Chacunasesvertus。
_Crebillon’sXerxes。_
ANTIOCHUSEPIPHANESisverygenerallylookeduponastheGogoftheprophetEzekiel。Thishonoris，however，moreproperlyattributabletoCambyses，thesonofCyrus。And，indeed，thecharacteroftheSyrianmonarchdoesbynomeansstandinneedofanyadventitiousembellishment。Hisaccessiontothethrone，orratherhisusurpationofthesovereignty，ahundredandseventy-oneyearsbeforethecomingofChrist；hisattempttoplunderthetempleofDianaatEphesus；hisimplacablehostilitytotheJews；hispollutionoftheHolyofHolies；andhismiserabledeathatTaba，afteratumultuousreignofelevenyears，arecircumstancesofaprominentkind，andthereforemoregenerallynoticedbythehistoriansofhistimethantheimpious，dastardly，cruel，silly，andwhimsicalachievementswhichmakeupthesumtotalofhisprivatelifeandreputation。
Letussuppose，gentlereader，thatitisnowtheyearoftheworldthreethousandeighthundredandthirty，andletus，forafewminutes，imagineourselvesatthatmostgrotesquehabitationofman，theremarkablecityofAntioch。Tobesuretherewere，inSyriaandothercountries，sixteencitiesofthatappellation，besidestheonetowhichImoreparticularlyallude。ButoursisthatwhichwentbythenameofAntiochiaEpidaphne，fromitsvicinitytothelittlevillageofDaphne，wherestoodatempletothatdivinity。ItwasbuiltalthoughaboutthismatterthereissomedisputebySeleucusNicanor，thefirstkingofthecountryafterAlexandertheGreat，inmemoryofhisfatherAntiochus，andbecameimmediatelytheresidenceoftheSyrianmonarchy。IntheflourishingtimesoftheRomanEmpire，itwastheordinarystationoftheprefectoftheeasternprovinces；
andmanyoftheemperorsofthequeencityamongwhommaybementioned，especially，VerusandValensspentherethegreaterpartoftheirtime。ButIperceivewehavearrivedatthecityitself。Letusascendthisbattlement，andthrowoureyesuponthetownandneighboringcountry。