SALOME
Sire, so true as 'tis that thou art my protector I am Salome.
HEROD
How camest thou into this prison-yard?
SALOME
Ask me not, Sire. My soul else will blush before thee. It was curiosity, because I heard thee coming.
HEROD
And where are thy playmates?
SALOME
They are afraid of thee, so they have crept away. Abi, Maecha, come forth; our master commands it. [Abi and Maecha come out hesitatingly, and curtsey profoundly.]
HEROD
Thy eyes plead for them, therefore they shall not be scolded.
SALOME
And my lips thank thee on their behalf.
HEROD
They thank like conquerors. There is music in them. How is it, Salome, that I have never heard thy voice?
SALOME
Thou shouldst ask my mother, Sire.
HEROD
[Fiercely.] Thy mother! Still, I know that thou art well disposed towards me. Thou didst deliver into my hand that maid who carried on treason at night outside the Palace.
SALOME
Could I do less, Sire? And him to whom she betrayed thy secrets, wilt thou not punish him too?
HEROD
I do not know. But how?
SALOME
Sire, it seemeth to me that he hath a great following among the people. If thou sparest him, the people will like thee.
HEROD
Words of wisdom fall from thy lips, Salome.
SALOME
See how his disciples tarry at the entrance. If thou treatest him well, they will carry praises of thee to Jerusalem.
HERODIAS
How unlike thou art to thy mother, Salome!
SALOME
And how like, too!
HEROD
I would rather think that thou wert unlike. My sweet, unveil thyself.
SALOME
Sire, if thou wert my father! But thou art not. Directly thou comest near, my mother herself draweth my veil down deep over my breast.
HEROD
Unveil to me.
SALOME
Sire, not when I am alone with thee.
HEROD
Then if I was with others, thou wouldst?
SALOME
Perhaps. Ask my mother.
HEROD
A little now. Just a finger's length.
SALOME
No, really ... it is not seemly, Sire.
HEROD
But if I were sitting with other men ... at meat ... or over wine ... and thou camest and unveiled, that would be more seemly?
SALOME
May be!... I can dance, Sire.
HEROD
Wouldst thou do that for me also?
SALOME
And what wouldst thou do for me?
HEROD
Salome!
SALOME
[Rising.] No, but thou must indeed ask my mother, Sire. I am still far too ignorant; I know not what a maiden ought to do. Only what I would like to do. I know that well enough.
HEROD
What wouldst thou like to do?
SALOME
Thy pleasure, Sire. Nothing else, nothing. Seest thou, if thou treatest this prisoner humanely, they will sing thy praises, and I shall be so proud, I shall say in my heart, He acted on my advice.
HEROD
[To the gaoler.] Bring the Baptist here.... I will consider it, Salome.
[Exit Gaoler.
SALOME
[From the gate, with a slight fluttering of her veil.] And I will thank thee, Sire!
HEROD
Salome!
SALOME
[Vanishes, with a burst of laughter. Abi and Maecha have preceded her.]
HEROD
[Looks after her, and then sits down on the seat.]
SCENE V
Herod, John. The Gaoler. A Guard.
HEROD
Tell me, how should one address thee when one would show thee respect? Thou thinkest that I mock thee? But knowest thou that in reality I am indebted to thee? The people's meditated attack was not hidden from me, and yet I came without the escort of warriors which Rome sent for my protection. Thou heldest me in the hollow of thy hand, as thou heldest the stone. Say, why didst thou let it fall? Why hast thou spared me?
JOHN
Sire, even if I spoke thou wouldst not understand me.
HEROD
That is defiance, which I cannot praise. In chains it is easy to be defiant. Take off his chains and go. [The Gaoler obeys. Exit with the guard.] Now, as a free man, revile me. Art thou a preacher of repentance? If so, preach to me!
JOHN
Sire, thou wouldst not understand me.
HEROD
So thou saidst before. Think of something new. Here in Galilee I am inclined to be mild and tolerant of goodness. I am told that thou hatest the Pharisees. I hate them too. I am told that thou hatest the priests. I love them not. I am told that thou hatest the Romans. I---- Say, why didst thou spare me?
JOHN
Sire, my heart failed me.
