"How beautiful princess Salome is tonight!" "How strange the moon seems." "She looks like a woman rising from a tomb." "She looks very strange." "Like a little princess with small white doves for feet." "You would fancy she were dancing." "She is like a lifeless woman slowly gliding along." "What an uproar!" "Who are those howling like wild animals?" "The Jews." "They never change." "Always arguing about their religion." "It is ridiculous to get worked up about such things." "How beautiful princess Salome is tonight!" "You are always looking at her." "You look at her too much." "It is dangerous to look at people in such a way." "Something terrible may happen." "She is very beautiful tonight." "The tetrarch looks very sombre." "Yes, he looks very sombre." "Who is he looking at?" "I do not know." "How pale the princess is." "I have never seen her look so pale." "She is like the shadow of a white rose reflected in a silver mirror." "You must not look at her." "You look at her too much." "Something terrible may happen." "After me shall come another who is stronger than I." "I am not worthy to undo the straps of his sandals." "When he comes the desolate places shall rejoice." "When he comes the eyes of the blind shall see the day." "When he comes the ears of the deaf shall be opened." "Make him be quiet!" "He is a holy man." "He is always saying ridiculous things." "He is very gentle." "Every day when I bring him food he thanks me." " Who is he?" " A prophet." " What is his name?" " Jokanaan." "Where does he come from?" "From the desert." "Many disciples used to follow him." "What does he talk about?" "It is impossible to understand what he says." "May I see him?" "No, the tetrarch has forbidden it." "The princess is getting up." "She is leaving the table." "She seems very upset." " She is coming this way." " Do not look at her!" " Yes, she is coming towards us." " I beg you, do not look at her!" "She is like a lost dove." "I cannot bear to stay there any longer." "Why does the tetrarch keep looking at me like that with his mole's eyes under those shaking eyelids?" "It is strange for my mother's husband to look at me like that." "How sweet the air is out here." "I can breathe freely." "In there are the Jews from Jerusalem, tearing themselves to pieces over their foolish rituals." "Crafty, quiet Egyptians and brutal hulking Romans with their uncouth language." "How I loathe the Romans." "Something terrible will happen." "Why do you look at her like that?" "How good it is to see the moon." "She is like a silver flower, cold and chaste." "There is a virginal beauty about her." "The Lord has come." "The Son of Man has come." "Who was that who just spoke?" "The prophet, princess." "Ah, the prophet of whom the tetrarch is so frightened?" "We know nothing about that, princess." "It was the prophet Jokanaan who called out." "Shall I order your litter?" "The garden is beautiful at night." "He says terrible things about my mother, does he not?" "We never understand what he says, princess." "Yes, he says terrible things about her." "Princess, Herod would like you to return to the feast." "I do not want to go back in." "Is this prophet an old man?" "Princess, it would be better to go inside." "Let me lead the way." "Is this prophet an old man?" "No, princess, he is quite young." "Do not rejoice, land of Palestine, because the rod of him who beat you is broken." "For a basilisk shall come from the seed of the snake." "Its offspring shall devour the birds." "What a strange voice!" "I would like to speak to him." "Princess, Herod does not want anyone to speak to him." "He has forbidden even the High Priest to speak to him." "I wish to speak to him now." "It is not possible, princess." "I want to speak to him." "Have this prophet brought out!" "We are not allowed to, princess." "How dark it is down there." "It must be terrible to live in so black a pit." "It is just like a tomb." "Did you not hear what I said?" "Bring the prophet out!" "I want to see him." "We cannot do what you want." "What will happen now?" "Something terrible, I am sure." "You will do this for me, Narraboth." "I have always been kind to you." "You will do this for me." "I just want to see this strange prophet." "People have talked about him so much." "I think Herod is afraid of him." "He has strictly forbidden the cover of the cistern to be lifted." "You will do this for