believe in your soul, love prevails. I even want to believe, to console myself in my<hr>
misfortune, that if you had the choice, you would prefer my company to that of the Roman Empire. But<hr>
this reason of state, which justifies so many crimes and violence, does not allow the invincible Titus,<hr>
after he has risked his life so many times for the well-being of the Romans, to think about his<hr>
own happiness. I thought that love, when it reigned in a wise heart, inspired it<hr>
even more ardor to acquire glory. However, I clearly see that this is not the opinion<hr>
of the emperor or the Senate, and I was mistaken in my assumptions. If you had chosen a<hr>
totally unworthy person of you as the object of your love, their complaints would be<hr>
more bearable. And I would deserve the treatment I am receiving if I had conveyed to Titus low and shameful<hr>
feelings. But, given my rank, one cannot blame you for having<hr>
engaged in an unequal marriage. Alexander the Great did nothing dishonorable when he<hr>
married Roxane, although she was a captive, a foreigner, and a simple governor's daughter. This mistake<hr>
he made out of love did not prevent him from enjoying the fame of his victories or from being<hr>
ranked among the most glorious heroes.<hr>
      The mistake you are blamed for is, however, nothing like this, for I am the<hr>
granddaughter of Mariamne, and among my ancestors are all the ancient kings of Judea. Besides,<hr>
I wear a crown that should prevent the Senate from treating me so cruelly. Yes, Titus,<hr>
Persia had its own heroes as glorious as Rome: the Jonathans, the Davids and the Solomons,<hr>
from whom I descend, perhaps performed feats as great as those of Romulus, Numa<hr>
Pompilius and Caesar. The sumptuous and precious treasures that you took from the temple of<hr>
Jerusalem, with which you adorned yourself, showed Rome the greatness and magnificence<hr>
of my ancestors. If I were descended from a line that was an enemy to the Republic, like Sophonisba,<hr>
daughter of Hasdrubal, it would be right to fear that after conquering the gallant Titus, I might<hr>
make my victory sinister for the Senate and push them to acts contrary to its authority. But<hr>
I am of the lineage accustomed to receiving crowns from Roman emperors. The great Agrippa,<hr>
my father, received the kingdom of Batanæa and that of Trachonitis from the generosity of Caligula,<hr>
just as he received that of Chalcis, the scepter of which I bear today. My brother, Agrippa<hr>
the second, also benefited from the favor of your father Emperor Vespasian, and his death has<hr>
sufficiently proven that he was worthy of it. It was in your presence that my brother lost his life in trying to convince the inhabitants of Gamala to surrender and recognize the authority of<hr>
Vespasian. However, instead of consoling me for his loss, they banish me like a criminal.<hr>
It seems I sought to overthrow the Empire. Barely have they found a place to exile me<hr>
and they send me there. Yet, you know I have committed no crime, except that of receiving<hr>
the honor you did me by marrying me. The innocent conquest that my eyes made of your<hr>
heart is what makes me guilty. The Romans want you to be their captive and not mine.<hr>
They want to direct your love and your hatred at will, choose a wife for you according<hr>
to their whims, and not according to your desires. I know that my tears may seem suspect to those<hr>                                             
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                                                    58<hr>