FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   35   36   37   38   39   40   41   42   43   44   45   46   47   >>  
e in being much abused? Strep. You blackguard! Phid. Sprinkle me with roses in abundance. Strep. Do you beat your father? Phid. And will prove too, by Jupiter! that I beat you with justice. Strep. O thou most rascally! Why, how can it be just to beat a father? Phid. I will demonstrate it, and will overcome you in argument. Strep. Will you overcome me in this? Phid. Yea, by much and easily. But choose which of the two Causes you wish to speak. Strep. Of what two Causes? Phid. The better, or the worse? Strep. Marry, I did get you taught to speak against justice, by Jupiter, my friend, if you are going to persuade me of this, that it is just and honourable for a father to be beaten by his sons! Phid. I think I shall certainly persuade you; so that, when you have heard, not even you yourself will say anything against it. Strep. Well, now, I am willing to hear what you have to say. Cho. It is your business, old man, to consider in what way you shall conquer the man; for if he were not relying upon something, he would not be so licentious. But he is emboldened by something; the boldness of the man is evident. Now you ought to tell to the Chorus from what the contention first arose. And this you must do by all means. Strep. Well, now, I will tell you from what we first began to rail at one another. After we had feasted, as you know, I first bade him take a lyre, and sing a song of Simonides, "The Shearing of the Ram." But he immediately said it was old-fashioned to play on the lyre and sing while drinking, like a woman grinding parched barley. Phid. For ought you not then immediately to be beaten and trampled on, bidding me sing, just as if you were entertaining cicadae? Strep. He expressed, however, such opinions then too within, as he does now; and he asserted that Simonides was a bad poet. I bore it at first, with difficulty indeed, yet nevertheless I bore it. And then I bade him at least take a myrtle-wreath and recite to me some portion of Aeschylus; and then he immediately said, "Shall I consider Aeschylus the first among the poets, full of empty sound, unpolished, bombastic, using rugged words?" And hereupon you can't think how my he
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   35   36   37   38   39   40   41   42   43   44   45   46   47   >>  



Top keywords:

immediately

 

father

 

beaten

 

persuade

 

Causes

 

justice

 
overcome
 

Jupiter

 

Aeschylus

 
Simonides

grinding

 

feasted

 

parched

 

Shearing

 
fashioned
 

drinking

 
portion
 

myrtle

 

wreath

 

recite


rugged
 

unpolished

 

bombastic

 

expressed

 

cicadae

 
entertaining
 

trampled

 

bidding

 

opinions

 

difficulty


asserted

 

barley

 

business

 

choose

 

easily

 
taught
 

friend

 
argument
 

demonstrate

 

blackguard


Sprinkle

 
abused
 

abundance

 

rascally

 

honourable

 

boldness

 
evident
 

emboldened

 
licentious
 
Chorus