me, Narraboth." "Tomorrow, when I pass the gateway where the idol makers stand," "I shall drop a little flower for you." "A little green flower." "Princess, I cannot." "You will do this for me, Narraboth." "You know you will do this for me." "And tomorrow morning, when I glance at you through my veil," "I might even give you a smile." "Look at me, Narraboth!" "You know only too well that you will do as I ask." "You know it well." "I know you will do it." "Let the prophet out." "Princess Salome wishes to see him." "Where is he whose cup of sins overflows?" "Where is he who, wearing a silver robe, will one day die before all people?" "Let him come forward that he may hear the voice of him" "who cried aloud in the desert and in the houses of kings." "Who is he talking about?" "No one can tell, princess." "Where is she who gave in to lust" "when she stood before painted images of men and who sent ambassadors into the land of Chaldea?" "He is talking about my mother." "No, princess." "Yes, he is talking about my mother." "Where is she who gave herself to the leaders of Assyria?" "Where is she who gave herself to the young men of Egypt?" "With their fine linens and precious jewels, their golden shields and bodies like giants." "Let her get up from her bed of depravity, from her bed of incest." "She shall hear the words of him who prepares the way of the Lord and repent of her sins." "And even if she never repents, let her come, for the scourge of the Lord is in his hand." "He is terrifying." "He is truly terrifying." "Princess, I beg you not to stay here." "His eyes are the most terrible thing about him." "They are like pitch-dark caves where dragons live." "They are like black lakes troubled by fantastic moonlight." "Do you think he will speak again?" "Princess, I beg you not to stay here." "How gaunt he is." "He is like an ivory statue." "I am sure he is as chaste as the moon." "His flesh must be as cool as ivory." "I must look closer at him." "No, princess." "I must look more closely at him." "Princess, princess!" "Who is this woman looking at me?" "I will not have her look at me." "Why does she look at me with golden eyes under those gilded eyelids?" "I do not know who she is." "I do not wish to know who she is." "Ask her to go." "I do not wish to speak to her." "I am Salome, daughter of Herodias, princess of Judaea." "Stand back, daughter of Babylon." "Do not come near the Lord's chosen one." "Your mother has filled the earth with the wine of her iniquities and God has heard the cry of her sins." "Speak again, Jokanaan!" "Your voice is music to my ears." "Princess, princess, princess!" "Speak again, Jokanaan, and tell me what I must do." "Daughter of Sodom, do not come near me." "Cover your face with a veil." "Scatter ashes over your head, go out into the desert and look for the Son of Man." "Who is he, this "son of man"?" "Is he as beautiful as you, Jokanaan?" "Get away from me!" "I can hear the beating wings of the angel of death." "Jokanaan!" "Princess, I beg you to go inside." "Jokanaan!" "I am in love with your body, Jokanaan!" "Your body is as white as the lilies of a field never mown." "Your body is as white as the snow on the mountains of Judaea." "The roses in the garden of the queen of Arabia are not as white as your body." "Neither the roses in the garden of the queen nor the feet of the dawn when they touch the leaves nor the moon when she lies on the sea." "There is nothing in the world as white as your body." "Let me touch your body." "Back, daughter of Babylon!" "Evil came into the world by woman." "Do not speak to me." "I will not listen to you." "I listen only to the voice of the Lord God." "Your body is hideous, like the body of a leper." "It is like a plastered wall where snakes have crawled and scorpions have made their nest." "It is like a whitened sepulchre full of loathsome things." "It is horrible, your body is horrible." "It is your hair that I love, Jokanaan." "Your hair is like bunches of grapes." "Like bunches of black grapes that hang from the vines in Edom." "Your hair is like the great cedars of Lebanon, which give shade to lions and robbers." "The long black nights, when the moon hides her face and the stars are afraid, are not as black as your hair." "The silence of the forest, nothing in the world is as black as your hair." "Let me touch your hair." "Back, daughter of Sodom." "Do not