Chapter 6 Fives

John: Daughter of Sodom, don't come near me!Put your veil on, let the wind and dust blow, and go into the desert to find the Son of God. Salome: Who is that, Son of God?Is he as handsome as you, John? John: Get out of the way!I heard the sound of the wings of the angel of death in the court. Young Syrian Officer: Princess, I beg you not to go any further. John: Angels of God, why have you come here with swords?Who do you seek in this squalid court?The death of the man in the purple robe has not yet come. Salome: John! John: Who's talking? Salome: John, I long for your body!Your body is like a lily in the garden that has never been dusted.Thy body is as white as the snow of the mountains, like the snow of Judaea, which flows from the valleys to the plains.The roses in the garden of the Arabian Queen are not as white as your body.Arabian roses, Arabian spices, the afterglow of the setting sun, the breath of the moon on the sea...all of these are not as good as your clean body.let me touch your body.

John: Get off!Daughter of Babylon!The most evil woman in the world.Don't speak to me again.I don't listen to you anymore.I only listen to the voice of the Lord. Salome: Thy body is terrible, like a leper.It is like being crawled and pierced by a poisonous snake; it is like a scorpion nesting on it.Like the white grave of all things disgusting.It's terrible, your body is terrible.It's your hair that makes me obsessed, John.Your hair is like clusters of grapes, like clusters of black grapes hanging from the vineyards of Edom.Thy hair is like the fir of Lebanon, like the great cedar of Lebanon, where lions rest in their shadows and robbers hide by day.The night is long, when the moon hides her face, and the stars fade away, but all is not dark.There is nothing in the world like the blackness of your hair... let me touch your hair.

John: Stand back, daughter of Sodom!Don't touch me.Do not desecrate the head of the Lord. Salome: Your hair is terrible, covered with mud and dust.Like a ridiculous crown on your brow.It looks like a section of black snake coiled around its neck.I don't love your hair... what I want are your lips, John.Your lips are like a red ribbon on a tower of ivory.Like a pomegranate cut by an ivory knife.The pomegranates in Tire's gardens were redder than the roses, but paled in comparison.The sound of the king's police horn made the enemy terrified, but it paled in comparison.Your lips are redder than your feet on a wine barrel.Your lips are redder than the feet of the doves that haunt the temples.It was redder than the feet of a lion-slayer coming out of the woods.Your lips are like the blood-red corals that fishermen find in the dawning seas, those blood-red corals that are presented only to kings! …It is like the cinnabar that the Moab dig up in their mines, the cinnabar that goes only to the king.It's like a Persian king's bow tie, dyed with cinnabar and inlaid with coral.There is nothing in this world like your bright red lips... let me kiss your mouth.

John: No way!Daughter of Babylon!Daughter of Sodom!no. Salome: I will kiss your mouth, John.I want to kiss your mouth. Young Syrian Officer: Princess, princess, you are like the incense in the garden, noble lord, don't look at this man, don't look at him!Don't say that to him.I can't take it anymore...Princess, princess, please stop talking. Salome: I will kiss your mouth, John. Young Syrian Officer: Ah! [He cuts himself with a knife and falls between Salome and John] Herodias' Attendant: The young Syrian officer committed suicide!The young Syrian officer committed suicide!He killed my friend!I once gave him a small bottle of perfume and silver earrings, and now he committed suicide.Ah, hadn't he prophesied that something bad was going to happen?I, too, had prophesied that something unfortunate was about to happen.I know that the moon is looking for a dead life, but I don't know that the person the moon is looking for is him.what!Why didn't I hide him beforehand?If I hide him in the cave first, the moon won't be able to find him.

First Soldier: Princess, the captain has committed suicide. Salome: Let me kiss your mouth, John. John: Aren't you afraid, daughter of Herodias?Didn't I tell you that I heard the sound of the angel of death fluttering in the court? Hasn't he come already, the angel of death? Salome: Let me kiss your mouth. John: Daughter of lust, there is only one person who can save you, and that is the one I told you about.go find him.He's on a ship on the Sea of ​​Galilee, and he's coming with his apprentices.Kneel on the shore and call his name.When he comes, kneel at his feet and ask him to forgive your sins.

IOKANAAN Daughter of Sodom, come not near me! But cover thy face with a veil, and scatter ashes upon thine head, and get thee to the desert, and seek out the Son of Man. SALOME Who is he, the Son of Man? Is he as beautiful as thou art, Iokanaan? IOKANAAN Get thee behind me! I hear in the palace the beating of the wings of the angel of death. THE YOUNG SYRIAN Princess, I beseech thee to go within. IOKANAAN Angel of the Lord God, what dost thou here with thy sword? Whom seekest thou in this palace? The day of him who shall die in a robe of silver has not yet come. SALOME Iokanaan!