HEROD
Failed thee! Before me, whom thou callest "the little"! Art thou flattering me because I have loosened thee from thy chains?
JOHN
Thou hast not laid me in chains, and canst not loosen me from them.
HEROD
What ... and yet I made thee falter?
JOHN
It was Another who threw thee in my way.... And so my heart failed me.
HEROD
Tell me, Baptist--I call thee by the name I have heard people speak of thee by, and I hope thou wilt not be angry--tell me, Who is that King of the Jews whose image thou danglest before the people?... See, the guards are gone, and thy confidence shall be rewarded. Tell me, who is it?
JOHN
Sire, I know not.
HEROD
And so thou deniest thy own creature?
JOHN
What is my own I deny.
HEROD
Ha, ha, ha! I have half a mind to summon my little Greek that he may go to school under thee. Listen [in a low voice], I too have heard of a King of the Jews who will come with a sword drawn above his head, and he will spare no one who doth not serve him at the right moment.
JOHN
[Eagerly.] Who is it, of whom thou speakest?
HEROD
Master, I do not know. Thou seest thus that I too have a burden of secret anxiety oppressing me, and await the sunrise.... But let me speak with thee seriously, Baptist. Thou hurlest thy arrows of reproach at me on account of the woman I stole.... I could almost pity thee for that. Thou, a great man, mightst have chosen a greater subject than a woman. And knowest thou every day she sharpens those arrows herself for me?... But enough of that. The smiths say that good metal rings true even when it is cracked, and thou ringest true. How dost thou manage it?... I pray thee teach me the way.... What, silent again?
JOHN
Methinks I know you now, ye smiling scoffers. Ye grow fat on the wit of the market-places; but hunger seizes you, and ye then lift your eyes to the earnest ones, walking on the mountain-tops.
HEROD
By Bacchus, there lurks some truth in that. But it's not good walking on the mountain-tops. We wait to see you fall; then we shall not smile, but laugh.
JOHN
But I say unto thee, Sire, thou wilt not laugh. He Who cometh requireth me not. That is why He cast me down.... Gaze into His eyes when He comes, and thou wilt not laugh, even at me.
HEROD
It seems to me thy reasoning is poor, and revolves in a circle.... And yet there is something that attracts me to thee. Baptist, thou hast so long been my enemy, couldst thou not possibly be my friend?
JOHN
Sire, meseemeth that to be nobody's enemy and nobody's friend is the right of the lonely. It is their all. Let me keep it.
HEROD
Yet I do not give thee up as lost. If thou wert so minded we might pursue the same paths for a spell.
JOHN
Whither, Sire?
HEROD
Whither? Upwards!
JOHN
For thee there is no upwards. Thou bearest the times that are and were before thee, like an ulcerous evil, on thy body. Burnest thou not from all their poisonous lusts? Art thou not weighted by their unholy desires? And thou wouldst mount to the heights. Stay in the market-place and smile.
HEROD
Baptist, take care. Thy chains lie not far off.
JOHN
Let me be chained, Sire; I ask for nothing better.
HEROD
[Gnashing his teeth.] Truly thou art ruled by a broken spirit. [After a little reflection.] Yet tell me, Baptist, when that other cometh, that other----Say, was it in His Name that thou didst not throw the stone at me?
JOHN
[Confused.] Sire, what dost thou ask?
HEROD
Was it in His Name? For if so, thy Jewish king shall not rob my nights of sleep. Ha! ha! Here, gaoler! [The gaoler comes.] The prisoner shall go in and out as he pleaseth, for he is not dangerous.
GAOLER
[Dumfounded, then in a low voice.] Sire, how shall my life be safe, if----
HEROD
And his disciples, who loiter about the gates. Let them in and out as often as he wishes.... Now, did this God's people ever know a more clement master than I? [Laughing, walks away.]
SCENE VI
John and the Gaoler. Later, Maecha, Salome.
GAOLER
Well, thou art now thy own master. What are thy commands?
JOHN
The Tetrarch spoke of my disciples----
MAECHA
[Appearing in the gateway to left.] He is alone.
SALOME
[Signs to the Gaoler. Exeunt Maecha and Gaoler.]