touch me." "Do not profane the temple of the Lord God." "Your hair is horrible." "It is thick with dirt and dust." "It is like a crown of thorns on your forehead." "It is like a knot of black snakes writhing round your neck." "I do not like your hair." "It is your mouth I desire, Jokanaan." "Your mouth is like a band of scarlet on a tower of ivory." "It is like a pomegranate cut with a knife of silver." "The pomegranate flowers in the gardens of Tyre, which are redder than roses, are not so red." "The red-trumpet blasts which herald the approach of kings and scare the enemy are not as red as your mouth." "Your mouth is redder than the feet of those who tread the wine." "It is redder than the feet of the doves that live in the temples." "It is like a coral branch in the twilight of the sea." "It is like the vermilion that kings take from the mines of Moab." "There is nothing in the world as red as your mouth." "Let me kiss your mouth." "Never!" "Daughter of Babylon, daughter of Sodom!" "Never!" "I will kiss your mouth, Jokanaan." "Princess, you who are like a garden of myrrh, dove of all doves, do not look at this man." "Do not speak such words to him." "I cannot bear them." "I will kiss your mouth, Jokanaan." "Let me kiss your mouth." "Are you not afraid, daughter of Herodias?" "Let me kiss your mouth." "Daughter of adultery, there is only one who can save you." "Go and find him." "Find him." "He is in a boat on the Sea of Galilee." "He is talking with his disciples." "Kneel down on the sea shore and call him." "Call him by name." "When he comes to you, and he comes to all who call him, bow down before him and ask for forgiveness for your sins." "Let me kiss your mouth, Jokanaan." "Curses on you, daughter of an incestuous mother." "Curses on you." "Let me kiss your mouth, Jokanaan." "I do not want to look at you." "Salome, you are cursed." "You are cursed." "You are cursed." "You are cursed." "Where is Salome?" "Where is the princess?" "Why did she not return to the banquet as I ordered her?" "There she is." "You must not look at her." "You are always looking at her." "The moon seems strange tonight." "She is like a mad woman looking everywhere for lovers." "She reels through the clouds like a drunken woman." "No, the moon is like the moon, that's all." "Let's go in." "I will stay here!" "Manasseh, lay carpets over there." "Light torches." "I will drink more wine with my guests." "I have slipped." "I have slipped in some blood." "That is a bad omen." "Why is there blood here?" "And what is this body doing here?" "Who is it?" "I will not look at it." "It is our captain, sir." "I did not order him to be slain." "He killed himself, sir." "That is odd." "This young Syrian was very handsome." "I remember I saw him looking longingly at Salome." "Take him away." "It is cold here." "There is a wind getting up." " Is there not a wind?" " No, there is no wind." "I am telling you there is." "And I can hear something like the beating of huge wings." " Can you not hear it?" " I hear nothing." "I cannot hear it now but I did hear something." "It was the wind blowing but it has stopped now." "Listen!" "Can you not hear it?" "It is just like beating wings." "You are ill." "Let us go inside!" "I am not ill." "It is your daughter who is sick." "I have never seen her looking so pale." "I have told you not to look at her!" "Give me some wine!" "Salome, come and drink some of this exquisite wine with me!" "Caesar himself sent it to me." "Dip your little red lips into it so that I may drain the cup." "I am not thirsty, tetrarch." "Do you hear how she answers me, this daughter of yours?" "She is right." "Why are you always gazing at her?" "Bring me ripe fruits." "Salome, come and eat fruit with me." "I love to see the mark of your teeth in a fruit." "Just take a little bite, a little bite of this fruit, and I will eat what is left." "I am not hungry, tetrarch." "Do you see how you have brought up this daughter of yours?" "My daughter and I are of royal blood." "Your father was a camel driver and a thief and robber." "Salome, come and sit next to me." "I will give you your mother's throne." "I am not tired, tetrarch." "You see what she thinks of you?" "Bring me..." "What do I want?" "I have forgotten." "I remember now." "See, the time has come." "The day I spoke of is at hand." "Shut him up!" "He always insults me." "He has said nothing against