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Title: John the Baptist: A Play
Author: Sudermann, Hermann, 1857-1928
Language: English
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JOHN THE BAPTIST
JOHN THE BAPTIST
A PLAY
BY HERMANN SUDERMANN
TRANSLATED BY
BEATRICE MARSHALL
LONDON
JOHN LANE THE BODLEY HEAD VIGO STREET W.
NEW YORK JOHN LANE COMPANY MCMIX
WILLIAM BRENDON AND SON, LTD., PRINTERS, PLYMOUTH
PERSONS IN THE PLAY
Herod Antipas. _Tetrarch of Galilee_.
Herodias.
Salome. _Her daughter_.
Vitellius. _Legate of Syria_.
Marcellus. _His companion_.
Merokles, _the rhetorician_. \
Gabalos, _the Syrian_. > _At the Court of Herod_.
Jabad, _the Levite_. /
John. _Called "The Baptist."_
Josaphat. \
Matthias. }
> _His disciples_.
Amarja. |
Manassa. /
Jael. _Josaphat's wife_.
Their two Children.
Hadidja. _Maid in the Palace_.
Miriam. \
Abi. > _Playfellows of Salome_.
Maecha. /
Mesulemeth. _A beggar-woman_.
Amasai. \
> _Pharisees_.
Jorab. /
Eliakim. \
Pasur. > _Citizens of Jerusalem_.
Hachmoni. /
Simon. _The Galilean_.
First Galilean.
Second Galilean.
A Paralytic.
First Priest.
Second Priest.
A Citizen of Jerusalem.
The Commander of the Roman Soldiers.
First \
Second > Roman Soldier.
Third /
The Captain of the Palace Guard.
The Gaoler.
Men and Women from Jerusalem, Pilgrims, Roman Legionaries, Men and
Maidservants in the Palace.
Time of Action. _The Year 29 after Christ_.
Scene of Action. _During the Prelude a rocky wilderness near
Jerusalem_.
In the First, Second, and Third Acts. _Jerusalem_.
In the Fourth and Fifth Acts. _A town of Galilee_.
PRELUDE
PRELUDE
_Wild, rocky scenery in the neighbourhood of Jerusalem.... Night--The
moon shining dimly through jagged clouds.... In the distance is seen
the fire of the great sacrificial altar, burning on the horizon._
SCENE I
_Dark shadows flit in groups across the background from right to left._
MIRIAM
Hadidja, I am afraid!
HADIDJA
Come!
MIRIAM
I am afraid. Seest thou not those gliding shadows? Their feet scarce
touch the stones, and their flesh is like the shadow of the night-wind.
HADIDJA
Fool that thou art! Thou art afraid of thy companions in misery and
suffering. The same need as thine brings them hither; the same hope
leads them on to the heights.
MIRIAM
Do they also wish to go to him?
HADIDJA
Every one wishes to go to him. Is there a light in Israel which doth
not irradiate from his hand? Is there water for the thirsty which doth
not flow from him? Streams of sweet water gush forth from these dead
stones, and his voice is born out of silence.
MIRIAM
But I am afraid of him. Why dwelleth he among the terrors of the
desert? Why flieth he from the paths of the joyous, and shunneth the
suffering?
HADIDJA
The joyous need him not. The suffering will find their way to him.
MIRIAM
Look, Hadidja! There is the glow of fire yonder above Jerusalem. The
Romans are burning down our houses, and yet we tarry here!
HADIDJA
What! Dost thou not know that is the great altar on which, day and
night, the priests offer up a tenth part of the sweat of our brows?
MIRIAM
[_In horrified amazement._] And would he let the great altar fall too?
HADIDJA
I know not. But what he willeth is best. See--who is coming?
SCENE II
_The same; two men, half carrying, half dragging a paralytic who
moans._
FIRST MAN
Women, say, have ye met the great Rabbi whom men call the Baptist?
HADIDJA
We also are seeking the Baptist.
[_The Paralytic, moaning._] Put me down; let me die!
FIRST MAN
We have carried this palsied man here in our arms, and they are weary,
and he whom we hoped to find is not here.
THE PARALYTIC
[_With a groan._] I shall die!
MANASSA'S VOICE
[_Crying aloud from the right._] John! John!
MANASSA
[_Rushing on the scene._] John, where art thou, John? I cry unto thee
in my distress. Have mercy; let me behold thee, John!
MIRIAM
[_Pointing to the left._] Look! A crowd of people are drawing near. They
go before him.
HADIDJA
Kneel; for it is he.
SCENE III
_The same. John, behind him a number of men and women, among them
Amarja._
JOHN
Whose wretchedness is so great that he wails aloud, and forgets that
grief should be silent?
MANASSA
[_Kneeling before him._] Rabbi, mighty Rabbi. If thou art he of whom
men are talking in the streets of Jerusalem, help me, save me!
JOHN
Stand up and speak.
MANASSA
I am Manassa, the son of Jeruel, and my father was sick and blind; and
I lived with him on the road to Gibeon, close by the well which is
never dry. And men came unto me who said, "It is the will of the Lord
our God that ye refuse to pay tribute to the Romans," and I refused to
pay the Romans tribute. Then have the soldiers fallen on me and burned
my house, and my young wife hath perished in the flames, and my father,
who was blind. And I am now left alone and desolate. Help me, Rabbi!
Help!
JOHN
Am I lord over Life and Death that I can make thy father, wife, and
child alive again? Can I build up thy house once more out of its ashes?
What dost thou ask of me?
MANASSA
Then cursed be those who----
JOHN
Stop! Cursings enough hang over us. Israel is loaded with them, like
the autumn boughs with ripe grapes. Wherefore dost thou lament? Look
before, instead of behind. If thou canst not withhold thy lamentations,
put a gag between thy teeth; for prayer should be silent, and longing
and patience without sound.
MANASSA
How shall that help me, Rabbi, in my loneliness and desolation?
JOHN
Thou speakest sinfully. Is He not with thee?
MANASSA
Rabbi! Who?
AMARJA
Hearken! He hath not heard the news of Him Who cometh!
JOHN
Know'st thou not that soon there will be rejoicing in Israel? Bridal
garments and music of cymbals! Know'st thou not that there will be no
more sorrow in Israel? Therefore wipe the foam from thy lips and
sanctify thyself.
ALL
Sanctify thyself!
MANASSA
No more sorrow. No more suffering! Rabbi, say that I may stay with
thee?
JOHN
Mix with thy fellows over there and learn silence.
MANASSA
[_Stammering._] Rabbi! [_He withdraws._]
JOHN
I see not Josaphat among ye. Neither is Matthias here. Who hath tidings
of them?
AMARJA
Rabbi, none hath seen them.
JOHN
Who is that lying on the ground groaning?
THE PARALYTIC
Master, I am a poor man, sick of a palsy and in great agony. If Thou
canst not cure me, I must die!
JOHN
Die _now_! Now, when One is at hand Who bringeth relief for thy tumours
and balm for thy sores? I say unto Thee thou wilt thank the Lord thy
God with shouts of joy for every hour of thy pain, for every inch of
the road thou hast crawled along on inflamed knees, when thou beholdest
Him for Whom our soul longeth and hopeth, for Whose coming we wait and
watch by the roadside, looking towards the East. Therefore endure
sevenfold suffering and groan no more.
THE PARALYTIC
Rabbi, thou hast done wonders for me. I feel no longer--I----[_He makes
an effort to rise, but sinks back. His companions lead him away. He
breathes more easily, laughing as he goes._]
MURMUR OF PEOPLE
See! a miracle. He works miracles!
ONE OF THE PEOPLE
Truly the word is fulfilled--Elias is risen. The Great Prophet is risen
from the dead!
ANOTHER
No, not Elias, not the Prophet! See ye not, ye blind? It is He Himself!
He is the promised One. Worship Him! worship Him!
ALL
[_Falling on their knees._] Worship Him!
JOHN
A man sick of a fever crawled along the road looking for the physician,
and when a beggar or a slave came by, carrying water, he fell on his
knees before him and cried, "Hail to thee, great physician! Thank God,
thou art come!" And so he went on till evening, and the children mocked
him. [_The people rise slowly._] What have I, the beggar, to give you?
The water I carry is to baptize you in; it is the pure water of
repentance. But He Who cometh after me will baptize with fire and the
Spirit, and I am not worthy to unlatch His shoes, ... so little am I
compared with Him.
SEVERAL
Rabbi, tell us, when will He come of Whom thou speakest?
OTHERS
Who is it, Rabbi? Be merciful and strengthen our souls. Speak to us of
Him.
JOHN
Then sit ye down in a circle and hear the oft-told tidings, ye
insatiable ones. [_The people crouch on the ground._]
MIRIAM
Hadidja, what is he going to tell us?
HADIDJA
Be silent.
MIRIAM
Let me take thy hand, Hadidja.
JOHN
It was on the banks of Jordan that I baptized all, according to the
command of the Lord. Many people were gathered round me and hearkened
to what I preached, but my soul was consumed with doubt and misgiving.
Then, lo, a youth came down from the cliffs above, and he was alone,
and all the people drew back. And as I raised my eyes to his face, I
knew that this was He, for the glory of eternity shone round about Him.
And when He spake with me, and prayed me to baptize Him as if He were a
sinner, I trembled and refused, saying, "I would be baptized by Thee,
but _Thou_ comest to me?" And He made answer, "So be it, for thus shall
the law be fulfilled." Then I yielded, and let it be as He desired. And
when He had received Baptism from my trembling hand, He rose from the
water, and behold, the Heavens opened above Him and I saw the Holy
Ghost descending like a white dove, and He was bathed in the Heavenly
light. And a voice out of Heaven spake, "Behold, this is My Beloved
Son, in Whom I am well pleased." Then I fell on my face and prayed. And
I was no longer afraid.
ONE OF THE CROWD
[_After a pause._] And whence came He, He Who was thus illumined by the
radiance of the Lord?
ALL
Yes, whence came He, and whither did He go? Didst thou not hold Him?
JOHN
Plague me not with questions. He cometh and goeth, and no man holdeth
Him. At this very hour He may be sitting in our midst.
ALL
[_Turn on each other a scared and inquiring gaze._]
AMARJA
Rabbi, we are all poor workpeople from Jerusalem, and every one knoweth
his fellow.
ONE OF THE CROWD
[_Pointing to Miriam._] Yes, we men! But here is a woman whom I never
saw before.
HADIDJA
Her name is Miriam, and she serves as maid in the Palace, as I do.
JOHN
Leave her in peace.
ANOTHER
But if He of Whom thou speakest dwells among the living, He must bear a
name, and His Father's name.
ALL
Yea; tell us His name. His name?
JOHN
Ye would hear his name? Listen to the wind whispering among the rocks,
mark well what it saith ere it vanisheth. So His name, heard first here
and then there, passed by my ear. I am waiting with prayer and anxiety
to hear it again. Therefore I say unto you, Question me not further,
lest it melt away like a dream when the cock croweth.
AMARJA
Yet give us withal some guidance. Whence came He to thee--He----
JOHN
The wind which wafted Him to me blew from Galilee.
ALL
From Galilee!
ONE
Is then the Messiah the Galileans', the fisheaters'?
ANOTHER
He shall come to us Judæans! Up, and let us seek Him!
ALL
Aye, let us seek Him!
JOHN
Think ye that He will permit Himself to be found by you? Ye miserable
creatures full of mutiny and revolt! Who are ye that ye should alter
the course of the world's history by a hair's breadth? When the time
for His harvest is ripe, then He shall appear to you of His own free
will in glory as the Lord of Hosts. The four cherubim shall ride before
Him on caparisoned horses, with flaming sickles in their hands....
Whatsoever hath been planted in sin and hath grown up rankly, that
shall be mown down, root and branch; whatsoever hath reared itself
against Him shall be trampled upon. Therefore, ye men of Israel, root
up the weeds that flourish and encumber your bodies, so that ye do not
rot, and in your corruption are not swept away with your polluters when
_He_ draweth near with the seven-coloured rainbow about His head. He
Who shall come must come [_reflectively_], must come!
ONE OF THE CROWD
Rabbi, we have repented of our sins. We pray day and night, and our
bodies are emaciated from fasting. Say, what more can we do?
SCENE IV
_The same. Josaphat. Matthias._
JOHN
Josaphat, so thou art here. And thou, Matthias.
JOSAPHAT
Master, chide us not for having lingered. We paused by Herod's Palace,
which, as a rule, is dark and deserted. We saw rosy lights kindled, and
the pillars garlanded with flowers. Fresh ignominy shall befall Israel,
more deadly sin weigh upon her, if thou, Rabbi, comest not to the
rescue.
JOHN
Speak out!
JOSAPHAT
Herod hath not come out of Galilee, as every year before, for the
Passover. He is not expected till to-morrow. Another guest hath
arrived. The wife of Philip, Herod's brother, hath deserted him, and
taken with her Salome, Philip's daughter.
The guest at the Palace is called Herodias, and to-morrow the marriage
feast is to be celebrated.
JOHN
Between Herod and the wife of his own brother?
JOSAPHAT
Thou sayest right, Rabbi.
JOHN
No! No! Whoever hath told thee this informed thee falsely. His lips
were shameless, and his soul lied.
AMARJA
Pardon, Rabbi; there are maids here belonging to the Palace....
Question them.
JOHN
Hadidja, I know thee. Speak!
HADIDJA
Rabbi, my place is menial. I only hear what the idle gossips say. But
here is Miriam. She has been chosen as the playmate of the young maiden
Salome since she came yesterday. She waits on her at the bath. Question
her!
JOHN
Miriam, why art thou silent?
HADIDJA
Rabbi, she hath never yet conversed with strangers.
MIRIAM
[_In a low, stuttering tone._] Master, it is true what that man saith.
And----[_Emotion._]
JOHN
Continue!
MIRIAM
And after the wedding, on the first day of the Passover, Herodias is to
enter the Temple, as far as the women's outer court, her new consort
leading her by the hand. They will show themselves to the people.
JOHN
That the people may stone them? But what am I saying? They dare not!
Those priests, lustful as they are, cowards cringing in the dust at the
feet of the Romans, dare not permit this! The iron gates will close
upon the scandal, and the High Priest will stretch forth his arm to
curse them!
HADIDJA
Speak, Miriam!
JOHN
What else hast thou to say, Miriam?
MIRIAM
Master, at this very hour, messengers are passing to and fro between
Herodias and the Temple. The Princess desireth that the High Priest
shall meet them at the second gate, where the men and women separate,
to bless her----
JOHN
Enough! Go home, all of you. I wish to be alone. To-morrow ye will see
me at Jerusalem. [_Horror amongst the people._]
ONE OF THE CROWD
Rabbi, wilt thou be responsible for thy enemies?
