Dear Quintilius,

I am feeling absolutely heartbroken. I don’t feel necessarily mad or upset, just lost. What are some ways to feel better?

Sincerely, Falling Apart

Dear Torn Down,

I feel for you, as I, too have felt the suffocation of depression. During my adolescence I was left behind on a battlefield in North Africa. I was alongside the infamous “hero” Scipio Africanus, as we fought Hannibal at Zama. It was a marvelous battle and a wicked strike of revenge for the battle of Cannae.

It was here that I was wounded, not physically but at my very essence. Scipio offered peace to our enemies, instead of finishing the job and razing the cities. You have heard the saying “a slap on the hand,” this was more like only taking one arm of an enemy opposed from decapitating him. It was not severe enough for the enemies of Rome to learn their lessons.

I stayed in North Africa feeling betrayed by my brothers. I would have to wait almost sixty years to feel whole again when we would come to the city of Carthage and salt the land.

Here is the advice I offer. Do not forgive, do not forget. Your time will come when you are able to “feel” again. It may be a week, six months or sixty years but you will find happiness and peace.

Let me note “peace” does not feel like “nothingness,” what I am referring to is the feeling of balance and satisfaction. Keep fighting, for the war in our-selves is never truly won, only held at bay by the strength and courage with which we approach each day.

All Salute The Eternal City,

Qunitilius of Rome