Salomé: A Tragedy in One Act
SALOMÉ
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.
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.