OTHERS
Reflect, Rabbi! The Pharisees will trap thee. The priests will condemn
thee.
JOHN
I am the son of a priest. I will speak priestly words to those who
countenance this infamous crime. I will speak to them in the name of
Him Who cometh, for Whom I prepare the way. Go! [_As they appear
unwilling and hesitate._] Go! [_The curtain falls._]
FIRST ACT
FIRST ACT
_Square in front of the Palace of Herod--The guardroom of the Roman
soldiers is to the right of the Palace in the foreground, with benches
before the door--To the right of centre is the chief entrance--Steps in
background, which lead to the top of a hill--Behind, separated by an
invisible valley, is a view of rising masses of house-tops belonging to
another part of the town--A narrow street to the left of centre, and
another street in foreground, which may be taken as a continuation of
the one that runs to right of guard-room--In it is the shop of the
woollen merchant_ Eliakim--_At its right corner the shop of the
fruit-seller_ Pasur, _with wares exhibited--A fountain with seats round
it, near the middle of the stage._
SCENE I
_Eliakim, Pasur. First, second, third common soldiers._
PASUR
[_As he comes forward glances anxiously at the soldiers, who sit in
front of guard-room._] Neighbour, neighbour, dost thou not hear me?
ELIAKIM
[_Sitting outside his shop reading a parchment_] It is written that
whosover disturbeth a man when he is reading the law shall forfeit his
life.
PASUR
Thou readest the law?
ELIAKIM
Knowest thou not that I read the law day and night?
PASUR
Forgive me, neighbour; accuse me not. I sinned out of ignorance.... I
was in fear of the soldiers who are quartered yonder ... but I am going
in. [_Slinks back to his shop._]
FIRST SOLDIER
[_To the second who sharpens his sword._] Marcus, wherefore handiest
thou thy blade with such terrific zeal? There is naught to hew down in
there. These damned Judeans have had enough. They'll rebel no more.
SECOND SOLDIER
Who can tell? Since that woman entered there yesterday, my nostrils
have scented bloodshed. Everything is upside down in Herod's house, and
your so-called princes are ticklish subjects.
FIRST SOLDIER
Here in Judea they have none; so we are masters.
SECOND SOLDIER
We are masters everywhere, with or without a Herod.
FIRST SOLDIER
What brings the Tetrarch of Galilee to Jerusalem?
SECOND SOLDIER
Yes, well mayest thou ask! Yet he cometh twice or thrice in the year to
rub his nose on the fleeces of the Temple, and then away he goes again.
God requires it of him, so they say. A crazy people!
FIRST SOLDIER
And we must stand by as guard of honour. A nice business for a Roman
citizen!
SCENE II
_The same, Hadidja and two other maids_ (_with jugs on their heads,
come out of the Palace and go to the well, where they draw water_).
SECOND SOLDIER
Idiot! We are bound to do it, so that we may appear to honour him. In
reality we guard him. He will soon be here now.
THIRD SOLDIER
[_Who has been squatting on a brick, without taking any part in
conversation, sings._] Sweet smiling Lalage, thee will I love for ever.
Thee, sweet smiling Lalage----
SECOND SOLDIER
[_Irritably._] Have done howling after thy Lalage! Before thou goest
back to Rome again, she will be a grandmother.
THIRD SOLDIER
[_Stretching out his arms._] Alack! Yes.
SECOND SOLDIER
[_Pointing to the maids._] Are not there women enough here?
THIRD SOLDIER
Ah! but they are Jew girls. They mean well enough, but the punishment
of death hangs over them.
SECOND SOLDIER
A crazy people.
THIRD SOLDIER
If only there were no foreigners! I, for my part, take not kindly to
these Asiatics. They wash all day long, and yet stink in spite of
it.... Ha! yesterday a Syrian sweetheart made me a present of a
necklace. There it is. Shall we dice for it?
SECOND SOLDIER
Show it to me. I say fifty denarii.
THIRD SOLDIER
Rogue! A hundred and fifty!
SECOND SOLDIER
Very well.
FIRST SOLDIER
I will join.
THIRD SOLDIER
Come along. [_All three disappear into the guard-room._]
SCENE III
_Eliakim, Pasur, Hadidja, and the two other maids. Two Priests_
[_descending the central steps_].
FIRST PRIEST
Damsels, you belong to the Palace?
HADIDJA
Yes, ye priests.
FIRST PRIEST
Announce us to your mistress.
HADIDJA
Our mistress, priests, is gone forth to meet the Tetrarch Herod, to
receive him at the gates.
FIRST PRIEST
When will she return?
HADIDJA
That we cannot say, priests; it depends on the coming of the Prince.
FIRST PRIEST
Do you desire our blessing?
HADIDJA
No! [_She vanishes with the other maids into the interior of the
Palace._]
BOTH PRIESTS
[_Look discomposed._]
FIRST PRIEST
[_Observing Eliakim and Pasur sitting in front of their doors, raises
his hands unctuously._] Blessed be ye who----
ELIAKIM
No one asked thy blessing!
BOTH PRIESTS
[_Regard each other in dismay._]
SECOND PRIEST
[_Furiously._] These again are of the school of the Pharisees!
FIRST PRIEST
We hold the Temple. They shall yet be our servants. Come! [_Exeunt both
priests._]
SCENE IV
PASUR
[_Drawing near humbly._] Forgive me, neighbour, but now thou no longer
readest in the law?
ELIAKIM
No.
PASUR
This will be a sorry Passover for us tradesmen. See all this fine stock
which I have laid in. There is the sacred pomegranate wood, whereon to
roast the lamb. Here are the sweet herbs, with which to prepare the
holy broth, and here are the bitter roots, the garlic, cresses, and bay
leaves, all according to the precept. In six, or at latest seven hours
the feast begins, and I shall be left stranded with my whole stock on
hand. Oh, woe is me! Woe is me!
ELIAKIM
Well, have I not also superior and holy wares for sale? There are
stuffs of the very finest quality. Beautiful tassels of white and
hyacinth-blue wool. And are not my Tephillims the most beautiful ever
worn by a son of Abraham at morning prayer? Nay, Abraham himself never
wore a finer Tephillim. I believe I have eighteen dozen or more. But
one should take no thought of bodily raiment, but read the Scriptures.
So it is written.
PASUR
But, neighbour, the man who deals in vegetables does not find it so
easy to be righteous in the sight of the Lord. Thy woollen goods will
keep till Herod is gone again with his new wife.
ELIAKIM
[_Shakes his fist at the Palace._] It's a shame, a crying shame!
PASUR
Yes; once this was always a good spot for business, but now grass
groweth in front of the Palace.
ELIAKIM
Only _priests_ go in and out.
SCENE V
_The same. A citizen of Jerusalem_ [_who comes to fill his pitcher at
the fountain_].
CITIZEN
[_Distressfully._] Neighbour, dear neighbour!
ELIAKIM
What is thy trouble?
CITIZEN
Thou art a righteous man and knowest the law. Give me advice, and thou
shalt have my thanks. My poor wife has hurt her foot while working in
the fields. It is burning and swollen, and I bathe it with cold water
from the fountain, which does it good. But in a short time beginneth
the feast. May I continue with the bathing then?
ELIAKIM
Sabbath breaking. Thou wilt be guilty, and deserve death.
THE CITIZEN
Oh, Lord eternal!
ELIAKIM
Yes. If it were her throat that ailed, then thou mightest pour the
remedy into her mouth. But foot! No!
CITIZEN
But suppose that it mortifies!
ELIAKIM
Yea, if it mortifies and is a danger to life, the law alloweth it.
THE CITIZEN
[_Crying out in despair._] But then it is too late!
[_Meanwhile a man wrapt in a cloak has come down the street, and looks
up calmly at the windows of Herod's Palace._]
ELIAKIM
[_Points to him, looking shocked._] Hush, if thou lovest thy life! The
man thou seest yonder is one David, belonging to the Zealots who dwell
in the desert. They come down to the towns with daggers hidden in the
folds of their cloaks. And when they find people committing a breach of
the law by word or deed, they strike at them from behind. [_Rising, as
the stranger approaches._] Greeting; thou holy man! Behold I know thee
well. Wilt thou not bless thy servant? [_The stranger passes, and
disappears in the street to the left._]
PASUR
I feel a shiver run through me. One can err and not know it.
THE CITIZEN
How many hours are there yet, ere the feast begins?
ELIAKIM
[_Regarding the sun._] Six.
THE CITIZEN
So long, then, I may use the cooling remedy, but I know not what to do
afterwards. [_Drags his pitcher away dejectedly._]
PASUR
Of a truth, we Hebrews are hunted like vermin. If the Romans leave us
alone, the law strikes at us.
SCENE VI
_The same. The stage has become half-filled with people, who
gesticulate in excitement, looking up at Herod's Palace. Among them
Hachmoni; later, the soldiers._
ELIAKIM
What is going on there? Hachmoni, thou shalt speak. What ails the
people?
HACHMONI
Hast thou not heard? John is in the town!
ELIAKIM
There are many Johns.
HACHMONI
The Baptist, man!
ELIAKIM
The Baptist; enemy of the Priests and of the Pharisees; to whom every
Rechabite hath sworn death. Is he caught at last?
HACHMONI
Thou speakest like one in his sleep! If there is a man in Jerusalem
safe and untouched by the curse of the Romans, it is he. He standeth in
the market-place and preacheth; he standeth at the gates and
preacheth.--Did I say _preach_? Firebrands issue from his lips;
scorpions leap out of his mouth.
ELIAKIM
Against whom doth he preach, then?
HACHMONI
Against Herod, naturally. And his paramour, and his paramour's whelp.
ALL
Down with Herod! Death to Herod!
[_The first and second Roman soldiers step out of the guard-room._]
FIRST SOLDIER
What are the blear-eyed scum crying?
SECOND SOLDIER
Death to Herod! Did not I say it would be so? I can trust my nose.
[_Draws his sword._]
PASUR
Protect yourselves! The soldiers! [_The people fall back._]
FIRST SOLDIER [_laughing._]
The dogs are affrighted already. Curs! [_They go in, laughing._]
SCENE VII
_The same. Amasai and Jorab_ [_from left centre, remain in the
street_].
AMASAI
Look at them! Must this not appear a mad mockery in the sight of the
Lord? Who that follows the straight path laid down by the law, after
the manner of God-fearing men, can have anything in common with these
sinners?
JORAB
They are infatuated with the Baptist's preaching, and yet too weak to
kick against the pricks. Speak to them, so that they come to
themselves.
AMASAI
After the Baptist? Rather would I grasp a mad bull by the horns. They
would go up to the Temple to make an offering of sow's blood, if he
bade them do it.
JORAB
Cannot we trap him?
AMASAI
And so stand before the people as the friends of Herod? Leave that kind
of fame to the Priests and the Sadducees. The disaffection which we
quelled, at a signal from him, screams aloud in the gutter. So what
good have we done? That is why the people flock to him. We have missed
our opportunity. But still; I know a way to entangle him. I will strike
at him through his folly about the Messiah. [_Shouts of applause arise
from the people._] Listen! so they once hailed us. [_They withdraw
further into the street to the left._]
SCENE VII
_The same, without Amasai and Jorab. John, accompanied by Josaphat,
Matthias, and Manassa and afresh crowd. People appear behind left._
JOHN
[_Throwing himself down on the edge of the fountain._]
JOSAPHAT
See, Rabbi, what power hath been given thee. They wag their tails like
pleased hounds. Jerusalem the Blessed lies at thy feet.
JOHN
Give me to drink!
MANASSA
[_Draws him water._]
HACHMONI
Behold! The great prophet drinks as if he were one of us----
PASUR
That is goat's hair wherewith he is clothed. It must prick his skin. It
shows what a holy man he is.
ELIAKIM
But he doth not favour the woollen trade. If all were so holy, we
should be beggared.
HACHMONI
And his food, people say, is nought but locusts and wild honey.
MATTHIAS
Get back. See ye not that ye plague him? [_They retire._]
JOSAPHAT
Rabbi, forgive. The people wait. What is thy command to them?
JOHN
Is this Herod's house?
JOSAPHAT
Yes, Rabbi [_silence_]. Rabbi, say, what shall they do?
JOHN
Am I the keeper of these people? The shepherd may drive his flock
through thorns or flowers. I pine for the wilderness, for my rocky
fastnesses.
JOSAPHAT
[_Dismayed._] Rabbi!
JOHN
I have awakened the slumbering conscience, scourged and roused the
idle, shown the erring the right road. One great burst of indignation
against Herod now flames towards heaven. So now they may let me go my
way, or send their spies after me. But no priest has yet dared to stand
in my path. It is well. My work in Jerusalem is at an end.
MATTHIAS
Not so, Rabbi. Thy work only beginneth. We have to face the Prince's
entry. The people want a leader.
JOHN
Whither will they be led?
MATTHIAS
That we know not, Rabbi.
JOHN
And do I know? Am I one to subject my will to the fetters of a plan, or
to spin a web of calculations for others? I am the voice of one crying
in the wilderness. That is my destiny. Come! [_He stands up._]
THE PEOPLE
Hail to thee, John! Hail! [_As he is going, Amasai and Jorab step in
his way._]
SCENE VIII
_The same. Amasai, Jorab._
AMASAI
Pardon us, great Prophet, that we have not yet been present at thy
baptisms.
JOHN
Who are ye?
JOSAPHAT
[_Whispering._] Be on your guard, Rabbi. They wear the wide hem of the
Pharisees. Their brethren are high in the Council.
AMASAI
We are diligent scribes, simple men, to whom the study of the law hath
brought more honour than we deserve.
JOHN
May be. But what do ye want with me?
AMASAI
Many reports of miracles worked by thee have come to our ears. Some say
thou art Elias; and others, even greater than he. We are willing to
believe this, even if thou performest not his miracles. Naturally
thou mayest have reasons in thy heart for keeping thy power of
miracle-working a secret from us.
PASUR
Hath he worked miracles?
ELIAKIM
Not for me.
PASUR
Ah!
AMASAI
We have heard, too, much of thy godliness; that thou fastest and
prayest as one to whom meat and drink and earthly intercourse are of no
account. We fast and pray also, and our desire for doing good cannot be
satisfied. But the law is harder and more zealous than we. Therefore we
beg thee to be so gracious as to bestow on us the benefit of thy
teaching, Rabbi, and to tell us how we can keep the law.
