ANTIOCHUS
ANTIOCHUS. Antiochus, who twice made an inroad into
Parthia, as he was once a hunting, lost his friends and servants in the pursuit, and went into a cottage of poor people
who did not know him. As they were at supper, he threw
out discourse concerning the king; they said for the most
part he was a good prince, but overlooked many things he
left to the management of debauched courtiers, and out of
love of hunting often neglected his necessary affairs; and
there they stopped. At break of day the guard arrived at
the cottage, and the king was recognized when the crown
and purple robes were brought. From the day, said he,
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on which I first received these, I never heard truth concerning myself till yesterday. When he besieged Jerusalem, the Jews, in respect of their great festival, begged
of him seven days' truce; which he not only granted, but
preparing oxen with gilded horns, with a great quantity of
incense and perfumes, he went before them to the very
gates, and having delivered them as a sacrifice to their
priests, he returned back to his army. The Jews wondered at him, and as soon as their festival was finished,
surrendered themselves to him.