IOKANAAN Who speaketh? SALOME I am amorous of thy body, Iokanaan! Thy body is white, like the lilies of a field that the -twenty two- mower hath never mowed. Thy body is white like the snows that lie on the mountains of Jud?a, and come down into the valleys. The roses in the garden of the Queen of Arabia are not so white as thy body. Neither the roses of the garden of the Queen of Arabia, the garden of spices of the Queen of Arabia, nor the feet of the dawn when they light on the leaves, nor the breast of the moon when she lies on the breast of the sea . . . . There is nothing in the world so white as thy body. Suffer me to touch thy body.

IOKANAAN Back! daughter of Babylon! By woman came evil into the world. Speak not to me. I will not listen to thee. I listen but to the voice of the Lord God. SALOME Thy body is hideous. It is like the body of a leper. It is like a plastered wall, where vipers have crawled; like a plastered wall where the scorpions have made their nest. It is horrible, thy body is horrible. It is of thy hair that I am enamoured, Iokanaan. Thy hair is like clusters of grapes, like the clusters of black grapes that hang from the vine-trees of Edom in the land of the Edomites . Thy hair is like the cedars of Lebanon, like the great cedars of Lebanon that give their shade to the lions and to the robers who would hide them by day. The long black

-twenty three- nights, when the moon hides her face, when the stars are afraid, are not so black as thy hair. The silence that dwells in the forest is not so black. There is nothing in the world that is so black as thy hair . . . . Suffer me to touch thy hair. IOKANAAN Back, daughter of Sodom! Touch me not. Profane not the temple of the Lord God. SALOME Thy hair is horrible. It is covered with mire and dust. It is like a crown of thorns placed on thy head. It is like a knot of serpents coiled round thy neck. I love not thy hair . that I desire, Iokanaan. Thy mouth is like a band of scarlet on a tower of ivory. It is like a pomegranate cut in twain with a knife of ivory. The pomegranate flowers that blossom in the gardens of Tyre, and are redder than roses , are not so red. The red blasts of trumpets that herald the approach of kings, and make afraid the enemy, are not so red. Thy mouth is redder than the feet of those who tread the wine in the wine-press. redder than the feet of the doves who inhabit the temples and are fed by the priests. It is redder than the feet of him who cometh from a forest where he hath slain a lion, and seen gilded tigers. Thy mouth is like a branch of coral that fishers have found in the twilight of the sea, the coral that they keep for the kings! . . . It is like the

-twenty four- vermilion that the Moahites find in the mines of Moab, the vermilion that the kings take from them. It is like the bow of the King of the Persians, that is painted with vermilion, and is tipped with coral. There is nothing in the world so red as thy mouth . . . . Suffer me to kiss thy mouth. IOKANAAN Never! daughter of Babylon! Daughter of Sodom! never! SALOME I will kiss thy mouth, Iokanaan. I will kiss thy mouth. THE YOUNG SYRIAN Princess, Princess, thou who art like a garden of myrrh, thou who art the dove of all doves, look not at this man, look not at him! Do not speak such words to him. I cannot endure it. . . Princess, do not speak these things.

SALOME I will kiss thy mouth, Iokanaan. THE YOUNG SYRIAN Ah! [He kills himself, and falls between Salome and lokanaan.] THE PAGE OF HERODIAS The young Syrian has slain himself! -25- young captain has slain himself! He has slain himself who was my friend! I gave him a little box of perfumes and ear-rings wrought in silver, and now he has killed himself! Ah, did he not say that some misfortune would happen? I, too, said it, and it has come to pass. Well I knew that the moon was seeking a dead thing, but I knew not that it was he whom she sought. Ah! why did I not hide him from the moon? If I had hidden him in a cavern she would not have seen him. FIRST SOLDIER Princess, the young captain has just slain himself. SALOME Suffer me to kiss thy mouth, Iokanaan. IOKANAAN Art thou not afraid, daughter of Herodias? Did I not tell thee that I had heard in the palace the beating of the wings of the angel of death, and hath he not come, the angel of death? SALOME Suffer me to kiss thy mouth. IOKANAAN Daughter of adultery, there is but one who can save thee. It is He of whom I spake. Go seek Him. He is in a boat on the sea of ​​Galilee, and He -26- talketh with His disciplines. Kneel down on the shore of the sea, and call unto Him by His name. When He cometh to thee, and to all who call on Him He cometh, bow yourself at His feet and ask of Him the remission of thy sins.