JOHN
So? Ye lay traps for me under the cloak of your glib words. Ye
generation of vipers! Who hath told you that ye shall escape the wrath
to come? Woe unto you, when He cometh Who is stronger than I! He hath
His sickle already in His hand. He will gather the grain into His barn,
but the chaff He will burn with everlasting fire.
PASUR
Of whom doth he speak?
HACHMONI
Hush! he speaks of the Messiah.
ELIAKIM
What Messiah?
JORAB
Come, Amasai. I am afraid of this man.
AMASAI
[_Shielding himself with his hand._] We approached thee as petitioners,
and thou hast abused us. We will let that pass, presuming that thou
hast a right thereto. The one of whom thou speakest as coming after
thee has given thee the right. Is it not so? [_Silence._] Behold, ye
people of Israel, your prophet is silent. If it be not the Messiah,
the Messiah of Whom he preaches in the wilderness, and even in the
market-place, who hath given him the right to chide us? Where else hath
he obtained his authority? Ye know what we are, God-fearing, upright
men, that strive to obey the law in everything.
ONE OF THE PEOPLE
Who is this?
ELIAKIM
Amasai, the wise and learned scribe.
PEOPLE
[_Murmuring._] Listen, it is Amasai.
ANOTHER
Rabbi, wilt thou not bless us?
AMASAI
Yea, we, in short, who are a piece of the law ourselves. And we have
never done this man any harm. If he is an enemy to us, it must be
because he is an enemy to the law.
JOHN
Thou liest.
AMASAI
Good. If I lie, so teach me, great prophet, how thou keepest the law.
JOSAPHAT
[_In a low voice._] Yes, Rabbi, explain! The people expect it.
JOHN
I have nothing to do with the law, of which ye and your like set up to
be guardians and students. [_Sensation among the people._]
JOSAPHAT
[_Sotto voce._] Rabbi, think what thou art saying. Injure not thyself.
JOHN
Nay, it is not your law, but ye yourselves that I hate. For your hand
lieth heavily on this people, and your well-being is its affliction.
AMASAI
That thou hast yet to prove, great prophet.
JOHN
Who are ye, ye men of worldly wisdom, that ye should look on the law as
your special inheritance and possession? Here is an enslaved people
crawling patiently on its belly beneath a scourge, oppressed by a heavy
burden, and ye desire to tell it _how_ it shall crawl.
AMASAI
Yea, because it must crawl somehow, great prophet.
JOHN
Ye think so. I say that it shall rise out of the dust.
AMASAI
Thus have rebels ever spoken, and the end hath always been the cross
and the gallows. Thou, whom men call the great prophet, listen to me!
When the Lord redeemed His people the first time, how did He do it?
Through the law. And when He redeemed them a second time, knowest thou
how He did it? Through the law. So if we guard and watch this law, and
let it expand by itself, swelling like an ear of corn, a thousand times
into a thousandfold blessings, what is our object? Redemption, the hope
which lives in all of us. Only we do not noise it abroad in the gutter
and on the housetops.
PEOPLE
[_Murmuring._] There he is right. Aye, he is right!
SCENE IX
_The same. A troop of pilgrims have come up by degrees and slake their
thirst at the fountain. Among them Simon the Galilean._
AMASAI
See! Look around thee. Behold these pilgrims! They come with their
knapsacks from far distant lands: from Egypt, from Euphrates, and
Syria, and from the accursed city of Rome itself. They are indifferent
to hunger and thirst, the heat of the sun, and the dust of the road.
And wherefore have they come? Because of this very law, which I and my
brethren guard and study. And if thou sayest thou hast nothing to do
with this law, and hatest it, tell us, then, what law thou lovest?
Where do the Commandments leave off which the Lord made for His people,
and where begin the vain works of men? Enlighten us, great prophet, and
scold us not.
JOHN
[_Is silent, and uncertain what to say._]
JOSAPHAT
I warned thee, Rabbi!
AMASAI
[_With a laugh of scorn._] Now see, all of you. See! Methinks the
great---- [_Breaks off as a woman, sickly and heavily loaded, comes
accidentally near to him. He turns round in anger._] Touch me not, lest
I become unclean! I am a Rechabite!
SIMON THE GALILEAN
[_To the woman._] No; touch _him_ not, lest _thou_ becomest unclean.
AMASAI
What?
SIMON THE GALILEAN
For the Pharisees who call themselves Rechabites are unclean from
within. Come! [_Leads her to the fountain._]
AMASAI
He denies God!
THE PEOPLE
[_Murmuring._] He denies God!
AMASAI
A Rechabite unclean? A man who doth nothing day and night but fulfil
the law; who performeth his sacred ablutions three times more than
necessary; who sitteth, on the Sabbath, like a monument; who speaketh a
blessing at meat twice, and over salt, bread er----er--[_half
choking._] A Rechabite unclean?
JOHN
If I could not answer thy questions with their double meaning, thou
thyself hast now answered them!
AMASAI
And may seven swine possess thee, thou great prophet, so that compared
with them thou appearest to me a saint. [_To the Galilean._] And what
evil spirit hath taken possession of thee, man? Art thou a Jew? Where
dost thou come from? What is thy name?
MATTHIAS
[_In a low voice._] Tell him not thy name. He will ruin thee.
SIMON THE GALILEAN
[_Calmly._] I am a Jew. My name is Simon, and I come from Galilee.
AMASAI
And as one that there knoweth Law and Sacrifice----
SIMON THE GALILEAN
[_Interrupting._] Greater than law, greater than sacrifice, is love!
[_Sensation and dismay among people_]
AMASAI
See ye not now that he is guilty against the law? [_He continues
speaking earnestly to the people_]
JOHN
[_Approaching the Galilean in great excitement._] Who taught thee that?
[_As Simon is silent, more urgently._] Who taught thee that?
MATTHIAS
[_In a quick, low tone to the Galilean._] Before they capture thee,
fly!
SIMON THE GALILEAN [_Shakes his head._]
JOHN
This knowledge, that comes straight from thy simple and timid heart,
awes me, for it cannot be thine own. [_The people, hounded on by
Amasai, jostle the Galilean_] Back! In the Name of Him Who cometh, keep
back. Leave him alone! [_People retreat._]
PASUR
Thou playest with us and our great longing as if we were toys.
AMASAI
Ah, now I have caught thee! Thou who poisonest a thirsty people with
foul water! Where is He Who shall come? Where is thy Messiah? Where is
the King of the Jews? Aye, show Him to us!
THE PEOPLE
[_Fiercely._] Yea, woe to thee if thou canst not show Him to us!
JOHN
[_Firmly._] Here cometh the King of the Jews whom ye acclaim!
SCENE X
_The same. Herod, Herodias, Salome and their train appear above in the
background. The company of soldiers, with their officers, have posted
themselves at the Palace gates. In silence the procession descends._
ONE OF THE TRAIN
Hail to Herod! [_Still silence._] Now, ye dogs! Cry, Hail!
HEROD
At what are the people gaping? [_To the Commander of the Guard._] Ye,
who in obedience to Rome's command are here to protect me, cannot you
clear them out of my way?
THE SOLDIERS
[_At a sign from their Captain begin to charge the people with lowered
spears._]
AMASAI
[_Who is standing in the foremost row. Turns with a shrill cry._] Woe!
woe! [_Takes fight._]
[_Jorab follows him. The people retreat with a subdued exclamation of
fear. John alone stands his ground, his head held high, and measures
Herod with his glance._]
SALOME
[_Raising her veil._] Mother, look at that man. It is the same who
stood in the market-place and at the gates and everywhere where we have
passed.
HEROD
And everywhere caused dissension.
SALOME
Look! His eyes flash fire! Mother, look!
HEROD
Come along, ye women. And if the pious citizens of Jerusalem have
unlearnt the way to welcome with rejoicing the representative of the
great race of Herod [_with a glance at the Captain of the Guard_],
Rome, I hope, will teach it to them again. [_The Captain shrugs his
shoulders with a slight smile._]
HEROD
Come, I pray. [_Herod, Herodias, Salome, go with their train into the
Palace; the common soldiers into the guard-room._]
SCENE XII
_Johannes, Josaphat, Matthias, Manassa, Hachmoni, Pasur, the people._
HACHMONI
[_At the head of a group, pressing forward_] Pardon us, great prophet.
The Pharisees have fled like cowards. But, see, we cling to thee. So
now help us.
THE PEOPLE
Help us!
JOHN
[_As if in a dream._] Tell me, whither hath the man from Galilee gone?
MANASSA
Rabbi, we know not.
JOHN
Then seek him. Bring him to me.
MANASSA
Yes, Rabbi.
ALL THE PEOPLE
Tarry with us, great prophet. Help us! We flee to thee.
JOHN
[_Pondering in uncertainty._] Matthias, Josaphat, did he not say Love?
[_The curtain falls_].
SECOND ACT
SECOND ACT
_Hall in Roman style of architecture in Herod 's Palace--On the right
side, a balcony upheld by pillars, which extends the whole depth of the
stage, and to which a fight of steps leads--Off the balcony a door
opens into Salome's room--Underneath, on the ground floor, another
door--In the centre of the background is the chief entrance--On the
left, a window--Near it a couch and other furniture--To the right,
between the pillars of the balcony, is a divan--Carpets and tiger-skins
on the floor--A mixture of Roman and Oriental luxury._
SCENE I
_Maecha, Miriam, Abi_ [_on the balcony_]. _After them, Salome._
THE DAMSELS
[_Stepping cautiously and listening._]
SALOME
[_Through the door._] Is it safe? No one there?
MAECHA
Not a sound of anyone.
SALOME
Then, come! [_They skip down the stairs._]
SALOME
Ah, here it is light, and one can see oneself reflected in the walls.
Do you know why we have been suddenly mewed up in the apartments above?
Yesterday we were allowed to wander as we listed through all the
passages, to dance unveiled in the gardens, and peep through the
railings and mock the passers-by. But to-day, since my uncle came, we
have had to sit moping in sackcloth and ashes. Why? Do none of you know
why?
MAECHA
Mistress, the house is now filled with strangers who were not here
yesterday. And, it is said that the men who are in the Tetrarch's
following run after young maidens.
SALOME
Let them! I am not afraid of any men.... I take them as I find them....
I love them.
ABI
Thou knowest men, mistress?
SALOME
I mean not the men of our own people! They wear beards on their chins
like forests, and before one can look round, they stand there
barefooted, and then people say---- No; I mislike that. But once, when
I was with my father in Antioch, I met pale youths with golden brown
hair, and they wore red shoes and smelt of perfumes.... They were
Greeks, my father said, real Greeks from Hellas.... They smiled, and it
made me thrill.... Why dost thou stand there sulking, Miriam, and
listenest not to my converse? It doth not please thee? Laugh, or I'll
beat thee. If thou laughest not, I'll have thee whipped!
MIRIAM
Let me be whipped, mistress.
SALOME
Where wert thou last night? The palace guards said thou wouldst visit
thy sweetheart.... Thou hast a lover? [_Roguishly._] Whisper his name
in my ear and I'll give thee a gold pin.
MIRIAM
I have no one that loveth me, mistress.
SALOME
The language of you Judeans hath an insipid flavour, and your eyes
dissemble. Yet, I love Jerusalem. A purple haze hangs over its gables.
And it seemeth to me ever as if the sun in Jerusalem kissed one
secretly. But ye could not understand how that is ... ye have not the
blood of the great Herod in your veins. My mother hath it, and I have
it from her.... And whatever they may say in Jerusalem, my mother was
wise to run away from that other husband, for the one here is of more
account than he. And because she was so wise, and at the same time so
sadly foolish, I love her, and will share the consequences of her
folly. [_She flings herself on the couch._] I am not displeasing to my
uncle Herod.... I have remarked that he casts stolen glances at me....
Now when my mother scolds me I shall know how to tease her! [_Trills
forth._] I am the Rose of Sharon, a flower of the valley. Cometh not my
friend into his garden to eat of---- Miriam, where does that window
look out?
MIRIAM
I do not know, mistress. I have never been in this hall before.
SALOME
Go and see.
MIRIAM
[_Looks out of the window and starts._]
SALOME
Why dost thou start?
MIRIAM
Did I, mistress?
SALOME
Tell me what thou seest?
MIRIAM
There are many people standing round a fountain, and----
SALOME
And?
MIRIAM
I cannot----
SALOME
[_Stands up and goes to window._] Ah! [_Looking out for a moment in
silence._] Miriam, who is that?
MIRIAM
[_Confused._] Whom dost thou mean, mistress?
SALOME
Is there anyone else but him?... Miriam, thou gentle, brown Miriam
[_half threateningly_], deny him not!
MIRIAM
It is--John--the Baptist.
ABI, MAECHA
[_Hurrying up, all curiosity._] The Baptist?
SALOME
Let him be who he be. See how the people surge round him! Have ye ever
in your valley seen a rock bend? He doth not bend. Ha! ha! Not he! Only
if--perhaps---- [_She stretches out her arms._]
SCENE II
_The same. Herodias_. [_Enters from centre._]
MAECHA
Mistress, thy mother!
THE THREE MAIDENS
[_Withdraw quickly from the window._]
HERODIAS
What are ye doing here, damsels? Salome thou! Shall we let it be said
that we have brought evil manners into Jerusalem?
SALOME
[_Intending to wound, but outwardly meek._] Methinks it is said
already.
HERODIAS
[_Enraged._] Go!
SALOME
Yes, mother. [_She crosses over, and lingers between the pillars of the
balcony._]
HERODIAS
Ye damsels, stay! Ye are Judeans?
MAECHA
Yes, mistress.
HERODIAS
Intelligence hath reached me of one they call the Baptist stirring up
rebellion in the streets. Which of you know the man?
MAECHA
She does.
ABI
She hath this moment confessed it.
HERODIAS
What dost thou know of him?
MIRIAM
That last night I sat at his feet praying.
SALOME
[_Coming forward_] Thou? Thou?
MAECHA
Pardon! A moment ago he was standing close to the Palace.
HERODIAS
Show him to me.
MAECHA
[_From the window_] Now is he gone.
HERODIAS
[_To Miriam_] So speed after him, and when thou hast found him, bring
him privately through yonder gate. [_Points below to the right_]
SALOME
She shall not.... I will not ... _Not_ her!
HERODIAS
Why not?
SALOME
[_Throwing her arms round Miriam_] She is dearest to me. I will not let
her go out of my sight. [_Comes over and supplicates Herodias_] Mother!
HERODIAS
Art thou still such a child? [_To Miriam._] Go!
SALOME
[_Angrily._] Miriam!
