"To what shall I henceforth compare the Cæsar in my poems, since roses and lilies are no longer beautiful?" he wailed.
"Compare him to the royal panther," Manlius advised. And the poet was content.
At this moment Mesembrius arrived, and hearing in the atrium that Manlius had already entered, hastened after him.
On the threshold he caught a glimpse of the young soldier and started back.
"Is that actor Manlius?" he asked himself, gazing at his silk toga and freckled face. "Have you seen Glyceria?" he whispered.
"Yes," replied Manlius.
"Have you killed her?"
"No."
"Then I understand the change. Hitherto only caterpillars became butterflies; in you a lion has undergone the change. I pity you."
The old Senator, as he spoke, moved forward with dignified bearing and, leaning on his crutches, stood before the Augustus.