SALOME
Suffer me to kiss thy mouth, lokanaan.
lOKANAAN
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 ?
SALOME
Suffer me to kiss thy mouth.
lOKANAAN
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
41
^ Salome
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 unto Him He cometh,
bow thyself at His feet and ask of
Him the remission of thy sins.
SALOME
Suffer me to kiss thy mouth.
lOKANAAN
Cursed be thou ! daughter of an in-
cestuous mother, be thou accursed!
SALOME
I will kiss thy mouth, lokanaan.
lOKANAAN
I will not look at thee. Thou art
accursed, Salome, thou art accursed.
[He goes Jozun into the cistern.^
42
Salome ^
SALOME
I will kiss thy mouth, lokanaan; I
will kiss thy mouth.
FIRST SOLDIER
We must bear away the body to an-
other 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 always wore on his hand. In the
evening we were wont to walk by the
river, and among the almond-trees, and
he used to tell me the things of his coun-
try. He spake ever very low. The
sound of his voice was like the sound of
43
•^ Salome
the flute, of one who playeth upon the
flute. Also he had much joy 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 Herody HerodiaSy 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 !
44
Salome ^
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 hke a mad woman,
is she not?
45
-^ Salome
HERODIAS
No; the moon is like the moon, that
is all. Let us go within. . . . We
have nothing to do here.
HEROD
I will stay here ! Manasseh, lay car-
pets there. Light torches. Bring forth
the ivory tables, and the tables of jasper.
The air here is sweet. 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 very sweet. Come,
Herodias, our guests await us. Ah ! I
46
Salome ^
e^vv
have slipped ! I have slipped in blood !
It is an ill omen. It is a very ill omen.
Wherefore is there blood here ? . . . and
this body, what does this body here .?
Think you I am Hke 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. It is the young
Syrian whom you made captain of the
guard but three days gone.
HEROD
I issued no order that he should be
slain.
SECOND SOLDIER
He slew himself, sire.
47
-^ Salome
HEROD
For what reason ? I had made him
captain of my guard !
SECOND SOLDIER
We do not know, sire. But with his
own hand he slew himself.
HEROD
That seems strange to me. I had
thought it was but the Roman philoso-
phers who slew themselves. Is it not
true, Tigellinus, that the philosophers
at Rome slay themselves ?
tigeLlinus
There be some who slay themselves,
sire. They are the Stoics. The Stoics
are people of no cultivation. They
are ridiculous people. I myself regard
them as being perfectly ridiculous.
48
Salome ^
HEROD
I also. It is ridiculous to kill one*s-
self.
TIGELLINUS
Everybody at Rome laughs at them.
The Emperor has written a satire
against them. It is recited every-
where.
HEROD
Ah ! he has written a satire against
them ? Csesar is wonderful. He can do
everything. ... It is strange that the
young Syrian has slain himself. I am
sorry he has slain 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
49
•^ Salome
Salome. Truly, I thought he looked
too much at her.
HERODIAS
There are others who look too much
at her.
HEROD
His father was a king. I drave him
from his kingdom. And of his mother,
who was a queen, you made a slave,
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 ?
It must be taken to some other place.
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?
50
Salome ^
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. It has
passed away. But, no, I hear it again.
Do you not hear it ? It is just like a
beating of wings.
SI
-^ Salome
HERODIAS
I tell you there is nothing. You are
ill. Let us eo within.
ill. Let us go within
HEROD
I am not ill. It is your daughter who
is sick to death. Never have I seen her
so pale.
HERODIAS
I have told you not to look at her.
HEROD
Pour me forth wine. [fFine 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 Uttle red lips, that I may
drain the cup.
52
Salome ^
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 fruits
with me. I love to see in a fruit the
mark of thy Httle teeth. Bite but a little
of this fruit, that I may eat what is
left.
SALOME
I am not hungry, Tetrarch.
53
^ Salome
HEROD
[To Herod ias.] 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 a thief and a
robber to boot!
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.
54
Salome ^
SALOME
I am not tired, Tetrarch.
HERODIAS
You see in what regard she holds you.
HEROD
Bring me — What is it that I desire ?
I forget. Ah ! ah ! I remember.
THE VOICE OF lOKANAAN
Behold the time is come! That
which I foretold has come to pass. The
day that I spake of is at hand.
HERODIAS
Bid him be silent. I will not listen to
his voice. This man is for ever hurling
insults against me.
HEROD
He has said nothing against you.
Besides, he is a very great prophet.
55
^ Salome
HERODIAS
I do not believe in prophets. Can a
man tell what will come to pass ? No
man knows it. Also he is for ever in-
sulting 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 clam-
ouring for him .?
56
Salome ^
A JEW
Truly, my lord, it were better to
deliver him into our hands.
HEROD
Enough on this subject. I have al-
ready 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
face to face. In these days God doth
not show Himself. God hideth Himself.
Therefore great evils have come upon
the land.
