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.
Pages:
829
830
831
832
833
834
835
836
837
838
839
840
841
842
843
844
845
846
847
848
849
850
851
852
853