2.ª Parte - O querer através de qualquer meio
HEROD - Dance for me, Salome.
(…)
SALOME - I will not dance, Tetrarch.
(…)
HEROD - Salome, Salome, dance for me. I pray thee dance for me. I am sad to-night. Yes, I am passing sad to-night. When I came hither I slipped in blood, which is an ill omen; also I heard in the air a beating of wings, a beating of giant wings. I cannot tell what that they mean.... I am sad to-night. Therefore dance for me. Dance for me, Salome, I beseech thee. If thou dancest for me thou mayest ask of me what thou wilt, and I will give it thee. Yes, dance for me, Salome, and whatsoever thou shalt ask of me I will give it thee, even unto the half of my kingdom.
SALOME
[Rising.]
Will you indeed give me whatsoever I shall ask of you, Tetrarch?
(…)
HEROD - Whatsoever thou shalt ask of me, even unto the half of my
kingdom.
SALOME - You swear it, Tetrarch?
HEROD - I swear it, Salome.
(…)
SALOME - By what will you swear this thing, Tetrarch?
HEROD - By my life, by my crown, by my gods. Whatsoever thou shalt desire I
will give it thee, even to the half of my kingdom, if thou wilt but dance for me. O Salome, Salome, dance for me!
SALOME - You have sworn an oath, Tetrarch.
HEROD - I have sworn an oath.
(…)
SALOME - I will dance for you, Tetrarch.
(…)
HEROD - Ah, thou art to dance with naked feet! ‘Tis well! ‘Tis well! Thy little feet will be like white doves. They will be like little white flowers that dance upon the trees.... No, no, she is going to dance on blood! There is blood spilt on the ground. She must not dance on blood. It were an evil omen.
(…)
SALOME I am ready, Tetrarch.
HEROD
[Salome dances the dance of the seven veils.]
Ah! wonderful! wonderful! You see that she has danced for me, your daughter. Come near, Salome, come near, that I may give thee thy fee. Ah! I pay a royal price to those who dance for my pleasure. I will pay thee royally. I will give thee whatsoever thy soul desireth. What wouldst thou have? Speak.
SALOME
[Kneeling.]
I would that they presently bring me in a silver charger...
HEROD
[Laughing.]
In a silver charger? Surely yes, in a silver charger. She is charming, is she not? What is it that thou wouldst have in a silver charger, O sweet and fair Salome, thou that art fairer than all the daughters of Judaea? What wouldst thou have them bring thee in a silver charger? Tell me. Whatsoever it may be, thou shalt receive it. My treasures belong to thee. What is it that thou wouldst have, Salome?
SALOME
[Rising.]
The head of Iokanaan.
(…)
HEROD - No, no, Salome. (…)I I know it. I have sworn an oath by my gods. I know it well. But I pray thee, Salome, ask of me something else. Ask of me the half of my kingdom, and I will give it thee. But ask not of me what thy lips have asked.
SALOME - I ask of you the head of Iokanaan.
HEROD - No, no, I will not give it thee.
SALOME - You have sworn an oath, Herod.
(…)
HEROD –(...) Salome, I pray thee be not stubborn. I have ever been kind toward thee. I have ever loved thee.... It may be that I have loved thee too much. Therefore ask not this thing of me. This is a terrible thing, an awful thing to ask of me. Surely, I think thou art jesting. The head of a man that is cut from his body is ill to look upon, is it not? It is not meet that the eyes of a virgin should look upon such a thing. What pleasure couldst thou have in it? There is no pleasure that thou couldst have in it. No, no, it is not that thou desirest. Hearken to me. I have an emerald, a great emerald and round, that the minion of Caesar has sent unto me.
When thou lookest through this emerald thou canst see that which passeth afar off. Caesar himself carries such an emerald when he goes to the circus. But my emerald is the larger. I know well that it is the larger. It is the largest emerald in the whole world. Thou wilt take that, wilt thou not? Ask it of me and I will give it thee.
SALOME - I demand the head of Iokanaan.
HEROD - Thou art not listening. Thou art not listening. Suffer me to speak, Salome.
SALOME - The head of Iokanaan!(…) Give me the head of Iokanaan!
HEROD –(...) Salome, think on what thou art doing. It may be that this man comes from God. He is a holy man. The finger of God has touched him. God has put terrible words into his mouth. In the palace, as in the desert, God is ever with him.... It may be that He is, at least. One cannot tell, but it is possible that God is with him and for him. If he die also, peradventure some evil may befall me. (…)
SALOME - Give me the head of Iokanaan!
HEROD - Ah! thou art not listening to me. Be calm. As for me, am I not calm? I am altogether calm. Listen. I have jewels hidden in this place- jewels that thy mother even has never seen; jewels that are marvellous to look at (...) What desirest thou more than this, Salome? Tell me the thing that thou desirest, and I will give it thee. All that thou askest I will give thee, save one thing only. I will give thee all that is mine, save the life of one man. I will give thee the mantle of the high priest. I will give thee the veil of the sanctuary.
THE JEWS Oh! oh!
SALOME Give me the head of Iokanaan!
HEROD
[Sinking back in his seat.]
Let her be given what she asks! Of a truth she is her mother’s child.
Oscar Wilde, in Salomé
Quadro de Caravaggio
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