[_Exit Miriam._
HERODIAS
Such a child, and already hast the tooth of a serpent in thy mouth!
SALOME
[_Kneels on the couch before her mother and encircles her knees with
her arms._] Forgive me, mother. We, thou and I, are not like others. We
sting those we love.
HERODIAS
[_Sotto voce._] And those we hate?
SALOME
[_Sotto voce._] We kiss!
HERODIAS
[_Laughing._] Child! [_She kisses her._]
SALOME
[_Laughing._] Thou kissest me!
SCENE III
_The same. The Palace Captain._
PALACE CAPTAIN
My master, the Tetrarch Herod, would see thee, mistress.
HERODIAS
[_In growing anxiety covers Salomes' face with her veil._] Go, make
haste; go!
SALOME
Mother, I am dull in the upstair chambers. May I not stay near thee?
HERODIAS
[_Looking towards the door._] Go, instantly!
SALOME
[_Slowly climbs the stairs with her companions._]
HERODIAS
Thou art Captain in the Palace?
THE PALACE CAPTAIN
[_Bows._]
HERODIAS
Go, set watches at every door. Who entereth goeth not out again.... And
keep silent.
THE PALACE CAPTAIN
One has but to see thee to know that thou art the mistress.... How
should I not be silent? [_Goes to the door._]
SCENE IV
_The same. Herod, Gabalos, Merokles, Jabad. The Palace Captain_ [_exit
when the others enter_].
HEROD
Princess, after waiting even the space of a moment, a man will enjoy
his favours to the full.... Therefore ... [_Kisses her on brow and
mouth._] Pardon!
HERODIAS
Thou hast rested; art refreshed?
HEROD
That question thou oughtst not to ask me. My father was one of those
men who never knew what weariness was. So his son, likewise, parts
company with his pillow betimes, and---- [_He observes Salome who, with
her veil slightly lifted, looks down from the balcony, and after she
sees that he has noticed her, vanishes._]
HERODIAS
Thou art silent.
HEROD
Thy daughter is not with thee?
HERODIAS
[_Dryly._] No.
HEROD
[_Bows his head, smiling._] Allow me, Princess ... to present these
friends.... I will not call them servants, for such they are not.
MEROKLES
Oh, mistress, they are servants whom thou mayest safely make thy
friends.
JABAD
And they are friends in order that they may serve thee.
GABALOS
And are amply rewarded for both, great mistress.
HEROD
[_Smiling._] This rascal, whose Syrian dialect thou art now acquainted
with for the first time, is Gabalos from Antioch. Thou seest, I
tolerate his jesting.
GABALOS
For Herod the Great also kept a Fool.
HERODIAS
And people say that he acquired a second Fool before he let the first
drown.
GABALOS
[_Bows, smiling, then turns aside with a grimace._]
HEROD
This is Merokles, the rhetorician. His voice carries far. It is heard
in Rome, when folks there would overhear my own.
MEROKLES
But I shall take no satisfaction in that voice till it may greet thee,
mistress, with the cry "Hail to thee, O Queen!"
HERODIAS
[_Winces, then smiles and exchanges a glance with Herod._]
MEROKLES
[_Sotto voce, joining Gabalos._] Thou madest a good hit; I a better.
HEROD
And in contrast to this cool flatterer, here is Jabad the Levite, my
guide and my conscience ever since I set foot on Jewish soil. For, by
Bacchus, he knows exactly what I have to do, every moment, in order to
be pious, after the manner of my pious people.
GABALOS
[_Sotto voce._] He acts as if he had forgotten the way.
MEROKLES
[_Sotto voce._] For by so doing he thinks he will the more resemble his
father.
HEROD
As an example, what ought I to be doing at this sacred moment?
JABAD
The sun is sinking, oh master. Thy Passover lamb, one year old and
flawless, hath been slaughtered in the Temple. It is now in the yard to
be blessed. Thou, as the lord and master of this house----
HEROD
Must do it myself?
JABAD
Thine illustrious father did not, and there was, on that account,
grumbling amongst the people.
HEROD
Blessing is cleaner work than slaughter. I will do it. See, ye wise
Greeks, that we must serve the gods in order to rule over men! And in
the end we serve to no purpose. [_He motions them away. To Jabad._] Go
and make ready, and I will follow thee. [_Exeunt Gabalos, Merokles, and
Jabad._]
SCENE V
_Herod, Herodias_ [_later Salome with Maecha, on the balcony. Herod and
Herodias stand together a few moments in silence._]
HERODIAS
Art thou content?
HEROD
Thy kindness oppresses me. Whether thou art content seemeth to me of
more importance.
HERODIAS
[_Feeling his tone of contempt._] I have had no roof over my head for
three nights. Like a tramp I have wandered in the dust of the roads. My
serving-women one by one deserted me. Only Salome hath not forsaken me.
I have robbed her of her father; the father I have robbed of his child.
And what I have robbed my husband of thou canst estimate better than it
beseemeth me. See, all this I have done for thee!
HEROD
I have abandoned my wife, who also said she loved me. She flew to her
father. He now maketh ready for war to avenge his child's wrong. Only a
trifle is lacking: I have no army. In Rome I am threatened with
disgrace; my brother curses me; Judea points the finger of scorn at
me.... So little have I done for thee----
HERODIAS
And thou repentest this little already?
HEROD
No! only forgive me if I blame thy coming too soon.
HERODIAS
Too soon! Was warmer welcome ever heard than this "too soon"?
HEROD
Take not my words amiss, I entreat thee!
HERODIAS
I dare not say that longing drove me here.
HEROD
[_With an embarrassed smile._] Say it ... by all means!
HERODIAS
Then thou hast not forgotten the days--of eloquent looks and silent
vows--when every breath was a longing desire and every word a feast?
HEROD
How should I forget? Love, how should I----?
HERODIAS
And thou rememberest no more the nights when wandering footsteps stole
their way to the fragrant gardens, where, in the feverish blossoming
around them, two sleepless ones mingled their sighs?
HEROD
How could I not remember; Love, how could I not?
HERODIAS
I have clothed myself in Indian draperies; I have put pomegranate
blossoms in my bosom, and gold dust in my hair ... but thou seest
nothing!... My converse is bridal, but thou hearest it not.
[_Salome has appeared on the balcony with Maecha. Herod notices her._]
SALOME
Wait; let me see whether he has already come. [_She looks over, and
after her eyes have met Herod's she vanishes._]
HERODIAS
[_Observing his absence of mind, with an exclamation._] No! thou
hearest nothing.
HEROD
[_Quickly recovering himself?_] Well; what if it is so? The language of
our soul, which thou art kind enough to call bridal, was fitting to the
delight of those fragrant gardens. To-day, methinks, we have another
task before us!
HERODIAS
Thinkest thou that I have been idle? Am I a woman who cometh to beg of
you a nightly dole of caresses? Look at me.... Not thy beloved.... She
exists no longer.... See in me thy ruling mistress!
HEROD
I am looking, and I see a woman who raves.
HERODIAS
As real as the ambition of thy mistress, as real as the secret
resentment which gnaws beneath thy own; despite thy ever-ready smiles.
HEROD
[_Horrified._] Who told thee ... whence ...?
HERODIAS
So real and positive is my hold over thee. Just now, when thou didst
say I raved, thou wast reflecting how thou couldst best get rid of
me.... Thou fool; then get rid of thy wakeful nights and all that which
thou thinkest great in thyself, the inheritance of that greater than
thou, whom thou wilt never equal....
HEROD
Woman ... what ... [_his words choke in his throat._]
HERODIAS
[_Laughing._] Speak out what thou hast to say. If thou no longer
needest me for love, thou mayest still require me as a listener and
adviser.
HEROD
[_After he has walked up and down several times in great excitement._]
Never resemble.... What is the man who smiles amiably in wrath? A
coward?... What is the man, who has two faces? Insincere?... Who fawns
on those in power. Servile? No; because the great Herod also did these
things. But sometimes, when the blood throbbed to bursting in his
veins, he snatched his sword from the sheath and slashed at friend and
enemy alike who stood in his way ... till the blood of his victim
washed him calm and cool again ... till the mighty at Rome experienced
a thrill at such a display of strength.... I, too, feel the blood
hammering in my veins.... I, too, would ... but I have no sword ... and
so I must continue to smile amiably ... continue showing two faces, and
licking the sandals of the priests.... I, the son of Herod; I, his ape!
HERODIAS
And suppose that the priests of the Temple adopted the attitude of
shield and barrier betwixt thee and the fury of the people, wouldst
thou doubt thyself less?
HEROD
I doubt myself not. And what thou sayest can never happen.
HERODIAS
[_Goes to the middle door and opens it._]
[_A Porteress enters._]
HERODIAS
What tidings hast thou?
THE PORTERESS
The two messengers to the Temple, mistress, have come back with word
from the High Priest.
HERODIAS
Show them into the outer hall.... They shall wait there.
[_Exit the Porteress._]
HEROD
[_With a laugh of rage and fear._] Are their trumpets already sounding
on the road? Hath the great curse already reached the door?
HERODIAS
Thou art wrong, my friend. Only a little blessing scratches at the
door.... If it pleaseth thee, let it come in.
HEROD
Thou dreamest.
HERODIAS
Listen to me! Why did I come before thee in haste to inhabit this empty
house?... Because every hour since I came I have been negotiating with
the priests----
HEROD
Thou?
HERODIAS
What if instead of hiding the sinning woman from the people, thou, with
head held aloft, repairest with her to the Temple? Would it not be an
ironical event if the High Priest, with the same air of patriarchal
servility with which he greeted the virtuous Mariamne, also smiled a
welcome to thy brother's runaway wife?
HEROD
With what sum hast thou purchased this?
HERODIAS
When it is given, it will be a present, not a purchase.
HEROD
Only one who knows not these butchers of the High Altar could believe
you.
HERODIAS
Well, these are the terms [_in a low voice_]. If we were to promise
never again to aspire in Rome to the sceptre of Judea [_scoffingly_],
then they might consider----
HEROD
And what answer didst thou make to such drastic, such----
HERODIAS
I promised.... What else should I do?... for thee, as well as myself.
HEROD
[_Pointing to himself._] Even before this booty was thine, thou hast
betrayed it?
HERODIAS
I fancied that I heard thee crying out just now for a sword.
[_Smiling._] When thou art king, thou wilt, of course, kill all whom
thou hast promised not to be king! That is the same thing as if thou
hadst never promised it.
HEROD
[_Staring at her._] Woman!
HERODIAS
Believest thou still that I hurried here only for the sake of a kiss?
HEROD
I shudder at thee. But even if the priests be won over, there remains
the people, the hydra-headed; thou knowest not the people. They once,
it is said, hurled sacrificial victims at the head of their king, they
slew Barachia's son between the Temple and the altar. And besides, dost
thou not know that John the Baptist is in the town?
HERODIAS
The Baptist! Leave the Baptist to me.
HEROD
I warn thee, approach him only with a weapon in thy hand!
HERODIAS
[_Laughs._]
SCENE VI
_The same. Jabad and several servants._
JABAD
Pardon, oh master, the lamb is ready.
HEROD
First, we will hear what the priests have to say if your mistress,
_our_ mistress, so pleaseth.
HERODIAS
[_Assents, smiling._] [_Exeunt all._
SCENE VII
_John, Miriam_ [_come through the lower door to right_].
MIRIAM
Await her here, Rabbi.... What are thy commands to thy handmaiden?
JOHN
[_Shakes his head._]
MIRIAM
[_Kisses the hem of his garment._] [_Exit._
SCENE VIII
_John_ [_left alone for a brief space_], _then Salome, and two of her
damsels._
SALOME
[_Steps softly to the balustrade and gazes down on John, seeks in her
breast for a flower, and not finding one turns back to Maecha._] Give
me those thou wearest in thy girdle. [_She takes the roses which Maecha
hands to her and throws them down._] He doth not see them. Bring more
flowers, and thy harp. Stay, Maecha, or I shall be afraid. [_Exeunt the
maids, except Maecha._] Thou fair savage, out of the wilderness of
Judah! The fire of hate that flashes from thy eye shall not devour me!
I will kindle another fire in it, lovely and languid like my dreams,
when at night the perfume of the narcissi is wafted to my pillow. [_The
maids come back._] Give them here.... Roses ... two arms' full. [_Hides
her face in the flowers._] Now if I had narcissi, too! Nay, but tarry
and sing the song which I taught you yesterday, the song which the
dancers sang at Antioch. But sing softly, so that he be not shy of us.
Where is Miriam?
ABI
She refuseth to come.
SALOME
[_Between her teeth._] She refuseth! He saw the rose. He is picking it
up ... as if he had never----There are more ... and more ... and more.
[_She scatters the roses down on him._]
SONG OF THE MAIDENS
[_The following is accompanied by the harp, which, after playing a
finale alone, dies away._]
I have entertained thee with myrrh and honey.
I bound sweet sandals on my feet.
From my waist I have loosened the girdle,
I have sung with the harp, thee to greet.
Now come, let us quench
The fire that consumes me ... Come!
Or thou from fear shalt blench.
For my soul will hate thee ... Come!
JOHN
[_Has looked up astonished. The hail of flowers strikes him in the
face. He shrinks back._] Who playeth with me?
SALOME
[_Who has slowly descended the steps._] Master, I----
JOHN
Who art thou?
SALOME
[_Coyly trifling._] I am a rose of Sharon and a flower of the valley.
JOHN
Then play with thy mates ... Leave me in peace ... or go and call her
who summoned me.
SALOME
My mother?
JOHN
Thou art Salome the----
SALOME
Yes; I am she.
JOHN
Let me look into thy eyes, maiden.
SALOME
Look, master ... No, but not like that.... If you compellest me to put
my hands before my face, I shall spread my fingers apart and laugh
between them; yes, I shall laugh.
JOHN
Maiden, knowst thou not how abhorred this house is? Keepest thou thy
soul innocent among the guilty?
SALOME
Look at me again, master.... Am I not young among the Daughters of
Israel? And I have heard say that youth knoweth nothing of the guilty
and of guilt. See, they keep me confined to the upper chambers. I drew
back the bolts and crept out here, because I knew thou wert here,
master.
JOHN
How can I say to the storm wind: "Pass by," and to the floods, "Swallow
her not"?
SALOME
Speak on, master, even if I understand nothing thou sayest. And knowest
thou that we are now sinning according to the Jewish "law"? Both of
us--yea, it is true. My companions are gone; and is it not forbidden
for a Jewish man to be alone with a virgin?
