No, Flavien, if one speaks reasonably of things, I formerly honoured Eudoxie, but I never committed any injustice towards anyone. Do not think that I insinuate that Eudoxie is unworthy of the throne. No, I will not destroy what I have built, and I am not mistaken when I believe to see in her a wisdom quite extraordinary. Eudoxie is undoubtedly a miracle of nature. She was born with advantages I have never seen in anyone else. If her birth was as remarkable as her spirit, and if instead of having been brought up in solitude, she had been nurtured at the court, she would be a person equal to no other today. But sadly, she started where I am about to end.

It's easier for those with good ethics to live in isolation after having commanded an empire than to go from solitude to domination. Those who have managed to lead whole nations could undoubtedly lead flocks without misplacing them, but not all those who know how to use a shepherd's staff could bear a sceptre. In the end, all kings could be shepherds, but not all shepherds could be kings. The philosophers who consider themselves the judges of all human deeds, who claim to know the value of the crowns of imaginary kingdoms, who prescribe laws to the entire earth and form models according to which the kings should arrange their lives and power... These men who perfect kings in their writings would be incapable of ruling. Eudoxie offers me a counterexample to this thought. She is cradled in philosophy, she is the daughter of a man who instructed her. She was born with admirable instincts; she knows everything a person of her rank can know. When she arrived at the court, she was without ambition. She has as much wit as one can have. However, because she only knew the world by books and her experience had taught her nothing, her simplicity made her vulnerable to the machinations of Chrysaphios and undoubtedly led her to the feelings she has for me today.

All these things, Flavien, I was unaware of when I ignited in the heart of the emperor that flame which is ruining me today. But I now know, it takes an active philosophy to be capable of ruling—that experience is the most steadfast teaching for kings—and I have well understood from my own experience one can only be perfectly wise at one's expense. I should not be surprised that Eudoxie does everything she can to preserve the rank that I gave her. It is so advantageous for her that I find it strange that she does not do even more. Yes, the change that is happening today does not surprise me any more than it grieves me. I maintain so much affection for Theodosius and esteem for Eudoxie that to prevent them from making a public mistake, I am ready to divest myself of the power that I have, to abandon Theodosius to his affection for the Empress Eudoxie and to abandon her herself to her lack of experience and to the scheming of Chrysaphios.

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