[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]