I was the only human being on the sand, eyed by all onlookers.
From a door in the podium-wall a famished lion was loosed at me. He bounded towards me, roaring; but, three or four lengths from me he paused, stood still regarding me, circled about me and then turned his back on me and loped off to the arena-wall, along which he rounded the arena, apparently searching for a way out. The populace, at first mute with astonishment, voiced their amazement in yells of a notably different quality from those they had uttered while watching Narcissus.
Another lion behaved similarly, except that he, after inspecting me, merely walked in circles far out in the arena, ignoring me as if I were not there at all.
They loosed on me five more lions, four tigers, four leopards, four panthers and four bears, of the fierce Alpine breed. Some of these animals delighted the populace by attacking each other and affording entertainment by savage and ferocious fighting. But not one showed any disposition to attack me.
As beast after beast approached me, conned me and spared me, the upper tiers began to call:
"He is innocent."
"He is guiltless."
"The beasts know."
"He is not guilty."
"The gods declare him clean of guilt!" and other such cries.