JOHN
What wilt thou?
SALOME
Master, seest thou the sun sinking yonder between the pomegranate boughs?
JOHN
I see it.
SALOME
Knowest thou whose doing it is that thou art able to see it ere it goeth down, and ere thou goest down? Mine!
JOHN
May be. What dost thou want?
SALOME
Thou shalt not go down. Not thou. For my soul is thirsty. Teach me, master.
JOHN
What shall I teach thee?
SALOME
See, I am pious by nature, and I have a longing for salvation.... What thou givest to the humblest by the highway, give also to me. Let me sit at thy feet. I will be pious. Yea, I will. And if I touch thy hairy shirt, then be not frightened. I mean thee no harm.
JOHN
Why shouldst thou mean me harm, young virgin?
SALOME
Who can say ... if thou shouldst reject me! No one knows how powerful I am to-day. When I stretch my limbs [she spreads out her arms] it seems to me as if I carried the whole world like this ... only to hug it to my heart.
JOHN
Maiden, thou hast a playmate.
SALOME
[Attentively.] Which playmate?
JOHN
Her name is Miriam.
SALOME
I had her. Now she is dead.
JOHN
[Bows his head. His suspicions realized.]
SALOME
I had her slain because she went to thee. No one shall go to thee except me. Seest thou now how pious I am? Seest thou? My soul feels thy strength, and feels it with joy; for I have never seen anyone so strong as thou art. I have made thankofferings and secret vows like those the Psalms sing of. Then I have been forth in the gloaming to seek thy countenance and the light of thy eyes. And I have decked my bed with beautiful, many-coloured rugs from Egypt, and I have sprinkled my pillows with myrtle, aloes, and cinnamon. I will give thee my fair young body, thou barbarian among the sons of Israel! Come, let us make love till morning. And my playmates shall keep watch on the threshold, and greet the dawn with their harps.
JOHN
Verily, thou art powerful; thou carriest the world in thy arms ... for thou art sin itself.
SALOME
Yes. Sweet as sin.... That am I.
JOHN
Go!
SALOME
Thou spurnest me! Spurnest me? [She rushes through the gate.]
SCENE VII
John, Josaphat, Manassa, Amarja.
JOHN
[Goes to the door, where the Gaoler is waiting.]
GAOLER
Wouldst thou see thy disciples now?
JOHN
Bring them to me.
[Manassa, Amarja hasten to him and kiss his garment. Josaphat hangs back.]
JOHN
Matthias is not with you?
JOSAPHAT
No.
JOHN
What, Josaphat, thou who wast ever the nearest to me, hast thou no greeting to give?
JOSAPHAT
[Turns away.]
JOHN
Well, then, what is it?
JOSAPHAT
Rabbi, it is written ... One knife sharpens another, and one man another ... but thou hast made us blunt.
JOHN
And thou hast come this long way to tell me that?
JOSAPHAT
Rabbi, thou shouldst be the way that all the erring follow. Thou shouldst strengthen weak knees and mould trembling hands to the sword's hilt. Thy work was wrath, Rabbi, but thou hast made of it a sophistry and a weakness.
JOHN
Thou art not to know what my work was. Had I known myself, I should not be here. Truly the time of my fall is come, when enemies sing my praises and friends speak ill of me. What would ye have me do? My end must be in solitude and silence.
JOSAPHAT
Thy end, Rabbi, is no concern of ours. It is for Israel's end that I fear. Thou tookest the law from us. What hast thou given us instead?
JOHN
Who art thou, that like a kennelled hound, thou bitest at my shanks? I took the law from you? My soul hath wrestled with the law till it is weary; my forehead beat against its walls till it bled! But now ye have opened your mouths wide that salvation should slip down them like sweet crumbs. Ye gazed up at me so long as I stood erect, and now shrink away like cowards from my fall. I have not fallen for myself, I fell for you. To you it was a compulsion and a matter of watching. To me it was voluntary, and a combat at the sword's point.... Look at me! Twice to-day I have been face to face with the world's sin. But it seemed to me almost fair, for I have yet to meet the worst. Thou art a renegade! Thou hast ever been a renegade, and renegades will ye be to all eternity, ye men of universal utility, who manure your acres with the blood of those who have died for you! Go! I am weary of you!