JOHN
I am not alone with thee. Behind us standeth the shadow of those who
have dragged thee with them through the foul refuse of their pleasures.
SALOME
I have my own pleasures, master. How shall the pleasures of others
concern me? I read once a saying that stolen fruits are sweet, and my
nurse used to tell me that undiscovered treasure was only found by
those who did not seek for it.... Is it not true thou hast not sought
me?
JOHN
Thy converse is confused.
SALOME
No matter. Chide me not. Think, are not our _dreams_ confused too? When
I flew hither with my mother, we came at night to a field of poppies.
And the dew shone on their petals.... They looked grey, and were all
closed up because it was night.... But now they are wide open, and I
think my cheeks must glow red in their reflection.
JOHN
Thou art lovely among the daughters of Jerusalem. They will weep for
thee.
SALOME
Why will they weep? Am I to be sacrificed? Not I, master. Protect me! I
have heard of a king, master, who made a compact with the sun. Hast
thou heard of him? [_John bows his head._]
SALOME
Well, I will make a compact with thee. Shall I be the sun, and thou my
king? Or wilt thou be the sun, and I thy queen?
JOHN
Maiden, I cannot be either sun or king.
SALOME
Why not? It is only a game.
JOHN
A King cometh after me, but I wander in the wilderness and seek a path
among thorns.
SALOME
And hast not found it?
JOHN
Not for myself.
SALOME
But for others?
JOHN
[_In torture, half to himself._] Who knoweth?
SALOME
Master, what harm shall wrath do one, who is a jubilation and a feast
day? And if thou camest to me in flames of fire, I would not mourn my
youth for the length of two moons.... I would stretch out my arms and
cry, "Destroy me, flame; take me up!"
JOHN
[_After a pause._] Go!
SALOME
I am going. [_She rushes into the arms of Herodias, who enters._]
Mother!
SCENE IX
_The same. Herodias and her women._
SALOME
Forgive me, mother, and let me stay with thee.
HERODIAS
Thou who lookest at me so imperiously, art thou the man who stirreth up
the people against me?
JOHN
I am he whom thou hast summoned.
HERODIAS
[_Seating herself._] Come hither to me!
JOHN
Send thy women away, and this child, so that she be not corrupted ere
she is ripe.
HERODIAS
But this child, companion of my fate, shall hear what thou hast to say
to me.
JOHN
She should be guarded from what I have to say to thee.
HERODIAS
Take care, prophet! At that door stand armed men, two deep. Consider
thy danger, so that thou courtest not death!
JOHN
I am a servant of life, and danger never standeth in my way.
HERODIAS
I respect thy faith, prophet, and so would speak to thee in a friendly
spirit.... People have told me of a man who keeps far away from human
dwellings, and only descends now and then to the banks of fresh waters
to bless, so it is said. That pleased me well.... The great willingly
bow to greatness ... and so I bow to thee.
SALOME
[_After cowering at her feet, springs up, and throws herself on her
neck._]
HERODIAS
I will not reproach thee for denouncing me in the market-place of
Jerusalem, for thou dost not know me.... Yet I was _not_ well pleased
that thou didst chew the cud of wormwood, which hath embittered these
Judean cattle against me. I should have thought thou wast too proud,
thy solitary nature too noble!
JOHN
I have not come here for thy praise or thy blame. I have but a simple
question to ask. Art thou going on the first day of the Passover to the
Temple, at the Tetrarch's side?
HERODIAS
[_Mastering her scorn with difficulty._] I perceive, thou great
prophet, that thy wrath strains on its chain.... Before thou lettest it
loose, permit me also to ask a question; for see, I am endeavouring to
approach thee, and would gladly win thee. Wert thou not a riddle to me,
I should not ask it. Yet truly no man is so curiously fashioned as not
to cherish secret wishes in his heart. Every one hath said to himself:
"This were my delight, and that my desire."
JOHN
I understand thee not.
HERODIAS
Look round thee. Doth not the gleaming snow of marble attract thy eyes,
nor the yellow glitter of gold?
JOHN
[_Is silent._]
HERODIAS
Or ... hast thou never dreamed of the power and splendour and riches of
this world?
JOHN
[_Still silent._]
Or [_pointing to Salome, who again cowers at her feet._] has thy heart
not trembled at the sight of this sweet, unveiled youth?
JOHN
[_After further silence._] Thou wouldst sell thyself to me! Dost thou
know thy own price? A grain of barley would be too dear ... for thy
name is courtezan, and adulteress is written on thy brow.
HERODIAS
[_Infuriated._] Thou--thou----
SALOME
[_Falling into her arms._] Mother!
HERODIAS
[_Controlling herself haughtily and contemptuously._] I should have thee
seized on the instant, only thou makest sport for me. And if not quite
intoxicated with thy own superiority, listen to me once more. He who
thinketh himself designed to be a judge over men should take part in
the life of men, should be human among human beings.
JOHN
[_Impressed._] What ... didst thou say?
HERODIAS
But thou seemest to me so isolated from thy fellow-men that the throb
of a human heart itself is nothing to thee.... Thou hast avoided,
cowardlike, all contact with sin and guilt in thy waste places, and now
creepest forth to condemn others as guilty. The scorching winds of thy
desert may perhaps have taught thee hate ... but what knowest thou of
love? of those who live and die for the sake of their love?
JOHN
Thou too speakest of love ... thou too?
HERODIAS
See! I am laughing at thee, great prophet. [_She laughs._]
SALOME
Mother, look at him ... be silent!
JOHN
Thy poisoned arrows are well aimed, and hit their mark! But ...
[_pointing to the window_] see there, the Lord's people ... they gnash
their teeth against thee, for thou hast taken their bitter bread out of
their mouths and dissipated their miserable joys.... Thou sayest that I
know them not.... Yet I know their heart's desire ... for I have
created it; I have put my life at the service of that desire, and I cry
to thee, "Woe! thou that hast contaminated it for them.... Thou
enervatest the strength of their young men, and exposest the shame of
their young women. Thou sowest scoffings where I thought to reap
faith.... And if thou bendest the High and Mighty to be the footstool
of thy lusts, I will fling the poor and humble in thy path, that they
may trample thee beneath their feet.... Woe to thee, and woe to him who
shareth thy adulterous couch!... Woe, too, to this youthful body that
cringes under the scourge of thy blood! Woe! Woe!"
HERODIAS
[_Springing up and going to the door on right._] The guards shall seize
him.... Guards!... [_She wrenches the door open._]
SCENE X
_The same. Two guards._
HERODIAS
Lead this man ... . [_She hesitates as she meets John's eyes._]
JOHN
[_Smiling._] Now, look to it, what thou dost with me!
HERODIAS
Lead this man ... out ... into the street.... [_She staggers to the
divan._]
SALOME
Thou camest in flames of fire!...
JOHN
[_Walks to the door._]
[_The Curtain falls._]
THIRD ACT
THIRD ACT
_A room in Josaphat's house. In the background a door, which leads into
the street. Near it a barred window. On the left side is a door to
another living room. A door also on the right. In the foreground to
left a cobbler's tools. Towards centre, a table and two or three
benches. To the right, a couch, a small table, and chair beside it. The
room is poor, but not bare; lighted by two clay lamps._
SCENE I
JAEL [_With a child at her breast._]
[_Two other children and several women standing near door on left
listening to a psalm sung by men's voices, which is heard in subdued
strains coming through the door._]
THE BOY
What are they singing now, mother?
JAEL
[_Pale and troubled._] They sing the great Hallelujah, my child.
THE BOY
Is the prophet singing with them, mother?
JAEL
That I cannot hear, my child. [_Two more women come through middle
door._]
FIRST WOMAN
Jael, we have heard that the Great Prophet eateth the passover in thy
house. Wilt thou permit us to see him?
JAEL
Come in!
ONE OF THE OTHER WOMEN
That is he, the last there on the left.
FIRST WOMAN
He that sitteth there looking so heavy of spirit?
THE SECOND WOMAN
I should be frightened of him. [_The singing has meanwhile ceased._]
FIRST WOMAN
They say that he hath come into the town to judge Herodias. Is that so,
Jael?
JAEL
I know not.
THE BOY
Mother, see, they are now drinking the fourth goblet. They will be here
directly.
FIRST WOMAN
Hath he spoken a blessing over the fourth goblet?
SECOND WOMAN
No; Josaphat spake it.
FIRST WOMAN
See, they are standing up!
ANOTHER
Are they coming hither, Jael?
JAEL
That is the couch on which he will rest.
SEVERAL
Then farewell, Jael.
JAEL
Farewell! [_They hurry out._]
SCENE II
_Jael with her children. John, Josaphat, Amarja._
JOSAPHAT
Here thou wilt be alone, Rabbi. The others remain outside.
JOHN
Accept my thanks, Josaphat.
AMARJA
Mine, too, Josaphat.
JOSAPHAT
Thank him, Amarja, for eating with us. [_While John seats himself, he
says, sotto voce, to Amarja_] Come! [_Observes Jael, who has been
standing at the door unnoticed._] Jael, thou here, and the children?
JOHN
Is that thy wife, Josaphat?
JOSAPHAT
Yes, Rabbi.
JOHN
And thy children?
JOSAPHAT
Yes, Rabbi.
JOHN
Thou hast never told me of these.... Is thy name Jael? He called thee
so.
JAEL
Yes, Rabbi.
JOHN
Why comest thou not nearer?
THE BOY
We are afraid of thee, Rabbi.
JOHN
[_Smiling._] Why are you afraid?
THE BOY
I do not know.
JOSAPHAT
Forgive him, Rabbi ... he ...
JOHN
Josaphat, wilt thou entrust them to me for a few minutes?
JOSAPHAT
[_Bows his head, signs to Amarja, and goes away with him to the
right._]
SCENE III
_John, Jael, the children._
JOHN
Thy eyes have a sad look, Jael. Is thy heart troubled?
JAEL
Kneel down, Baruch, my son. Kneel down, both.
THE BOY
[_Half crying._] Mother!
JOHN
What is it, Jael?
JAEL
[_To the children._] Say: Prithee, Rabbi?
THE CHILDREN
Prithee, Rabbi.
JAEL
And this little one prayeth, too, though not old enough to pray....
JOHN
For what?
JAEL
That thou wouldest give them back their father; for see, they have no
bread.
JOHN
[_Lifting the children from their knees._] Just now we ate of the lamb
in thy house, and thou sayest "we have no bread"?
JAEL
I do not speak of to-day; to-day the poorest have something to eat.
Thou art truly a great prophet, Rabbi, and thou givest much to the
people; but from us--from me and these little children--thou takest
away all that we have.
JOHN
How could I do that, Jael?
JAEL
See; for a long time my husband goeth out every night to thee in the
wilderness, and then the tools lie there idle, and we starve. But
willingly would we starve and die of hunger for him, if thou hadst not
estranged his heart from us, and stolen his love for thyself.
JOHN
Art thou, too, one of those who say, Greater than the law and sacrifice
is love?
JAEL
[_Anxiously._] I did not say that, Rabbi.... Thou wouldst not get me
into trouble with the priests?
JOHN
But thou thinkst so in thy heart!
JAEL
Rabbi!
JOHN
Hadst thou come to me in my wilderness, I would have shown thee the way
to One Who shall bring food to the hungry. Here, I am powerless. Go; I
have nothing to do with thee!
JAEL
[_Goes with the children to the door,_]
JOHN
[_Makes a movement as if he would call her back._]
JAEL
Rabbi!
JOHN
[_Shakes his head._]
[_Exit Jael, with the children._]
SCENE IV
_John, Josaphat, Amarja._
JOHN
Josaphat, how long have I known thee?
JOSAPHAT
It is two years since I came to thy baptism.
JOHN
And since, thou hast been often?
JOSAPHAT
Have I not always been with thee, Rabbi?
JOHN
I never knew that thou wast a cobbler ... and that thy children cried
for bread! It seems to me that I do not know thee even yet, Josaphat.
JOSAPHAT
Thou knowest what is best in me, for thou hast given it to me!
JOHN
So, then, I know myself alone. And of thee, too, Amarja, I know no
more.... Only this I know. [_Gazing into vacancy._] I am sent----
[_Breaks off._]
JOSAPHAT
Rabbi!
JOHN
Some one hath said to me that I knew ye not; one of those who have the
word "love" on their tongues.... And I am inclined to believe her....
But even if I have known you, I have not desired to love you, but
rather to judge you in the name of---- In whose name? Know ye the rest?
JOSAPHAT
In the name of Him Who shall come. So thou hast taught us, master.
JOHN
Sooner would I talk to these black walls, that they might perhaps fall;
sooner to thy hungry children, that my words might fill them. But the
belief that looketh up to me, transfigured because it believeth....
That hurts me.
AMARJA
[_Low to Josaphat._] It is now the second hour. Wilt thou not mention
Herod to him?
JOHN
[_As Josaphat comes nearer to him._] I sent the youngest of you to
search for the Galilean. Where is he?
JOSAPHAT
He has not yet come back, master.
JOHN
May be he has lost the way.
JOSAPHAT
I told him where to come to, master.
JOHN
I want the Galilean.... Ye shall procure me the Galilean.... See ye not
that my strength rests in my King ... Even if I serve Him like an
unworthy vessel ... I serve Him according to my measure.... I have
borne witness to Him.... Is that not true?
JOSAPHAT
Thou hast borne witness, indeed, Rabbi.
JOHN
But the testimony hath grown up in my soul. When He comes, will He bear
it out?
JOSAPHAT
He will, master; for God sendeth Him.
JOHN
Else my soul hath not known Him, even as it hath not known you. Have ye
no news of Manassa? Go and keep watch outside, that he doth not miss
the house.
JOSAPHAT
That will be he! [_Goes to open the door._]
SCENE V
_The same. Matthias._
JOSAPHAT
Thou, Matthias? Hast thou not seen Manassa?
MATTHIAS
No. Rabbi, I come to thee in the night because of Herod.
JOHN
Because of Herod? [_Seats himself with head turned away._]
MATTHIAS
I sent spies to the Palace up till the time of the Passover Feast. The
priests were coming to and fro. What their business was no one knows.
And if he cometh now to the morning sacrifice at eight of the clock, as
is his custom on high festivals ... and comes with that woman ...
flaunting his sin in the face of the people.... Rabbi, speak! What
then?
JOHN
[_Does not answer,_]
AMARJA
He hears thee not.
JOSAPHAT.
He is thinking of the Galilean.
JOHN
I heard some one here speak of sin. Know ye in what raiment sin clothes
itself gorgeously when it goeth abroad among the people? Say
courtliness, say hate, say what ye will, and I shall laugh at you.
