AESCHYLUS. "Oh! river Sperchius! oh! meadows, where the oxen graze!"[522]
DIONYSUS. Cuckoo! let go! Oh! the verse of Aeschylus sinks far the lower of the two.
EURIPIDES. And why?
DIONYSUS. Because, like the wool-merchants, who moisten their wares, he has thrown a river into his verse and has made it quite wet, whereas yours was winged and flew away.
EURIPIDES. Come, another verse! You recite, Aeschylus, and you, weigh.
DIONYSUS. Hold the scales again.
AESCHYLUS AND EURIPIDES. Ready.
DIONYSUS (to Euripides). You begin.
EURIPIDES. "Eloquence is Persuasion's only sanctuary."[523]
AESCHYLUS. "Death is the only god whom gifts cannot bribe."[524]