Titus, I've done nothing, said nothing, thought nothing against them. My greatest crime is being 
unhappy and that you love me. Heaven would have me remain so all my life, guilty in this 
way. Continue to give them new reasons to hate me by loving me always. Show them 
that the victim you sacrifice for them is dear to you. And for your glory as much as 
for mine, let them know that the affection you have for me has valid reasons. Cover 
up my faults and carefully highlight the few good qualities that reside in me. 
Tell them that the fondness I had for you has made up for my lack of merit. And finally, 
show them through my praise the motive of your love. For my part, it will be easy to 
justify my love for you. Your worth and wisdom are so universally recognized around 
the world that I don't need to explain why I love you. But, dear 
Titus, can I tell you something that worries me? Yes, since it's my affection that drives it, 
you can't dislike it, and you're too fair to condemn me once you 
understand that I'm only guilty of an excess of love. As things stand, I 
wouldn't want to tear you away from the throne that is rightfully yours by forcing you to follow me, as there is nowhere 
on Earth where the remarkable Titus can live incognito. Yet, if I'm allowed to tell you 
all that I think, I would wish that without throne, without kingdom, and without empire, we 
could live together in a place where ethics alone reigns with us. I would wish for you 
to not be what you are, yet I wouldn't want you to change. The excess of my sorrow 
and my affection makes me, finding nothing in all possible things that could 
satisfy me, constrained to console myself by making impossible vows. Forgive me, 
Titus, for having this thought that would have stripped you of the power you deserve, even though I see 
in your eyes that such sentiment does not insult you. 
       So far, I've always believed that I couldn't feel sadness or 
pain without speaking of it and sharing it with you. However, it's certain that the one I read 
on your face soothes my distress, that your tears lessen the bitterness of mine, and that 
in my current state, I can't have a sweeter feeling than seeing you overwhelmed. Yes, Titus, 
my desperation is so great that if I can't live happily beside you, I would wish 
for us to always be unhappy as long as we do so together. This unfair 
feeling lasts little in my mind, and from one extreme to the other, I'd rather 
be more miserable if it means that you are not. It then seems to me that the Romans are 
right to exile me, for I am capable of disturbing the peace of their future ruler. I 
would wish to be able to leave without distressing you, carrying in my heart your pain along with mine.
In this state of deep tenderness, I feel more compassion for you than for myself. 
However, since I am forced to live without you, I'm certain to often hear 
news about you, even if you don't give them to me. Fame will propagate the 
great things you will do, and I wish with all my heart that it could just as well share 
my tears as your exploits, and make sure that you are aware that neither time nor distance can 
ever 
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