wholly extraordinary. Eudoxia is without a doubt a miracle of nature. She was born with advantages that I have only ever seen in her. Had her birth been as remarkable as her spirit, and instead of being raised in solitude, been nourished at court, she would today be a person incomparable to any other. But alas, she began where I am about to end. 
     It is easier for those with good ethics to live in glory in solitude after having commanded an empire than to shift from solitude to power. Those who have been able to lead entire nations could undoubtedly lead flocks without straying them, but all those who know how to handle a shepherd's staff would not be able to bear a sceptre. Ultimately, all kings could be shepherds, but all shepherds could not be kings. The philosophers who perceive themselves as the judges of all mankind's actions, who pretend to know the worth of crowns of imaginary kingdoms, who provide laws to all the earth and elaborate models according to which kings should arrange their life and power... these men, who make such perfect kings in their writings, would be incapable of ruling. Eudoxia provides me with an example contrary to this thought. She is steeped in philosophy, she is the daughter of a man who educated her. She was born with admirable instincts, she knows all that a person of her rank could know. When she arrived at court, she was without ambition. She has as much wit as it's possible to have. However, because she knew the world through books and her experience had taught her nothing, her simplicity rendered her vulnerable to the ploys of Chrysaphios, and no doubt led her to the feelings she now has for me.
     All these things, Flavius, I was oblivious to when I ignited this flame in the Emperor's heart that destroys me today. But I know now that it takes an active philosophy to be able to reign, that experience is the most reliable teaching for kings, and I have understood from my own experience that one can only be perfectly wise at one's expense. I shouldn’t be astonished that Eudoxia does everything she can to preserve the rank which I have bestowed upon her. It's so advantageous for her that I find it surprising she doesn't do even more. Yes, the change that is unfolding today does not astonish me any more than it saddens me. I preserve so much affection for Theodosius and respect for Eudoxia that to prevent them from committing a public error, I am ready to dispossess myself of the power I have, to abandon Theodosius to his affection for Empress Eudoxia and abandon her to her lack of experience and the machinations of Chrysaphios. I don't know, Flavius, if my theories will be as incorrect today as they were when I crowned Eudoxia, but the reign of these prominent beings will be neither long nor happy. The complacency of Theodosius and the lack of experience of the Empress awaken my pity. I already see her rushing to consult her books at the slightest unexpected occurrence. But my father, her books were not written for our time and if...
97