Scarcely have they found a place to banish me, then they send me there. Yet, you know that I<hr>
have not committed any crime, except for having the honor that you gave me by marrying me.<hr>
The innocent conquest that my eyes made of your heart is what makes me guilty. The Romans want you to be their prisoner, not mine. They want to dictate your love and hate as they please, select a wife for you according to their whims and not according to your desires. I know my tears might seem suspect to those who do not know me. My enemies, who see my suffering, will doubtless affirm that I cry as much for the favors of the Empire as those of Titus, and that ambition holds more space in my soul than love.<hr>
      But if it is true that you love me as much as you have told me, you will judge my feelings through yours, and you will understand that you alone are the cause of my pain, just as you have been the source of my joy. No, Titus, the magnificence of Rome does not dazzle me. The throne waiting for you has nothing to do with the affection I have for you. The qualities of your soul and the love you had for me are the only things I considered when I decided to love you. So, marry someone with whom to share the sovereignty you will have one day, without fearing that I hold it against you but never share the heart where you made me reign. This is an empire that belongs to me, and you cannot unjustly take away. My dear Titus, you cannot accuse me of asking too much. I ask you only for what you have already given me.<hr>
You can't pretend that this heart is not under your control, that it's in the hands of Vespasian or under the sway of the Senate, and that you're not its master. Even slaves, as oppressed as they might be, enjoy this privilege. They love and hate whom their hearts choose, and their will is as free in chains as if they were on the throne. Therefore, you surely enjoy the same freedom, and will not deny me the favor I ask for.<hr>
You will give a wife to Titus to appease the whim of the people, but you will not give a rival to Berenice. I will be alone in your soul just as you are alone in mine, and even distanced from you, I will always be present in your mind. If this is the case, I will bear my exile with patience. However, how could I ever imagine living without ever seeing you again? No, Titus, it is absolutely impossible. My fate is bound with yours, and no matter what Vespasian and the Senate can do, I cannot leave you. It would be weakness to abandon you. You could reproach me that fear of being ill-treated made me obey the order to leave Rome too quickly, or you could finally accuse me of lacking affection for you. No, I don't know these feelings, for it would be ingratitude to act so. I must not cost you the Empire. Preserve it then, and let me go. It is enough for me if you miss me. And when you will ascend the throne, just remember that the possession of it cost you Berenice.<hr>
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                                                  60<hr>