JOSAPHAT
I am going, Rabbi, whither Matthias hath gone before me, to Jesus of Nazareth.
JOHN
[Startled and moved.] To Jesus of Nazareth?
JOSAPHAT
[Turns silently to go out.] [Exit.
SCENE VIII
Manassa, Amarja, John.
JOHN
How Amarja, and how Manassa? Those whom I trusted the most have forsaken me, and ye are still here!
AMARJA
Rabbi, I was at all times the least among thy disciples. What should I be worth if I were not faithful?
MANASSA
And to me, Rabbi, thou hast given a hope.
JOHN
Yet he is gone to Jesus of Nazareth. Be ye not fools. Go with him.
MANASSA
Let us be fools, Rabbi.
JOHN
[Sitting down on a stone.] So seat yourselves with me. Night draweth nigh, and I am weary. Hearken! It was even as if I heard a beating of wings above me. Did ye hear nothing?
AMARJA
Nothing, Rabbi.
JOHN
The womb of my soul is opened. I am ready for the blessing from on high. Is there not a whispering, roundabout? Heard ye nothing?
MANASSA
Nothing, Rabbi.
JOHN
There is a light shining over yonder mountains. Lovely is that light, and within me dawns the meaning of a contradiction. Who alone can deliver the world? To obtain it as a gift is to stretch forth your hands for the unobtainable.... We are in Galilee, know ye, where He now teacheth, this Jesus of Nazareth!
AMARJA
We heard in the streets that He was not far off. He tarries on the sea-coast.
MANASSA
And they say He may perhaps come into the town.
JOHN
Mayhap. Yet only mayhap! And my time is over. I must make haste, lest I die. Will ye do me a service?
AMARJA, MANASSA
Rabbi, command us!
JOHN
Get ye up and go unto Him.
AMARJA, MANASSA
To Him?
JOHN
[Nods.] And wheresoever ye find Him, speak to Him. Ask: "Art Thou He Who cometh, or shall we wait for another?" So ask Him, and when He hath answered, come back--quickly--for my longing for Him is very great. I believe I could not die ere ye returned.
AMARJA
Master, we will not pause or rest.
JOHN
And ye will not forget my darkness in His radiance?
MANASSA
Master, why makest thou us ashamed?
JOHN
Then, farewell.
MANASSA, AMARJA
Farewell, Rabbi. [They turn to go.]
JOHN
Go not thus; not yet. Let me clasp your hands, then ye are the least among my disciples, and [in great emotion] methinks I--I--love you.
[The Curtain falls.]
FIFTH ACT
FIFTH ACT
Hall in Herod's Palace. A row of pillars, raised by two steps, in the background, which lead to an open balcony with balustrade. This can be shut off by curtains, which at first are thrown back. A street is supposed to run at the foot of the next storey. In the middle of the stage, raised on a dais, is a table, with couches ranged round it; flowers and ornaments. Doors to right and left.
SCENE I
Servants moving about arranging pictures and flowers, Gabalos superintending them; afterwards, Herod.
A SERVANT
[Announces from door on left.] Our governor!
HEROD
[Following him.] Now, Gabalos, thou who hast washed in many waters, what has thy art provided? Thou knowest our guests are spoiled children.
GABALOS
Sire, thou needest have no anxiety about food and drink. Something customary is best for jaded palates. Therefore I chartered the cook of Vitellius. But for the other part of the entertainment the prospect is bad.
HEROD
[Smiling.] Is that thy opinion?
GABALOS
Noble Merokles will declaim a new ode, I warrant. Our Libyan flute-players will have washed their brown legs in honour of the occasion. Sire, mistrust those legs even when washed. As I tell thee every day, we are sick of Judean morality. Judean morality is devouring us like the plague.
HEROD
Say, Gabalos, dost thou think that our Legate from Syria, before whom all the gaiety and colour of life doth shimmer, hath ever seen a young daughter of Princes dance at table?
GABALOS
That would be grand, because it is something new.
SCENE II
The same. Herodias [from right].
HEROD
[Noticing her.] Get thee gone!