you." "Besides, he is a very great prophet." "I do not believe in prophets but I know you are afraid of him." "I am afraid of no man." "I tell you, you are afraid of him." "Then give him to the Jews." "They have wanted him for six months." "It really would be better to hand him over to us." "I will not hand him over." "He is a holy man." "He is a man who has seen God." "That cannot be." "No man since the prophet Elijah has seen God." "He was the last man to see God." "In these times God hides himself." "That is why great evils have come upon the land." "No one really knows if the prophet Elijah saw God." "Perhaps it was only God's shadow that he saw." "God is never hidden." "He shows himself at all times and in everything." "He is in evil as well as in good." "Do not say that!" "It is dangerous dogma from Alexandria." "And the Greeks are Gentiles." "No one can tell how God works." "His ways are most mysterious." "We must submit to him" " for God is very strong." " That is true." "God is awe-inspiring." "But this man has never seen God." "No man has seen God since the prophet Elijah." "No one really knows if the prophet Elijah saw God." " God is never hidden." " Do not say that!" " He shows himself at all times." " God hides himself." "No one can tell how God works, his ways are most mysterious." "And the Greeks are Gentiles." "They are not even circumcised!" "Make them be quiet!" "I have heard it said that Jokanaan himself" " is the prophet Elijah." " That cannot be." "Elijah lived over three hundred years ago." "I am sure he is the prophet Elijah." "No, he cannot be." "Make them be quiet!" "So the day is come, the day of the Lord." "And I can hear on the mountains the feet of him who will be the saviour of the world." "What does that mean?" ""Saviour of the world"?" "The Messiah has come." "He has not come." "He has come and works miracles everywhere." "He changed water into wine at a wedding in Galilee." " He healed two lepers at Capernaum." " Simply by touching them." "He healed blind people and was seen on a mountain talking with angels." "I do not believe in miracles." "He raised the daughter of Jairus from the dead." "He raises the dead?" "Yes, sir." "I forbid him to do that." "It would be dreadful if the dead came to life again." "Where is this man now?" "He is everywhere, my lord, but it is hard to find him." "He must be found." "They say he is in Samaria." "He left Samaria a few days ago." "I think he is now near Jerusalem." "I forbid him to wake the dead." "The harlot!" "The daughter of Babylon!" "It would be dreadful if the dead came to life again." "Thus speaks the Lord." "Tell him to be quiet!" "A multitude will rise against her and stone her to death." "This is outrageous!" "Their captains will pierce her with their swords and crush her beneath their shields." "Tell him to be quiet!" "So it is that I will wipe out all wickedness from the earth and that all women shall learn not to imitate her abominations." "Do you hear what he says against me?" "You let him slander your wife?" "He did not speak your name." "On that day the sun shall become as black as sackcloth." "And the moon shall become like blood." "And the stars shall fall to earth like unripe figs." "And the kings of the earth shall be afraid." "This prophet talks like a drunken man." "I cannot stand the sound of his voice." "I hate his voice." "Make him be quiet." " Dance for me, Salome." " I will not have her dance." "I have no desire to dance, tetrarch." "Salome, daughter of Herodias, dance for me." "I will not dance, tetrarch." "You see how she obeys you." "Salome, dance for me, I beg you." "I am sad tonight, so dance for me." "If you dance for me you may ask of me whatever you want." "I will give it to you." "Will you really give me whatever I ask?" "Do not dance, my daughter." "Everything you ask for." "Even half of my kingdom." "You swear it, tetrarch?" "I swear it, Salome." "What will you swear by, tetrarch?" " By my life, my crown," " Do not dance, my daughter." "By my gods." "Salome, Salome, dance for me." "You have sworn an oath, tetrarch." "I have sworn an oath." "My daughter, do not dance." "Even half of my kingdom." "You will make a lovely queen." "It is cold here." "There is an icy wind." "Why can I hear the beating of wings in the air?" "It is as though a huge black bird were hovering over the terrace." "Why can I not see this bird?" "The