Ephrem the Syrian : The same faith, which on the previous evening had led Darius to seal the entrance of the den, brought him again to that place, as if he would have seen Daniel still alive. — COMMENTARY ON Daniel 6:19 Hippolytus of Rome : Accordingly, "Then he arose at first light and came to the den of lions in haste, and having called in a strong voice said, 'Daniel, slave of the living God, your God whom you serve perpetually, was he able to take you out from the mouth of the lions?'" [Daniel 6:19-20] And so why, having been disturbed, did the king cry this word, except that he had heard what happened to the boys, who were not willing to obey the prescription of the king, and were preserved from the furnace of fire?... The same happened to him, but he feared God and despised the decree of the Medes and Persians. — Commentary on Daniel 3.28.5-6 Jerome : Verse 19. "Then the king arose at the break of dawn and proceeded with haste to the pit of lions." The term "pit" (lacus) implies a really deep depression, or dry cistern, in which the lions were fed. And so he proceeded hastily to the pit at the break of dawn, believing that Daniel was alive. But in Latin the word lacus is applied to a body of fresh water, such as Lake Benacus and Lake Larius, and the rest of them. The Greeks call it limne, that is, "a body of standing water" (stagnum). — St. Jerome, Commentary on Daniel, CHAPTER SIX Theodoret of Cyrus : "King Darius rose early at daybreak," that is, while it was still dark, around dawn, so that there was even need of lamps (the meaning of "at daybreak"). — COMMENTARY ON Daniel 6:19