 Together with Salome, the devil fathers a beautiful woman, who will spread the poison (originally a "virus" in Panizza's manuscript) among unsuspecting humans.Even though the work appeared in Switzerland, the district attorney in Munich charged Panizza with 93 counts of blasphemy in violation of §166 of the Imperial "Strafgesetzbuch" (Criminal Code).As a result, Panizza became an instant literary celebrity, with authors ranging from a teenaged Thomas Mann to Theodor Fontane, the 76-year-old dean of German letters, weighing in on one side or the other of the raging debate.