57 /
-^ Salome
ANOTHER JEW
Verily, no man knoweth if Elias the
prophet did indeed see God. Perad-
venture it was but the shadow of God
that he saw.
A THIRD JEW
God is at no time hidden. He show-
eth Himself at all times and in all places.
God is in what is evil even as He is in
what is good.
A FOURTH JEW
Thou shouldst not say that. It is a
very dangerous doctrine. It is a doctrine
that Cometh from Alexandria, where
men teach the philosophy of the Greeks.
And the Greeks are Gentiles. They
are not even circumcised.
58
Salome ^
A FIFTH JEW
No man can tell how God worketh.
His ways are very dark. 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
anything. We can but bow our heads
to His will, for God is very strong. He
breaketh in pieces the strong together
with the weak, for He regardeth not
any man.
FIRST JEW
Thou speakest truly. Verily, God
is terrible. He breaketh in pieces the
strong and the weak as men break corn
in a mortar. But as for this man, he
hath never seen God. No man hath
seen God since the prophet Elias.
59 '
•^ Salome
HERODIAS
Make them be silent. They weary
me.
HEROD
But I have heard it said that lokanaan
is in very truth your prophet Elias.
THE JEW
That cannot be. It is more than three
hundred years since the days of the
prophet EHas.
HEROD
There be some who say that this man
is EHas the prophet.
A NAZARENE
I am sure that he is Elias the prophet.
THE JEW
Nay, but he is not Elias the prophet.
60
Salome
THE VOICE OF lOKANAAN
Behold the day is at hand, the day of
the Lord, and I hear upon the moun-
tains 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 adopts.
HEROD
But Caesar is not coming into Judaea.
Only yesterday I received letters from
Rome. They contained nothing con-
cerning this matter. And you, Tigelli-
nus, who were at Rome during the v in-
6i
•^ Salome
ter, you heard nothing concerning this
matter, did you ?
TIGELLINUS
Sire, I heard nothing concerning the
matter. I was but 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. How-
beit, Caesar is lord, he will come if such
be his pleasure. Nevertheless, I think
he will not come.
FIRST NAZARENE
It was not concerning Caesar that the
prophet spake these words, sire.
62
Salome ^
HEROD
How ? — it was not concerning
Caesar ?
FIRST NAZARENE
No, my lord.
HEROD
Concerning whom then did he speak ?
FIRST NAZARENE
Concerning Messias, who hath come.
A JEW
Messias 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. /
^ Salome
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 two 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.
64
Salome ^
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.
HERODIAS
How these men weary me ! They are
ridiculous ! They are altogether ridicu-
lous 1 [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.] /
65
•^ Salome
SECOND NAZARENE
There is also the miracle of the
daughter of Jairus.
FIRST NAZARENE
Yea, that is sure. No man can gain-
say it.
HERODIAS
Those men are mad. They have
looked too long on the moon. Com-
mand them to be silent.
HEROD
What is this miracle of the daughter
of Jairus ?
FIRST NAZARENE
The daughter of Jairus was dead.
This Man raised her from the dead.
66
Salome ^
HEROD
How! He raises people from the
dead ?
FIRST NAZARENE
Yea, sire; He raiseth the dead.
HEROD
I do not wish Him to do that. I for-
bid Him to do that. I suffer 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.
67
-^ Salome
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, thus saith Herod the
King, ' I will not suffer Thee to raise
68
Salome ^
the dead.' To change water into wine,
to heal the lepers and blind . . .
He may do these things if He will. I
say nothing against these things. In
truth, I hold it a kindly deed to heal a
leper. But no man shall raise the dead.
... It would be terrible if the dead
came back.
THE VOICE OF lOKANAAN
Ah ! The wanton one ! 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!
69
•^ Salome
THE VOICE OF lOKANAAN
Let the captains of the hosts pierce
her with their swords, let them crush
her beneath their shields.
HERODIAS
Nay, but it is infamous.
THE VOICE OF lOKANAAN
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 suffer him to revile her who is your
wife!
HEROD
He did not speak your name.
70
Salome ^
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 thou didst snatch me from his
arms.
HEROD
Of a truth I was stronger than he
wa3. . . . 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. Perad-
venture on account of it misfortune will
71
-^ Salome
come. Let us not speak of this matter.
Noble Herodias, we are not mindful
of our guests. Fill thou my cup, my
well-beloved. Ho! 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 Caesan
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.
72
Salome ^
HERODIAS
You must not look at her.
THE VOICE OF lOKANAAN
In that day the sun shall become
black Hke sackcloth of hair, and the
moon shall become like blood, and the
stars of the heaven shall fall upon the
earth like unripe 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 un-
ripe figs. This prophet talks like a
drunken man, . . . but I cannot suf-
fer the sound of his voice. I hate
73
^ Salome
his voice. Command him to be si-
lent.
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 gath-
ered ? In what wine-press may one find
it?
74
Salome
£?-«4L
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, my lord ?
HEROD
On what subject ? Ah ! I asked you