beating wings are terrible." "There is a cutting wind." "But no, it is not cold: it is hot." "Pour water over my hands." "Give me snow to eat." "Loosen my cloak, quick, loosen my cloak." "No, leave it." "It is my crown that hurts." "It burns like fire." "I can breathe now." "I am happy now." "Will you dance for me?" "I will not have her dance." "I will dance for you, tetrarch." "Who is this who comes from Edom?" "Who is this who comes from Bozrah, whose cloak is dyed purple?" "Let us go inside." "The voice of this man drives me mad." "I will not have my daughter dance while he keeps crying out." "I will not have her dance while you look at her like that." "In a word, I will not have her dance." "Do not get up, my wife, my queen." "It will do you no good." "I will not go inside until she has danced." "Dance, Salome!" "Do not dance, my daughter." "I am ready, tetrarch." "Ah!" "Splendid!" "Wonderful!" "Wonderful!" "You see that she has danced for me, your daughter." "Come here, Salome, so that I can reward you!" "I will pay you royally." "I will give you whatever you want." "Tell me what you want." "I want someone to bring me on a silver charger..." "On a silver charger!" "Is she not charming?" "What is it that you want on a silver charger?" "Sweet, fair Salome, more beautiful than all the daughters of Judaea!" "What do you want on a silver charger?" "Whatever it is, you shall have it." "My treasures belong to you." "What do you want, Salome?" "The head of Jokanaan." " No, Salome!" " That is well said, my daughter." " That is not what you want!" " Well said!" "Do not listen to your mother." "She has always given you bad advice." "Do not listen to her." "I do not listen to her." "It is for my own pleasure that I ask for Jokanaan's head on a silver charger." "You have sworn an oath, Herod." "Do not forget that you have sworn an oath." "I know very well that I have sworn an oath." "I have sworn by my gods." "But I beg you, Salome, to ask me for something else." "Ask me for half of my kingdom." "I will give it to you." "But do not ask of me what you have just asked." "I ask of you the head of Jokanaan." "No, I will not give it to you." "You swore an oath, Herod." "Yes, you swore an oath." "Everybody heard you." "Be quiet." "I am not talking to you." "My daughter has done well to ask for the head of Jokanaan." "He has said monstrous things about me." "One can see that she loves her mother well." "Do not give in, my daughter." "He has sworn an oath." "Silence!" "I am not talking to you." "Salome, be reasonable." "I have always loved you." "Perhaps I have loved you too much." "So please do not ask this of me." "The head of a man cut from his body is not a pretty sight." "I have an emerald." "It is the finest emerald in the world." "You would like that, would you not?" "Ask me for it and I will give it to you." "The most beautiful emerald!" "I demand the head of Jokanaan." "You are not listening." "Let me speak, Salome." "The head of Jokanaan." "You are saying that to annoy me because I have been looking at you." "Your beauty made me crazy." "Bring me wine!" "I am thirsty." "Salome, Salome!" "Let us be friends." "Come on..." "What was I about to say?" "What was it?" "I remember." "Salome, you know my beautiful white peacocks" "which walk in the garden among the myrtles?" "I will give them all to you." "No king in the world has peacocks like mine." "I have only a hundred of them but I will give you them all." "Give me the head of Jokanaan." " Well said, my daughter." " Silence, wife." "You and your peacocks are ridiculous." "I am tired of listening to you." "Be quiet!" "Salome, think of what you are doing." "Perhaps this man has been sent by God." "He is a holy man." "The finger of God has touched him." "Salome, you would not want something terrible to happen to me?" "Listen to me." "Give me the head of Jokanaan." "You are not listening to me." "Calm down, Salome." "I am calm, as you can see." "Listen:" "I have jewels hidden here which not even your mother has seen." "I have a collar of pearls set in four rows." "I have topazes as yellow as tigers' eyes." "Topazes as pink as a wood pigeon's eyes." "Topazes as green as cats' eyes." "I have opals that burn with an ice-like flame." "I will give you them all." "I have chrysolites, beryls, chrysoprases and rubies, sardonyx, hyacinth stones and stones of chalcedony." "I will give you