Hear, and mark well. They call it love. Everything that is small, and
stoops because it is small, that throws crumbs from its table in order
not to throw bread; that covers up graves that they may stink secretly;
that hews off the thumb of the left hand that it may have nothing to
say to the thumb of the right; take care; all that is called love. And
they call it love when in spring the ass brays and the dogs whine; when
a woman herself gathers together the stones whereon to rest with her
lover in the evening, stones which in the morning the people will hurl
at her, and the woman speaketh: "See beloved, how sweet is our couch."
... They call this love.
MATTHIAS
[_After exchanging a look with Josaphat._] Rabbi, forgive us, but the
people are waiting for thee. The many who desert their beds, expectant
of the morrow, think only of one thing--judgment! The judgment of
Herod.
JOHN
Judgment of Herod--well.
JOSAPHAT
And thou shalt judge him. No one else but thou?
JOHN
I shall judge him.
MATTHIAS.
Him and the woman?
JOHN
Him and the woman. Did ye doubt?
MATTHIAS
If we did, forgive.
AMARJA
But suppose he comes without the woman. What would happen then?
JOHN
Ye ask so much. Ye and your questions become wearisome. Hark! There is
Manassa. [_Josaphat opens._]
SCENE VI
_The former. Miriam._
JOHN
Miriam, thou? What desirest thou of me?
MIRIAM
[_Breathless._] I flew from the Palace.... The guards have chased
me.... Perhaps what I know ... may be of use to thee.
JOSAPHAT
Speak, Miriam!
MIRIAM
If the master will hear. With ye others I have nothing to do.
JOHN
I will listen, Miriam.
MIRIAM
A rumour has reached the Tetrarch that the people are plotting evil
against him. He would on that account hide the woman, but she will not
be hid. She will defy the master, because he hath offended her. An
order is just gone forth for all the servants of the house to arm
themselves and line the road. Even during the night, so that the
procession shall pass to the Temple ere the great crowd assembleth.
Thus they think to escape the people's wrath and thine, master.
THE DISCIPLES
That shall not come to pass; verily it shall not.
JOSAPHAT
Hast thou learned, Miriam, by which of the outer gates they go to the
Temple?
MIRIAM
By the Susan Gate. I heard the servants say, as I crept by.
JOSAPHAT
And will the Roman soldiers be amongst them?
MIRIAM
That I did not hear.
JOSAPHAT
For if the Romans accompany them, we must wait behind the second gate;
there where no heathen may penetrate at the cost of his head.
MATTHIAS
On the other hand, they can there be saved by the priests.
JOSAPHAT
Certainly, there the priests---- Master, what is thy counsel?
JOHN
I counsel you to go forth into the streets, and to seek right and left.
I would learn from that Galilean what counsel I ought to give you.
MATTHIAS
Canst thou understand him?
JOSAPHAT
I would liefer not understand him.
[_Exeunt Josaphat, Matthias, and Amarja._]
SCENE VII
_John, Miriam._
MIRIAM
[_Shrinks against the wall near the door and looks shyly across at
John, who broods with his back turned to her._]
JOHN
[_Suddenly noticing her._] Thou, Miriam, art still here?
MIRIAM
Forgive me, master. I am a little afraid; for if I go homewards the
guards at the gate will seize me.
JOHN
But thou camest to me in the wilderness at night?
MIRIAM
Then no one knew with whom I associated, master.
JOHN
Who art thou? Tell me about thyself. Who is thy father?
MIRIAM
I have no father--and no mother. The country is full of orphans like
me. There are far too many. I have never asked anyone why.
JOHN
And why didst thou go to the Palace as serving maid?
MIRIAM
They say that I once sat and played with pebbles on the threshold. And
when evening came, they took me in. Since then I have belonged to the
Palace, and know no better.
JOHN
Thou servest me with zeal, Miriam. Why dost thou serve me?
MIRIAM
I know not why.
JOHN
And thou servest me to no purpose--knowest thou that?
MIRIAM
[_Bows her head._]
JOHN
Will they not punish thee?
MIRIAM
[_With a shudder._] They will ... I....
JOHN
Speak!
MIRIAM
Master, what does it matter?
JOHN
Miriam, is it also He Who shall come that thou servest?
MIRIAM
I cannot tell, master. When I see thee, I feel a longing for Him....
But if thou speakest to me of Him, I see only thee.
JOHN
Ye children of men ... there is a rushing as of many waters in your
souls.... Clear and muddy ... I shall gather all together in one great
river, and I feel as if I should drown therein.
MIRIAM
Master, now I must go. Whether or no I served thee to no purpose, be
gracious. Praise me, master.
JOHN
I see thee sitting on the threshold again ... playing with thy life,
and thou excitest my pity. ... Go, maid! Go, child! and [_He listens._]
MIRIAM
Master!
SCENE VIII
_The former. Josaphat, Matthias, Amarja, Manassa._
JOHN
[_Going forward to him._] Where is the Galilean?
MANASSA
I have sought Him, master, from the hour thou sentest me till past
midnight. I have not rested nor tasted a crumb.
JOHN
The Galilean? Hast thou found Him?
MANASSA
I found him. He lay stretched out on the stones in charge of the
soldiers, and near him, in chains, was his murderer.
AMARJA
Who, on the holy eve of the Passover----?
MANASSA
They called him David the Zealot. The Galileans blaspheme God, he hath
said, and therefore must this one die.
JOSAPHAT
It is true; he did blaspheme God.
MATTHIAS
He blasphemed God!
JOHN
But I say unto you ... To him it was not blasphemy. To him it was
worship. Methinks more such men will come out of Galilee. For there is
an uprising there.... Tell me, Josaphat, do not many pilgrims sleep on
the stones at night, nigh the doors of the Temple?
JOSAPHAT
Yes, Rabbi. On starry nights, like these, many a one wraps himself in
his blanket and tarries by the House of the Lord.
JOHN
[_In sudden decision._] It is well. [_Exit._
MATTHIAS
Rabbi!
AMARJA
Hath he deserted us?
JOSAPHAT
Be not troubled! Thou, Amarja, wake our friends. Thou, Manassa, bring
us tidings from the Palace. We two will follow the master. Meet us at
the Susan Gate, at the place where the old beggar-woman sits. Come!
[_Exeunt the men._]
MIRIAM
[_Who has stood unheeded, goes out with bowed head._]
CHANGE OF SCENE
_A stone square before the open gate of the Temple called the Susan
Gate. The front of the stage is enclosed by the circuit of the outer
wall. In the centre more than half the breadth of the stage is taken up
by the massive doors of the gate, to which steps lead. It is night. The
fire of the great sacrificial altar is reflected from the background on
the walls, and fills the foreground with red, uncertain flickering
glow._
SCENE X
_Pilgrims_ (_men and women_) _lie in their blankets, scattered about
the steps and on the stones which fill the space on left side. Among
them the First Galilean and Second Galilean. To the right of the path
which leads outside the wall of the Temple, across the stage, lies
Mesulemeth_. (_In a little while enter John from left._)
JOHN
[_Looks round searchingly, and pauses before a pilgrim who is sleeping
on the steps._] Pilgrim, awake!
PILGRIM
It is not yet day. Why dost thou wake me?
JOHN
Whence comest thou? Art thou a Galilean?
PILGRIM
I come from Gaza on the south-east coast. Let me sleep.
SECOND GALILEAN
[_To first._] Didst hear? Some one there is talking of Galileans.
FIRST GALILEAN
Sleep, and let them talk.
JOHN
[_Walks on, and then pauses in front of Mesulemeth._] Thou who liest
here by the way, be thou man or woman, wake up!
MESULEMETH
Why dost thou not step over me, as every one does in Jerusalem?
JOHN
Dost thou lie here always in the road?
MESULEMETH
I lie here always. For I must be at the Temple. Day and night I must be
at the Temple.
JOHN
Art thou not greedy for alms?
MESULEMETH
[_Shaking her head._] The little I want, the pilgrims give me. But hast
thou never heard of Hannah, the prophetess?
JOHN
I have heard speak of her, when I was a child.
MESULEMETH
Well, this is her place. Here she sat and waited for the Messiah, forty
years long. When she died she left the place to me ... And now I sit
and wait till He comes again.
JOHN
Comes again? Hath He then been already?
MESULEMETH
Certainly He hath.
JOHN
[_In deep emotion._] He came? Came even to thee?
MESULEMETH
To me? No. If He had come to me, I should have been at rest long ago.
But Hannah ... She saw Him when He came.
JOHN
Woman! I implore thee ... Speak, tell me, how did He come?
MESULEMETH
Then sit down here beside me, so that I may speak low.... Once a little
lad was brought to the Temple by his mother, to be circumcised. And
there was one called Simeon who, when he saw this boy-babe, was filled
with the Holy Ghost, and said, "Lord, now lettest thou Thy servant
depart in peace, for his eyes have seen Thy salvation, which Thou hast
prepared for all nations." ... And Hannah heard this, and she came up
to them and recognised Him?
JOHN
How did she recognise Him?
MESULEMETH
Did I not tell thee that she was a prophetess? Otherwise she might not
have recognised Him. But as it was, she praised the Lord, and laid
herself down and died. So now I sit where she sat, and wait for Him to
come again.
JOHN
Verily, He must come again; and dost thou know, woman, how He will
come? As the Lord of Hosts, arrayed in golden armour, with His sword
drawn above His head, so He will come to save His people Israel. He
will trample His enemies under His horse's hoofs, but the youth of
Israel shall greet Him with hosannas and jubilation. See, woman, that
is how He will come!
MESULEMETH
[_Anxiously._] Who art thou, stranger? Dost thou imagine thyself to be
the prophet of anyone?
JOHN
It matters not who I am, if thou art prepared for my message.
MESULEMETH
Thou canst take thy message further. I will not have it.
JOHN
What! Thou wilt not have the Messiah?
MESULEMETH
Not that one. I will not have that one. For many have come in golden
armour, and have drawn their sword, and then Israel hath bled after,
like a sacrificial ox. _He_ shall be no king! No! When kings come, they
come to kings! No one hath come, as yet to us, the poor---- Go away,
stranger, lest thou snatch from me my crumb of hope. Begone, thou art a
false prophet!... Go, let me lie on the road! [_She sinks back._]
JOHN
[_To himself._] False prophet!
SCENE XI
_The same. Josaphat, Matthias_. [_From the left._]
MATTHIAS
See, he is there!
JOSAPHAT
Rabbi, forgive us for following thee hither----
JOHN
It is not yet dawn.... At this hour ye have nothing to claim from
me----
MATTHIAS
But, remember Herod----
JOHN
Why stir ye up so much dust? This puny Herod, who runs after women, is
not my business.
JOSAPHAT AND MATTHIAS
[_Exchange dismayed glances._]
JOHN
Go, find me Galileans! Wake those who sleep on the steps, ransack the
houses if necessary. Only bring me Galileans, that I may question them.
SECOND GALILEAN
Hearest thou? Some one standeth there, clamouring for Galileans!
FIRST GALILEAN
I thought I dreamt it. Thou, who wilt not let us sleep, what dost thou
want with us Galileans?
JOHN
Stand up and come to me!
SECOND GALILEAN
Goest thou?
FIRST GALILEAN
He must be great in Israel, otherwise he would not command.
SECOND GALILEAN
Yes, yes; thou art right. [_They both stand up._]
JOSAPHAT
Rabbi----[_John signs to him with his hand to be silent._]
FIRST GALILEAN
Now, here we are.
JOHN
Who are ye? Whence do ye come?
FIRST GALILEAN
We are fishermen from the Sea of Galilee. My name is Ram, and that is
my brother-in-law, and he is called Abia. And we both fish with the
same net. Is it not so?
SECOND GALILEAN
Yes; we both fish with the same net.
JOHN
And tell me, ye two men, have ye ever heard of a prophet that teacheth
in Galilee?
FIRST GALILEAN
A prophet! Hast thou heard of a prophet, Abia?
SECOND GALILEAN
I have heard of no prophet.
JOHN
Not ... of one who saith ... He is the Son of God?
FIRST GALILEAN
Ah, thou meanest Jesus of Nazareth?
JOHN
[_In great agitation, scarcely audible._] Jesus of Nazareth!
JOSAPHAT AND MATTHIAS.
[_Awed._] Jesus of Nazareth!
JOHN
Thou spakest His name first. Fear sealed my lips. But now thou hast
said it. Yes, I mean Him.
FIRST GALILEAN
Yes ... I know His father well. He is an honest carpenter, and very
pious too. He well deserves that his son should be a joy to him.
JOHN
Tell me more of Him.
FIRST GALILEAN
He put up a bedstead for a friend of mine.
JOHN
Tell me of the son.
FIRST GALILEAN
Ah, the son. Well, Abia, what shall we say of the son?
SECOND GALILEAN
Aye, what shall we say of the son?
JOHN
Hast thou ever seen Him?
FIRST GALILEAN
Oh, yes.
JOHN
Thou hast seen Him?
FIRST GALILEAN
Many a time ... from my ship. For He carries on His work on the shore.
And there is always a great gathering along the banks, is there not,
Abia?
SECOND GALILEAN
Yes, the banks are always quite black with people. And the fish take
notice of it. That is not good for our trade.
FIRST GALILEAN
They say that He works miracles. I once met a man myself who had
been blind till his--I forget what year--and he maintained that
he was made to see again by spittle from His mouth ... It may be
possible--but----[_Laughs stupidly._]
JOHN
[_To Josaphat._] Have not many said of me, that I work miracles?
JOSAPHAT
Many say it, but we know it, Rabbi.
JOHN
Indeed? I have seen no miracle but the power ... and no one to whom it
hath happened, save the weak. But speak on, man.
FIRST GALILEAN
It may be all very well for Him to heal the sick, but the worst of it
is He doeth it on the Sabbath. That is bad, bad! And then, His friends
are not well chosen. Circumspect people, naturally, are not disposed to
mix with Him. For how can one trust a man who sitteth at meat with
publicans and sinners? And, then, He is always at weddings and feasts.
Ah! No, no.
JOHN
At feasts?
JOSAPHAT
Master, these are little people. They understand not the wisdom of
cunning speech.
JOHN
The great should carry the little with them, the wise should master
these simple intellects. That he hath not done.... And what is it He
teacheth?
FIRST GALILEAN
Ah, what does He teach? All sorts of folly. For instance, that we
should love our enemies.
JOHN
Love our enemies?
FIRST GALILEAN
And bless them that curse us ... and pray for them that persecute us.
JOHN
Pray for them that persecute us?
