Henry VIII to Anne Boleyn

亨利八世写给安妮·博林

King Henry VIII originally courted Anne Boleyn’s sister Mary, but it was Anne who caught the English royal’s wandering eye — though she refused to be his mistress. She wanted to be Queen. Unfortunately for Anne, the temperamental King had another change of heart and ordered her execution in 1536. Henry VIII wrote Anne this letter in 1527:

国王亨利八世最初追求的是安妮·博林的姐姐玛丽·博林，不过皇室看中的却是安妮——虽然她拒绝做亨利八世的情妇。她想要做的是皇后，不过不幸的是，喜新厌旧的亨利八世之后却又变了心，1536年时下令处决安妮。1527年，亨利八世给安妮写下了这样的情书：

“I beg to know expressly your intention touching¹ the love between us. Necessity compels me to obtain this answer, having been more than a year wounded by the dart² of love, and not yet sure whether I shall fail or find a place in your affection.”

“我乞求你，清楚明白地告诉我你的心意，是否愿意与我相爱。我必须要得到这个答案，爱神之箭射中了我，伤口已一年有余，能否在你的心中占有一席之地，我却依然无从确定。”

The ruthless French leader had a sweet side for his wife Josephine. Although he divorced her when she could not have children, he continued to write to her. A few days after they were married, Napoleon left to command the French army near Italy. In the following months, he frequently wrote, expressing how much he missed her. He wrote the following on July 17, 1796:

拿破仑这位法国革命领袖残酷无情，然而对妻子约瑟芬却有柔情的一面。虽然因为约瑟芬无法怀孕而和她离婚，但他依旧保持着对她的通信。在他们婚后没几天，拿破仑就离开家，前往离意大利不远处的前线指挥部队。在接下去的几个月中，他频繁地给妻子写信，表达相思之情。1796年7月17日，他在信中写道：

“Since I left you, I have been constantly depressed³. My happiness is to be near you. Incessantly⁴ I live over in my memory your caresses⁵, your tears, your affectionate solicitude⁶. The charms of the incomparable Josephine kindle⁷ continually a burning and a glowing flame in my heart. When, free from all solicitude, all harassing⁸ care, shall I be able to pass all my time with you, having only to love you, and to think only of the happiness of so saying, and of proving it to you?”

“自从与你分别，我时常郁郁寡欢。我的幸福就是能与你相依。我不断在记忆里重温你的爱抚、你的泪水、你深情的挂念。世上没有人能同你相比，你的魅力总会在我心中燃起熊熊烈火。我何时才能摆脱所有挂虑、所有恼人的担忧，和你共度生命中的每分每秒，向你证明，我只需要爱你，只需要想着向你诉说爱意时的幸福之感。”