Chapter 2 one

Scenes In Herod's palace, there was a huge balcony over the banquet hall.Several soldiers were leaning against the balcony railing.On the right, is a huge staircase; on the left, behind, is an ancient water prison surrounded by rusted walls.moonlight. Young Syrian Officer: How beautiful Princess Salome is tonight! Herodias' Attendant: Look at the moon!How strange the moonlight is!She was like a woman raised from the grave.She's like a walking dead.Can you imagine that her appearance is full of death? Young Syrian Officer: She has a strange appearance.She is like a little princess with a yellow veil, and her feet are white and flawless.Can you imagine her dancing posture?

Herodias' attendant: She is like a dead man.She moves slowly. [commotion in the banquet hall] First Soldier: What a noise!Who are those raging beasts? Second Soldier: It's a Jew.They always have been.They are arguing about their religion. First Soldier: Why do they argue about their religion? Second Soldier: I don't know.They always have been.For example, the Pharisees, who claimed that angels existed, and the Sadducees, who claimed that angels did not exist. First Soldier: I think it's just ridiculous to argue about something like this. Young Syrian Officer: How beautiful Princess Salome is tonight!

Herodias' Attendant: You are always watching her.You take it too far.It is quite dangerous to look at a person so passionately.Terrible things will happen eventually. Young Syrian Officer: How beautiful she is tonight. First Soldier: Your Majesty looks rather gloomy. Second Soldier: Yes; he looks gloomy. First Soldier: He's looking at something. Second Soldier: He's looking at someone. First Soldier: Who is he looking at? Second Soldier: I don't know. YOUNG SYRIAN OFFICER: How pale the princess is!I have never seen her so pale.She is like the shadow of a white rose, reflecting a silvery face.

Herodias' Attendant: You should no longer look at her.You stare too much. First Soldier: Herodias is pouring wine for His Majesty. Cappadocian: Is that Queen Herodias?The woman with the black crown studded with jewels and blue and white glitter on her hair. First Soldier: Yes, she is Herodias, His Majesty's wife. Second Soldier: Your Majesty likes things in the cup ten minutes.He has three special wines.One of them was brought from Samothrace, purple as Caesar's robes. Cappadocian: I have never met Caesar. Second Soldier: Another wine, brought from a town called Cyprus, yellow as gold.

Cappadocian: I like gold. Second Soldier: The third wine is Sicily wine, red as blood. Nubian: The gods in my homeland love blood.Twice a year we sacrificed to them virgins and virgins; fifty virgins were sacrificed in all.But we don't seem to give enough because they still treat us harshly. Cappadocians: In my hometown, there are no gods anymore.The Romans drove them out.Some people say they hide in the mountains, but I don't believe it.For three nights I searched for them everywhere in the mountains.I can not find.I ended up cursing them loudly and they didn't show up.I thought they were dead.

First Soldier: The Jews worship a God you cannot see. Cappadocians: I don't understand. First Soldier: Actually, they only believe what you can't see. [ SCENE -- A great terrace in the Palace of Herod, set above the banqueting-hall. Some soldiers are leaning over the balcony. To the right there is a gigantic staircase, to the left, at the back, an old cistern surrounded by a wall of green bronze. The moon is shining very brightly. ] THE YOUNG SYRIAN How beautiful is the Princess Salome to-night! THE PAGE OF HERODIAS Look at the moon. How strange the moon seems! She is like a woman rising from a tomb. She is like a dead woman. One might fancy she was looking for dead things.

THE YOUNG SYRIAN She has a strange look. She is like a little princess who wears a yellow veil, and whose feet are of silver. She is like a princess who has little white doves for feet. One might fancy she was dancing.