THE YOUNG SYRIAN: She has a strange aspect! She is like a little princess, whose eyes are eyes of amber. Through the clouds of muslin she is smiling like a little princess [The prophet comes out of the cistern. Salome looks at him and steps slowly back]

  IOKANAAN: Where is he whose cup of abominations is now full? Where is he, who in a robe of silver shall one day die in the face of all the people? Bid him come forth, that he may hear the voice of him who hath cried in the waste places and in the houses of kings.

  SALOME: Of whom is he speaking?

  THE YOUNG SYRIAN: No one can tell, Princess.

  IOKANAAN: Where is she who saw the images of men painted on the walls, even the images of the Chaldæans painted with colours, and gave herself up unto the lust of her eyes, and sent ambassadors into the land of Chaldæa?

  SALOME: It is of my mother that he is speaking.

  THE YOUNG SYRIAN: Oh no, Princess?

  SALOME: Yes: it is of my mother that he is speaking.

  IOKANAAN: Where is she who gave herself unto the Captains of Assyria, who have many baldricks on their loins, and crowns of many colours on their heads? Where is she who hath given herself to the young men of the Egyptians, who are clothed in fine linen and hyacinth, whose shields are of gold, whose helmets are of silver, whose bodies are mighty? Go, 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 of her iniquities. Though she will not repent, but will stick fast in her abominations, 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.

  SALOME: It is his eyes above all that are terrible. They are like black holes burnt 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 a shaft of silver. His flesh must be very cold, cold as ivory... I would look closer at him.

  THE YOUNG SYRIAN: No, no, Princess!

  SALOME: I must look at him closer.

  THE YOUNG SYRIAN: Princess! Princess!

  IOKANAAN: 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.

  SALOME: I am Salome, daughter of Herodias, Princess of Judæa.

  IOKANAAN: 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 sinning hath come up even to the ears of God.

  SALOME: Speak again, Iokanaan. Thy voice is as music to mine ear.

  THE YOUNG SYRIAN: Princess! Princess! Princess!

  SALOME: Speak again! Speak again, Iokanaan, and tell me what I must do.

  IOKANAAN: Daughter of Sodom, come not near me! But cover thy head 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, Iokanaan?

  IOKANAAN: 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.

  IOKANAAN: Angel of the Lord God, what dost thou here with thy sword? Whom seekest thou in this palace? The day of him who shall die in a robe of silver has not yet come.

  SALOME: Iokanaan!

  IOKANAAN: Who speaketh?

  SALOME: I am amorous of thy body, Iokanaan! Thy body is white, like the lilies of the field that the mower hath never mowed. Thy body is white 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 of the garden of the Queen of Arabia, the 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. Suffer me to touch thy body.

  IOKANAAN: Back! daughter of Babylon! By woman came evil into the world. Speak not to me. I will not listen to thee. I listen but to the voice of the Lord God.

  SALOME: Thy body is hideous. It is like the body of a leper. It is like a plastered wall, where vipers have crawled; like a plastered wall where the scorpions have made their nest. It is like a whited sepulchre, full of loathsome things. It is horrible, thy body is horrible. It is of thy hair that I am enamoured, Iokanaan. 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 in 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.

  IOKANAAN: 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, Iokanaan. 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 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. 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!... 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... Suffer me to kiss thy mouth.

  IOKANAAN: Never! daughter of Babylon! daughter of Sodom! Never!

  SALOME: I will kiss thy mouth, Iokanaan. 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, Iokanaan.

  THE YOUNG SYRIAN: Ah! [He kills himself, and falls between Salome and Iokanaan]

  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.

  FIRST SOLDIER: Princess, the young captain has just slain himself.

  SALOME: Suffer me to kiss thy mouth, Iokanaan.

  IOKANAAN: Art thou not afraid, daughter of Herodias?

  Did I not tell thee that I heard in the palace the beating of the wings of the angel of death, and hath he not come, the angel of death?

  SALOME: Suffer me to kiss thy mouth.

  IOKANAAN: Daughter of adultery, there is but one who can save thee. It is He of whom I spake. Go seek Him. He is in a boat on the sea of Galilee, and He talketh with His disciples. Kneel down on the shore of the sea, and call unto Him by His name. When He cometh to thee, and to all who call on Him He cometh, bow thyself at His feet and ask of Him the remission of thy sins.

  SALOME: Suffer me to kiss thy mouth.

  IOKANAAN: Cursed be thou! daughter of an incestuous mother, be thou accursed!

  SALOME: I will kiss thy mouth, Iokanaan.

  IOKANAAN: I will not look at thee. Thou art accursed, Salome, thou art accursed. [He goes down into the cistern]

  SALOME: I will kiss thy mouth, Iokanaan; 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 who 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 were wont to walk by the river, and among the almond-trees, and he used to tell me of the things of his country. He spake ever very low. The sound of his voice was like the sound of a 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 Herod, Herodias, and all the court]

  HEROD: Where is Salome? Where is the Princess? Why did she not return to the banquet as I commanded her? Ah! there she is!

  HERODIAS: You must not look at her! You are always looking at her!

  HEROD: The moon has a strange look tonight. 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 a mad woman, is she not?

  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 carpets 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 Cæsar.

  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 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 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. 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.

  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 philosophers 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.

  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 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 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 languorous eyes. I remember that I saw that he looked languorously at Salome. Truly, I thought he looked too much at her.

  HERODIAS: There are others who look too much at her.

  HEROD: His father was a king. I drove 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?

  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.

  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 to death. Never have I seen her so pale.

  HERODIAS: I told you not to look at her.

  HEROD: Pour me forth wine. [Wine is brought] Salome, come drink a little wine with me. I have here a wine that is exquisite. Cæsar himself sent it me. Dip into it thy little red lips, that I may drain the cup.

  SALOME: I am not thirsty, Tetrarch.

  HEROD: You hear how she answers me, this daughter of yours?

  HERODIAS: She does right. Why are you always gazing at her?

  HEROD: Bring me ripe fruits. [Fruits are brought]

  Salome, come and eat fruits with me. I love to see in a fruit the mark of thy little teeth. Bite but a little of this fruit, that I may eat what is left.

  SALOME: I am not hungry, Tetrarch.

  HEROD: [To Herodias] You see how you have brought up this daughter of yours.

  HERODIAS: My daughter and I come of a royal race. As for thee, thy father was a camel driver! He was 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.

  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 IOKANAAN: Behold the time is come!

  That which I foretold has come to pass. The day 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.

  HERODIAS: I do not believe in prophets. Can a man tell what will come to pass? No man knows it. Also he is forever 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 face to face. In these days God doth not show Himself. God 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 times hidden. He showeth 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.

  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 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.

  HERODIAS: Make them be silent. They weary me.

  HEROD: But I have heard it said that Iokanaan 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 Elias.

  HEROD: There be some who say that man is Elias the prophet.

  A NAZARENE: I am sure that he is Elias the prophet.

  THE JEW: Nay, but he is not Elias the prophet.

  THE VOICE OF IOKANAAN: Behold the day is at hand, 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 adopts.

  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 but explaining the title. It is one of Cæsar’s titles.