How we cite our quotes: Line
Quote #10
How dangerous to entertain / a lust for villainy, / like this old man, who'd now evade / the debts he ought to pay. / Before the day has run its course / the time will surely come / when our old sophist feels remorse / about the harm he's done. / I think that he will soon obtain / the answer to his prayer: / a son who's able to maintain / what's unjust and unfair. / And though the son wins every case / with wickedness and lies, / perhaps, perhaps his dad will pray / his tongue gets paralyzed. (1303-1320)
The Clouds are making sure that we as the audience know that Strepsiades will soon regret his decision to send his son to rhetoric school. And it's totally true—once Pheidippides starts using his skillz against old Pops, Strepsiades definitely regrets his decision to sharpen his son's "tongue."