them all and more." "I have a crystal which women are not allowed to look at." "I have three wonderful turquoises in a mother-of-pearl box." "Whoever wears them on his forehead can see what is not there." "These are treasures without price." "What more could you want, Salome?" "I will give you everything you ask for, except one thing:" "I will not give you a man's life." "I will give you the High Priest's cloak." "I will give you the veil of the sanctuary." "Give me the head of Jokanaan." "Let her have what she wants." "She really is her mother's child." "Who has taken my ring?" "There was a ring on my right hand." "Who has drunk my wine?" "There was wine in my cup." "Someone has drunk it." "Something evil will surely happen." "My daughter has done well." "I am sure that some misfortune will happen." "There is no sound." "I hear nothing." "Why does he not cry out, this man?" "If any man tried to kill me" "I would cry out and struggle." "Strike, strike, Naaman, I tell you!" "No, I hear nothing." "There is a terrible silence." "I heard something fall to the ground." "It was the executioner's sword." "This slave is afraid." "He has let his sword fall." "He dare not kill him." "This slave is a coward." "Send down soldiers!" "Come here!" "Were you not a friend of the dead man?" "Well, let me tell you there are not enough dead men." "Go to the soldiers and ask them to go down and bring me what I want." "What the tetrarch promised me, the thing that is mine." "Soldiers, go down into the cistern and bring me the head of this man." "Tetrarch, order your soldiers to bring me the head of Jokanaan." "You would not let me kiss your mouth, Jokanaan." "Well, I will kiss it now." "I will sink my teeth into it" "as one bites a ripe fruit." "Yes, I will kiss your mouth, Jokanaan." "I said I would." "Did I not say it?" "Yes, I said I would." "I will kiss it now." "But why do you not look at me, Jokanaan?" "Your eyes that were so terrible, so full of rage, are shut now." "Why are they closed?" "Open your eyes!" "Lift up your eyelids, Jokanaan." "Why do you not look at me?" "Are you so afraid of me, Jokanaan, that you will not look at me?" "And your tongue says nothing now, Jokanaan." "Your tongue, which was like a red snake spitting poison at me." "That is strange, is it not?" "How is it that the red viper moves no more?" "You spoke evil words against me," "Salome, daughter of Herodias, princess of Judaea." "Well, I am still alive but you are dead." "Your head belongs to me." "I can do what I want with it." "I can throw it to the dogs and to the birds of the air." "The birds of the air will devour what the dogs leave behind." "Jokanaan, Jokanaan!" "You were beautiful." "Your body was a column of ivory set on silver feet." "It was a garden full of doves and silver lilies." "Nothing in the world was as white as your body." "Nothing in the world was as black as your hair." "Nothing in the whole world was as red as your mouth." "Your voice was like a censer that scattered strange perfumes." "And when I looked at you I heard strange music." "Why did you not look at me, Jokanaan?" "You covered your eyes in order to see your god." "Well, you saw your god, Jokanaan." "But me, me you never saw." "If you had seen me you would have loved me." "I am thirsting for your beauty." "I am hungry for your body." "Neither wine nor apples can assuage my desire." "What shall I do now, Jokanaan?" "Neither floods nor great waters can quench my passion." "Oh, why did you not look at me?" "If you had looked at me you would have loved me." "I know you would have loved me." "And the mystery of love" "is greater than the mystery of death." "She is a monster, your daughter!" "A monster, I tell you!" "I approve of what she did." "I will stay here now." "There speaks the incestuous wife." "Come!" "I will not stay here." "Come!" "I am sure something terrible will happen." "Let us hide in the palace, Herodias!" "I am afraid." "Manasseh, lssachar, Ozias, put out the torches!" "Hide the moon!" "Hide the stars!" "Something terrible will happen." "I have kissed your mouth, Jokanaan." "I have kissed your mouth." "There was a bitter taste on your lips." "Was it the taste of blood?" "No, perhaps it is the taste of love." "They say that love has a bitter taste." "But what of that?" "What of that?" "I have kissed your mouth, Jokanaan." "I have kissed your mouth." "Kill that woman!"