Who would have told poor Eudoxie in the past, when the philosopher Leontias, her father, was teaching her ethics, that her own would one day be suspected? I would never have imagined it. At that time, the simplicity of my conduct, my lack of ambition, and the modest walls of my hut seemed to protect me from slander. Innocence reigned in my soul, I was content with my condition, only seeking the acquisition of knowledge and wisdom. My only desire was to learn good and put it into practice, this constituted my source of pleasures and activities.
        It is not the daughter of Leontias who is accused, but the unfortunate Empress of the East. I am now the wife of a great emperor, I am a person exposed to the eyes of a prestigious court, a person to whom nature has granted some advantages, to whom fate has offered the first crown in the world and the love of the greatest prince on earth. All these circumstances make my misfortune more plausible. Great tragedies only occur in the homes of great princes. Lightning strikes more often on the vain palaces of kings than on the huts of shepherds, and the sea causes more shipwrecks than rivers. Therefore, we should not be surprised if the empress is more unfortunate than the Athenian, even if I am just as innocent and deserving under the glorious title I bear as Empress of the East as I was under the name my parents gave me. If fate had taken away the things over which it has power, if it had ripped from me the scepter I carry, having received it from your hand, if it had removed the crown resting on my head, if your subjects had rebelled against me and thrown me from the throne, judging me unworthy to remain there, I would bear these events without complaining.
        Yes, Theodosius, this blind destiny, accustomed to protecting evil at the expense of good, which only gives gifts to withdraw them, which only consolidates empires to destroy them, which topples everything it establishes, this destiny would not get the better of my patience. I would renounce without regret the scepter, the crown, the throne, the court and the empire, as well as all these brilliant things that accompany royalty, if I could return to my solitude with your esteem and affection. These two elements must not be subject to the decision of fate. It can take away power and empire from you, it can even reduce you to a slave, but it cannot make you unjust. You alone are the master of your will, your hate, your esteem and your affection. The human being has the privilege of being free amidst chains and to be the absolute master of his feelings. This means that you must answer exactly for yours. However, the respect I have for you prevents me from bearing you ill will for what you feel about me, even though certainly my innocence makes these feelings illegitimate. It is out of respect that I consider myself unworthy rather than calling you guilty. But one unjustly accuses destiny of something one is solely responsible for. In reality, it is not fate from whose hand I hold the scepter I carry.

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