FIRST GALILEAN
Yes; and more nonsense of the kind. Also that----
CALL
[_From the roof of the Temple._] It groweth light towards Hebron.
JOHN
[_Eagerly._] Why dost thou not proceed?
FIRST GALILEAN
[_Rising._] It is now time for morning prayer.
CALL
[_More distant._] It groweth light towards Hebron. [_All stand up and
begin to pray, their faces turned towards the Temple._]
CALL
[_Quite distant._] It groweth light towards Hebron.
JOHN
[_Baffled and tormented._] Towards Hebron it groweth light.
SCENE XII
[_The great gates are slowly opened, displaying marble walls, mounting
in terraces, behind which are two more gates. The Temple-building
itself is almost completely hidden by smoke from the great lighted
sacrificial altar, which bounds the perspective. From the mountains
behind the Temple are heard the long-drawn notes of the silver
trumpets. People begin to stream up._]
MATTHIAS
[_Has gone to Josaphat's side and speaks to him privately, then turns
to John, who stands alone on the left._] Master, the people are
flocking to the Temple.... In a few moments the Tetrarch will certainly
be there too, with the woman. Wilt thou not step among them, that they
may know their leader?
JOHN
The image of my King shining in the radiance of the cherubim. Where is
it? Where is the rainbow of seven colours that was round His head?
Seven torches burned by His throne. I see them no more!
SCENE XIII
_The same. Manassa._
MANASSA
[_Hurrying up from left._] Matthias, Josaphat, where is the master?
JOSAPHAT
Herod has come forth from his door?
MANASSA
[_Assents._]
JOSAPHAT
With the woman?
MANASSA
With the woman.
JOSAPHAT
Master [_as he heeds not_], Master----
JOHN
What is it?
JOSAPHAT
Herod is on the way.
JOHN
Who is Herod?
JOSAPHAT
[_Buries his face in his hands._]
MATTHIAS
[_To Manassa._] Had he the Roman soldiers with him?
MANASSA
Only his servants are with him.
MATTHIAS
Hearest thou, master? He is delivered into our hands.
SCENE XIV
_The same. Amarja; with a fresh crowd of people._
AMARJA
[_Calling._] John, where is John?
JOSAPHAT
[_With resolution._] Here is John.
THE PEOPLE
[_Hear and murmur, joyously._] See, there is John!
JOSAPHAT
Hear all of you! Go not past; and thou over there mayest speak. The
master will listen unto thee.
AMARJA
Herod is coming to the Temple, wearing princely robes. At his side,
sparkling with precious stones, walks the courtezan.
THE PEOPLE
[_Break out into cries of anger._]
JOSAPHAT
Master, thy hour is come; mount the steps and speak to them!
THE PEOPLE
[_Pressing round._] John, speak--Rabbi, speak--What shall we do?
JOSAPHAT
Keep back! He will speak to you. [_Sotto voce._] Mount the steps!
JOHN
[_Walks as if in a dream towards the steps._]
THE PEOPLE
[_Murmuring._] See! He sways. What aileth him?
JOSAPHAT
Make haste. Speak!
CALL
Here is Herod. Here cometh Herod!
THE PEOPLE
Stone him! Stone the courtezan!
OTHERS
Look at John! Do what John does, else are ye lost.
SCENE XV
_The same. Herod, Herodias, with train from right._
JOHN
[_John has mounted the steps and stands in the middle of the
threshold._]
HEROD
[_Pale, but smiling._] Hearest thou what they cry?
HERODIAS
Have him seized, else it means death to you and to me.
THE PEOPLE
[_Are silent and tense in expectation. Most of them have picked up
stones._]
JOSAPHAT
[_Who stands to the left of John on a lower step, hands him a stone,
and says in a low voice._] Take this stone! [_More urgently._] Take
this stone!
JOHN
[_Takes the stone._]
HEROD
Thou on the steps. Knowest thou me not?
JOSAPHAT
[_Whispers._] Hurl the stone!
JOHN
[_Firmly._] In the name of Him [_He is about to throw the stone, then
pauses, half-questioning, half-swooning._] ... Who ... commands me ...
to love thee----[_A low moaning runs through the people._]
TWO SERVANTS
[_Have approached John. They seize him and push him down from the
Temple steps._]
HEROD AND HERODIAS
[_Walk up._]
THE PEOPLE
Woe to us! He too hath forsaken us. Woe, woe!
JOSAPHAT
[_To John, who is pinioned by the servants._] Master, what hast thou
done to us?
THE PEOPLE
Woe! Woe!
[_The curtain falls._]
FOURTH ACT
FOURTH ACT
_A town in Galilee.... The stage represents a grass-grown prison-yard
which, on the right side, is adjacent to the gardens of a Herodian
Palace, divided from them by a low wall, which continues in a
right-hand direction to the centre of background. On the left side of
background a higher wall, and entrance with heavy doors. To the left,
the clumsy pile of the prison buildings and a door. In the garden wall
is a gate, over which hangs the green foliage of the garden beyond,
which bounds the right side of background. On the right is a
semi-circular shaped marble seat with back; on left, stones covered
with moss._
SCENE I
_Gaoler, Abi._
ABI
[_With head thrust over the garden wall._] Master Gaoler, dost thou not
hear?
GAOLER
What wilt thou?
ABI
A ball went over the wall. Hast thou seen it?
GAOLER
No.
ABI
Please look for it, and throw it back.
GAOLER
Look for it thyself.
ABI
How can I, unless thou openest the gate.
GAOLER
I may not open it. Let me be.
ABI
Listen, Gaoler. The ball belongs to Salome, our young Princess. If thou
art not obliging, beware!
GAOLER
Oh, if it belongs to the young Princess----[_Opens the gate._]
SCENE II
_The Gaoler, Abi, Maecha, and later, Salome._
ABI
[_Calls back, laughing._] Mistress, the door is open.
GAOLER
Is that the young Princess, who is daughter of his new wife?
ABI
[_Nods._]
SALOME
[_Appears in the gateway._]
GAOLER
Princess, if ever thou comest through again, be sure to laugh, as
to-day. For this gate is full of danger for Herod's children.
SALOME
What does it do to Herod's children, thy gate?
GAOLER
The two sons of Herod the Great came through this gate before they were
sentenced, and through this gate----
MAECHA
Stop!...
SALOME
Let him alone, Maecha! His wisdom has taken a holiday. Hast thou no
livelier stories, old man?
GAOLER
What sort dost thou mean, young Princess?
SALOME
Stories of yesterday. Stories that have not yet come to an end--stories
that are as young [_stretches herself_] as we are.
GAOLER
Ah, I knew; but----
SALOME
But? Tell me, hast thou a new prisoner?
GAOLER
Yes.
SALOME
What has he done?
GAOLER
[_Maliciously._] He stole hens, young Princess.
SALOME
See to it that thou dost not steal my time!
ABI
[_Softly to him._] With her there is no jesting.
GAOLER
Princess, forgive.... I did not know.... Thou meanest, perhaps, John?
SALOME
Which John?
GAOLER
The one they call the Baptist--the Prophet from Judea, who----
SALOME
So he is here?
GAOLER
Yes; he has been here the last three days, Princess. They brought him
at the end of the same cavalcade which brought thee. He lieth now safe
with the salamanders and scorpions. They say he stirred up rebellion in
Jerusalem, and therefore----
SALOME
I wish to see John. Bring him here!
GAOLER
[_Horrified._] Princess, that cannot be.
SALOME
I wish it! Hast thou not heard? I wish it!
GAOLER
Princess, I opened this gate for thee because thou hadst lost a
plaything. Shall I now, instead of thy plaything, lose this old head?
MAECHA
Mistress, the Tetrarch is coming.
SALOME
[_Veiling herself._] Hide yourselves! [_She stoops behind the seat;
the maidens slip into the bushes._]
[_In the gateway Herod and his attendants._]
SCENE III
_The same. Herod, Merokles, Jabad, Gabalos._
HEROD
Gaoler!
GAOLER
Sire.
HEROD
Who are the three men who linger about the door? They look morose, and
did not salute me.
GAOLER
Sire, those are the remnant of the crew which followed John, they say,
from Jerusalem. For eight days and eight nights they followed him.
HEROD
The remnant, sayest thou? Where are the rest?
GAOLER
They lie somewhere by the wayside, Sire, and die of thirst, unless the
ravens give them to drink.
HEROD
Drive them away!
GAOLER
Sire, we have hunted them off several times; but they always come back.
HEROD
So, let them be.
MEROKLES
See, how mild is our ruler! He doth not order them to be cut in pieces.
JABAD
Hail to our Ruler! [_The two others join in._]
HEROD
To speak candidly, friends, I do not lay hands on sages and fools
willingly; for one can never know whether the executioner holds up the
head of a sage or a fool.
GABALOS
Thou canst do no wrong, Sire; for thou art wise, all-wise!
HEROD
When I order thee to be beheaded, I shall not be wrong; for thou art a
fool, a complete fool. [_Nearing the seat._] Bring me----[_Observes
Salome, who, listening, has raised her head a little above the edge of
the seat, then quickly dives down again._] I beg you to retire, and
await me without the gate.
[_Exeunt Gabalos, Merokles, Jabad._]
SCENE IV
_Herod, Salome. Also Abi and Maecha, hidden._
HEROD
Tell me, thou veiled one, art thou not Salome, my wife's daughter?
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!
[_Gabalos and the servants withdraw to the background, where they let
down the curtains which now shut in the hall._]
HEROD
What hast thou decided? Will it come to pass?
HERODIAS
Thy countenance beams. Thy eyes betray a badly concealed desire.
HEROD
[_Bewildered_] Of what desire dost thou speak?
HERODIAS
Do not prevaricate. I know thee, my friend. The poisonous weed which
thou cultivatest with little sighs, and coverest up with thy crooked
smiles, I know it!
HEROD
I vow, love, that I ask this only for the sake of the Roman. And
how should I ever have conceived the idea had it not been for thy
half-promises and suggestion of its possibilities? Thou knowest as well
as I that we must offer the Roman something immense, something that may
not have faded from his tired memory when he enters Cæsar's presence.
HERODIAS
That is it. And thou thyself gainest thereby a dainty tit-bit for thy
lonely night-dreams! It will be nothing more than that. I'll see to it.
HEROD
I am simple of understanding. I cannot follow thee.
HERODIAS
Oh, yes; very simple is thy understanding. I know.
HEROD
Then it seems thou refusest?
HERODIAS
How could I refuse, when youth smiled and consented?
HEROD
Ah! And what reward wilt thou claim?
HERODIAS
Nothing.
HEROD
Thou art like those priests, dearest. What didst thou ever do for
nothing? Hasten then, I pray, to name thy price!
HERODIAS
Farewell!
HEROD
[_Looks after her, shaking his head._]
HERODIAS
[_Turning round._] Before I forget it, just tell me, my friend, what
art thou going to do with that Baptist?
HEROD
My Baptist is nothing to thee.
HERODIAS
The maids tell me he wanders about loose in the gardens.
HEROD
Let him; he will not hurt thee.
HERODIAS
I only asked, because I wish to know how I am to avoid him.
HEROD
I'll take care, love, that he doth not meet thee. But enough of the
Baptist. Once more thy price, Herodias?
HERODIAS
Look at me! Here is a woman that no longer adorns her own body because
thou now scornest it; she therefore adorns instead the body that came
from hers. Here is a woman whose breasts have withered because her eyes
have shed tears of blood. Therefore she will let the budding bosom,
from which the veil has never yet fallen, be exposed to thine and thy
guests' lustful gaze. And for this sacrifice of unspeakable bitterness
I ask nothing, for I am without wishes. One who can still hope shall
ask. Salome shall ask.
HEROD
Salome ... I would rather it were so.
HERODIAS
And thou wilt grant what she asks?
HEROD
I know not. I will see. I will let myself be driven. For in combat with
the strong that is the last resource of the weak. But take care whither
thou drivest me.... Mistress! [_Exit._
SCENE III
_Herodias, Salome._
SALOME
[_Putting her head through the door._] Mother, am I to dance here?
HERODIAS
Come, softly. Art thou trembling, my dove? Art thou afraid of thy own
will?
SALOME
Take my hand, mother. I am not trembling, because I know that thou art
my will.
HERODIAS
Not I! thou must will.
SALOME
For only the one who willeth exerciseth power. [_As Herodias regards
her suspiciously, she adds quickly._] I read that in the Scriptures,
mother. I did not understand what it meant.
HERODIAS
Listen to me, thou sharpwits. A carpet of Indian wool will be spread
here, there the Prince will sit with the foreign guests.... Let not thy
foot touch the stone, raise not thy eyes.... Dance thy dance modestly,
and when thou hast finished, wipe signs of shame from thy face; hearken
narrowly to what the Tetrarch saith to thee. And if he should say, "Now
ask of me, and----"
SALOME
What then, mother?
HERODIAS
Ask nothing.... Then look at him for the first time a long, smiling
look, and ... ask nothing. After that thou mayest demand.
SALOME
[_Attentive._] What shall I demand, mother? A gold hair-ornament, or
shoes of velvet? No; I know what I'll demand--a mirror.
HERODIAS
[_Passing her hand through Salome's hair._] Verily thou hast never felt
hate to boil in thy breast, like love on a night in May?
SALOME
[_Feigning innocence._] No, mother. How should I?
HERODIAS
Thou hast never felt an insult coursing through thee, like burning,
liquid fire?
SALOME
[_In the same tone._] No, mother; really I have not.
HERODIAS
Thou shalt demand no mirror, no hair-ornament, and no velvet shoes. But
that the head of him they call John the Baptist shall be brought to
thee on a dish.
SALOME
[_Setting her teeth, and controlling herself with difficulty._] On a
golden dish?
HERODIAS
What dost thou say? Understandest thou me not or--who----
SALOME
There's something else. One thing more I want to be sure of! Will _he_
know--that ... that Baptist, from whom the request cometh?
HERODIAS
[_Breaking out_] Certainly, he shall know! I will stand behind thy
bloody trophy as thy will.
SALOME
[_Half to herself._] As the will of my will?
HERODIAS
I will grow over him, as the sword groweth forth from the sleeve of the
executioner ... [_Trumpets sound._] Come!
SALOME
And I will grow over him like a sweet grapevine. [_Exeunt both, to
right._]
SCENE IV
_Herod. Vitellius. Marcellus_ (_and other Romans of the Legate and
suite_), _Merokles, Gabalos, Jabad._
HEROD
Welcome to my table, exalted Vitellius, who bringest on the soles of
thy feet the sacred soil of Rome into my poor dwelling. Welcome to you
also, ye who follow him, according to Rome's command. She, our august
mother, but ordereth what my soul desireth.
