Chorus. Rightly served! we serve you rightly, for your hungry love of pelf; For your gross and greedy rapine, gormandizing by yourself-- You that, ere the figs are gathered, pilfer with a privy twitch Fat delinquents and defaulters, pulpy, luscious, plump, and rich; Pinching, fingering, and pulling--tempering, selecting, culling; With a nice survey discerning which are green and which are turning, Which are ripe for accusation, forfeiture, and confiscation. Him, besides, the wealthy man, retired upon an easy rent, Hating and avoiding party, noble-minded, indolent, Fearful of official snares; intrigues, and intricate affairs-- Him you mark; you fix and hook him, while he's gaping unawares; At a fling, at once you bring him hither from the Chersonese; Down you cast him, roast and baste him, and devour him at your ease. Cleon. Yes; assault, insult, abuse me! This is the return I find For the noble testimony, the memorial I designed: Meaning to propose proposals for a monument of stone, On the which your late achievements should be carved and neatly done. Chorus. Out, away with him! the slave! the pompous, empty, fawning knave! Does he think with idle speeches to delude and cheat us all, As he does the doting elders that attend his daily call? Pelt him here, and bang him there; and here, and there, and everywhere. Cleon. Save me, neighbors! Oh, the monsters! Oh, my side, my back, my breast! Chorus. What! you're forced to call for help? you brutal, overpowering pest! [Clean is pelted off the stage, pursued by the Chorus.] THE PEACE OF NI'ÇI-AS. The struggle between Sparta and Athens continued ten years without intermission, and without any successes of a decisive character on either side. In the eleventh year of the struggle (421 B.C.) a treaty for a term of fifty years was concluded--called the Peace of Nicias, in honor of the Athenian general of that name --by which the towns captured during the war were to be restored, and both Athens and Sparta placed in much the same state as when hostilities commenced. But this proved to be a hollow truce; for the war was a virtual triumph for Athens--and interest, inclination, and the ambitious views of her party leaders were not long in finding plausible pretexts for renewing the struggle. Again, the Bœotian, Megarian, and Corinthian allies of Sparta refused to carry out the terms of the treaty by making the required surrenders, and Sparta had no power to compel them, while Athens would accept no less than she had bargained for.