VITELLIUS
Thou hast my thanks, excellent prince.
HEROD
Repose now at thy pleasure, exalted one. [_They lie on the couches._]
GABALOS
[_Low._] Say, my brave Marcellus, how dost thou like this Jewish
ear-wig?
MARCELLUS
It doth not find its way to our ears.
HEROD
And if thou wilt consent to crown thy brow with this wreath, as our
Lord and Master, I shall be able to persuade myself that I am thy
guest, instead of thou being mine.
VITELLIUS
Thou art _Rome's_ guest, Highness. Thus I will accept what befitteth
me. [_Puts on the wreath which a servant hands to him._]
GABALOS
There was a sting in that speech.
HEROD
[_Quickly collecting himself._] My good Merokles, begin.
MEROKLES
[_Stands up and reads from a roll of parchment._]
"Cooled by Hebron's far-gleaming snow,
The fiery soul, concealed in ice,
Favours with its flickering smile
Us the worshippers.
"So thou sendest forth twofold beams of silent light,
So flames for us shoot forth from thy coldness,
So we prize as sacred thy flickering smile, mighty Vitellius--
Till we----"
VITELLIUS
My dear friend, what is this man talking about?
HEROD
Doth it displease thee, Exalted One?
VITELLIUS
It seemed to me that he called my name. In the case of his desiring a
favour, it shall be immediately granted if he promises to keep silent
for the future!
GABALOS
Oh, friends, what a success!
VITELLIUS
Nevertheless, thy peacock's liver is good, very good, my dear Herod.
HEROD
Thou rejoicest me, Exalted Highness. Wilt thou not now command thy
Libyan flute-players to come and charm thy ear?
VITELLIUS
My ear is obedient. Let them come.
SCENE V
[_The same. Salome_ (_thickly veiled_) _led in by Herodias while the
harps are tuned. A murmur of astonishment runs round the table._]
VITELLIUS
Are these thy Libyan----
HEROD
[_Who has risen._] This is my wife, Exalted Highness.
VITELLIUS
[_Also rising._] Mistress, if thou wouldst grace this feast with thy
smiles, I bid thee welcome.
HERODIAS
Pardon, noble Vitellius. The custom of the East, over which thou
reignest so gloriously, doth not permit of my sitting beside thee at
table. Yet we know how to entertain even when we are not merry. My lord
and consort, zealous to please thee, hath commanded me to adorn myself
and my little daughter to enter thy presence, therewith she may delight
thy eyes with her maidenly art, trembling in maidenly modesty.
VITELLIUS
Hail to thee, Prince, and to thy noble wife! Rome will not be grudging
where thou art so lavish. Hearest thou not?
HEROD
[_With his eyes fixed on Salome._] Exalted, look!
VITELLIUS
Truly, he is right; let us look, Romans. Open your eyes wide, for what
is coming is the art of all arts. And if thou tremblest, maiden,
remember that thou rulest because thou tremblest.
MARCELLUS
One is obliged to say that, Gabalos, to encourage her.
GABALOS
Ah, my brave Marcellus, see to it, is it fast on its neck?
MARCELLUS
Who? What?
GABALOS
The head! the head! Look at Herodias. That will cost some one his head!
Only _whose_ has not yet transpired.
MARCELLUS
[_Pointing to Salome._] Silence!... See!...
SALOME
[_Has extricated herself from the arms of Herodias and, accompanied by
exclamations of admiration and delight, has begun to dance. Her dance
becomes wilder and more abandoned; she gradually loosens her veil, then
covers herself with it again in voluptuous playfulness, till at last,
quite unveiled, she stands with the upper part of her body apparently
unclothed. She sinks on her knees half exhausted, half in homage,
before Herod, who stands on the right side of the table._]
[_All break into ecstasies of applause._]
HEROD
[_Rushes forward to raise her._]
HERODIAS
[_Who has retreated as far as the proscenium on right, and has watched
everything intently with a harassed expression playing on her face, now
intervenes to prevent him. She and Herod exchange hostile glances._]
HEROD
[_Hoarsely._] Salome!
SALOME
Sire!
HEROD
Stand up and speak.
SALOME
[_Slowly rising._] What shall I say, Sire?
HEROD
I am a poor man. Rome--who gave Herod's son, as if in mockery, the name
of Herod--Rome has not left him much of his father's heritage. Yet
enough is still his wherewith to thank thee. Speak, what wilt thou
have? And by that God and Lord before whom we kneel in the dust,
barefoot, at Jerusalem, I swear it shall be thine.
SALOME
I beg and desire that thou wilt give me, on a dish, the head of John
the Baptist.
HEROD
Herodias--thou!
VITELLIUS
Dear friend, whose head doth she want?
HEROD
The head of a man, great legate, who lies in my prison, whom I have
there learnt to respect, I had almost said, to love.
VITELLIUS
Oh, oh!... And is he on view, this man for whose head daughters of
princes dance before thee?
HEROD
Fetch him. [_Exit servant._] Damsel, thy mother led thee into this.
Thou knowest not what thou askest.... Take back thy request.
SALOME
I beg and desire that thou wilt give me the head of John the Baptist on
a golden dish. [_Silence._]
HEROD
And if I refuse?
HERODIAS
[_Drawing herself erect._] Thou hast sworn, Sire.
VITELLIUS
[_Laughing._] Of course, my friend, thou hast sworn. We are all
witnesses of that. Ah! What a wood-god they are bringing in over there.
SCENE VI
_The same. John_ [_led in by two armed men_].
HEROD
I have summoned thee, Baptist. I am sorry for thee. Prepare thyself,
for the evening of thy days is come.
JOHN
I am ready, Sire.
HEROD
Understand me. I am truly sorry. But thou must meet death. Now, on the
spot.
JOHN
[_After looking searchingly towards the door._] Sire, grant me a
respite.
VITELLIUS
Thy hero doth not appear to be all too ready. A little more and he
would whimper.
HEROD
Baptist, wherefore dost thou want this respite?
JOHN
I have sent out messengers and await their return.
HEROD
To whom hast thou sent these messengers?... Thou art silent.... As I
said before. I am from my heart sorry. So much might have been made of
thee.... Still ... [_He shrugs his shoulders._]
JOHN
[_Holding out his arms distressed._] I beseech thee, Sire!
VITELLIUS
Did not I tell you? All kinds of people struggle to live, only the
Roman understands how to die.
HEROD
Thou must ask the maiden, Baptist. Know that in her hands rests what
chance thou hast of the thing called life.
SALOME
Master, now see'st thou how powerful I am? Now ask me! Ask me!
HERODIAS
[_Prompting her, behind._] If he does ask, laugh at him.
SALOME
Perhaps, but who knoweth what my heart desireth?... Now, master, why
dost thou not beg?
JOHN
Maiden ... I ...
SALOME
There is the stone floor, see! The stone longs for the touch of thy
knees.
[_Pause._]
SCENE VII
_The same. The Gaoler._
HEROD
What brings thee here?
GAOLER
Forgive, Sire. Had I not known that thou wast friendly towards the
prisoner ...
HEROD
What dost thou want with him?
GAOLER
Two of his friends who were with him yesterday, the same thou sawest
outside the gate, have come back, and learning that his life is now
in jeopardy--thy servant hath told me, and I have got everything
ready--they became like creatures possessed, and implored me to lead
them to him wheresoever he might be.
HEROD
Dost thou approve, Mighty Legate?
VITELLIUS
Dear friend, this is the most enjoyable entertainment that has ever
been provided for me at meat. Let them come! Let them come!
HEROD
[_Signs._]
GAOLER
[_Retires behind curtain of door and beckons._]
SCENE VIII
_The same. Manassa. Amarja._
[_They seem at first as if they would rush to John, but overcome by
shyness stand still._]
JOHN
What have ye to tell me?
MANASSA
Master!
HEROD
Speak louder, my good men! Unless ye let us participate in the news, I
will have you carried off through separate doors.
MANASSA
May we, Master?
JOHN
Speak freely, for methinks we are alone together.
MANASSA
We took the road in all haste to Bethesda, and at break of day we found
Him there.
JOHN
Ye found him there?
MANASSA
And many people were gathered about him resting in the olive gardens,
and praised the Lord for the miracle which had been done to them at
that hour. And behold there was a light in every eye, and in every
mouth the music of thanksgiving.
JOHN
And He? How looked His countenance? What were His gestures?
MANASSA
Master, I know not.
JOHN
But ye saw Him?
AMARJA
Rabbi, thou mightest as well ask, What is the face of the sun, and what
the gestures of light?... As we beheld His smile we sank to the ground,
and in our souls was a great peace.
JOHN
And when ye had questioned Him, and He began to speak, tell me what was
His manner of speech? Say; I stand here awaiting His wrath.
AMARJA
Rabbi.... He spoke to us like a brother. His speech was simple.
MANASSA
And it was beautiful ... like the voice of the wind which blows from
the sea towards evening.
AMARJA
And this is what He spake. "Go and tell John what ye have seen and
heard. The blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf
hear, the dead rise, and the poor have the gospel preached to them."
JOHN
The poor--He said the poor?
MANASSA
And when He prepared to come hither to this town with the people who
were gathered about Him, we accompanied Him as far as the gate, and
then hurried on before, according to thy wish.
JOHN
And said He nothing else to you? Reflect well.
AMARJA
Yes; yet one more thing. He said, "Blessed be he who hath not been
offended at me." But this we could not understand.
JOHN
But I understand it well and to whom He spoke. I have been offended,
for I have not recognized Him. And my anger filled the world, for I
knew Him not. Ye yourselves are my witnesses that I have said, "I am
not the Christ, but one sent to prepare the way for Him that cometh." A
man can take nothing to himself that is not given him by Heaven. And
unto me nothing was given. The key of death ... I held it not ... the
scales of sin were not confided to me. For out of no man's mouth may
the name of sin sound, save out of the mouth of the one that loveth.
But I would have scourged you with iron rods. Therefore is my kingdom
come to shame, and my lips are sealed. I hear roundabout a rushing
noise, as of many waters, and the divine radiance is near me.... A
throne hath descended out of heaven amidst darts of fire. The King of
Peace sitteth thereon in white robes. And His sword is called Love, and
His watchword is mercy.... Behold He hath the bride, He is the
bridegroom. But the friend of the bridegroom standeth and listeneth,
and rejoiceth over the voice that is coming. The same is my joy. Now is
it fulfilled. [_He stands with his arms outspread and his eyes turned
towards heaven. Manassa and Amarja sink at his feet._]
VITELLIUS
Dear friend, it seems to me that we have had enough of this maniac.
HEROD
[_Between emotion and scorn._] John, I am truly grieved on thy account.
And when He cometh of whom thou dreamest, I will greet Him as I have
greeted thee. Ha! ha! ha! Lead him to execution.
SALOME
Now, ask me! [_As John smilingly looks beyond her._] Mother, will he
not ask?
SCENE IX
_Vitellius, his suite, Herod, Herodias, Salome, Merokles, Gabalos,
Jabad._
VITELLIUS
My friend, thy banquet has been somewhat disturbed. [_As Herod stares
at the door through which John has disappeared._] No matter what I say,
he does not hear me.
HEROD
Exalted highness, pardon!
SALOME
[_Has crossed over the stage and goes stealthily to the door on left.
In great curiosity she draws back the curtain, and after gazing eagerly
through it, reels backwards into the arms of Herodias. Outside, behind
the middle curtain, an ever-increasing tumult and murmur of many voices
has arisen._]
VITELLIUS
Bid the women to sit down. Thou hast an ill-conducted people. They
brawl in the street while we dine.
HEROD
Are they already muttering about the Baptist? Gabalos, look to it, and
tell them to be quiet.
GABALOS
It shall be done, Sire. [_Exit._
SALOME
[_Pointing to the door, the curtains of which are open._] Mother, see
what they are bringing. See! [_She rushes out._]
HEROD
[_Descending the steps of the dais._] What does she want there?
HERODIAS
Sire, thou art of simple understanding. I advise thee to look the other
way.
HEROD
What is she doing?
HERODIAS
She is dancing! She holds the charger with the Prophet's head high in
her arms, and dances.
JABAD
See, she dances!
HEROD
So thou hast corrupted thy own flesh and blood. So thou wilt corrupt us
all.
HERODIAS
[_Smiling, shrugs her shoulders._]
MEROKLES
She sways. She will fall!
HERODIAS
[_Goes out composedly._]
MEROKLES
The head is rolling on the floor!
MARCELLUS
Oh, horror!
HERODIAS
[_Comes back supporting Salome in her arms._]
SALOME
Mother, where is the dish? Where is the head?
HERODIAS
Make obeisance. Speak thy thanks.
SALOME
[_Before Herod._] Sire, I am a rose of Sharon. A flower of the valley
... Who would thank me should pluck me ... Oh, look at the head!
HEROD
Take the women away!
HERODIAS
[_Curtseys, and leads, smiling; the half-swooning Salome off to
right._]
SCENE X
_The same_. [_Without Herodias and Salome._]
_Gabalos_ [_has re-entered from left_].
HEROD
Well, what is the matter?
GABALOS
Sire, the people will not be restrained. Men and women in holiday
raiment fill the streets and crowd on the roofs. They carry palms in
their hands, and sing and shout for joy.
HEROD
What are they singing?
GABALOS
Thou knowest, Sire, I am not servile, but I scarcely like to say.
HEROD
Speak!
GABALOS
Hosannah! to Him Who shall come. Hosannah to the King of the Jews! So
they sing.
HEROD
[_Grinding his teeth._] I have had John beheaded. Who may this one be?
GABALOS
If thou wouldst see Him, Sire, they say He is coming this way.
HEROD
I will see Him. I will greet Him as I promised. Ha! ha! ha! Open!
SCENE XI
[_The curtains are drawn aside. One sees the roofs crowded with women
waving palms. Others, with palms in their hands, climb the hilly street
below. The shouting swells in volume and becomes an orderly, harmonious
song._]
VITELLIUS
[_Who has continued sitting, turns round indignantly._] What is going
on there again?
HEROD
[_Has grasped a goblet, and springs on the topmost step._]
Greeting to thee, my King ---- of the ----
[_He looks, stops short ... the goblet slips from his hand, he turns
away and hides his face in his mantle._]
THE OTHERS
[_Also stand, looking down in silent amazement. The Hosannahs rise from
the street._]
[_The Curtain falls._]
FINIS
*** End of this LibraryBlog Digital Book "John the Baptist: A Play" ***
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