- Strepsiades has located his son and starts off this scene by making fun of the fact that he continues to believe in Zeus. He shares his newfound knowledge that Zeus doesn't exist.
- After they argue about that for a bit, Strepsiades explains his purpose in visiting his son: he wants Pheidippides to enroll at the Thinkery.
- Pheidippides says he thinks his dad will come to regret that request, but Strepsiades is just overjoyed that his son has (apparently) agreed. He brings him to Socrates.
- Socrates is kind of shocked by how young Pheidippides is, and he and Pheidippides have a heated exchange about that.
- Strepsiades presses the point, claiming that money is no object if Socrates will agree to teach him the "Arguments"—that is, the "Better Argument" (the more just form) or the "Worse" (the one that can take a weak or bad case and make it good—like, say, a case in which a clear debt is owed... ).
- Socrates says he will have the Arguments themselves teach Pheidippides, since he is too busy. So, these two different forms of rhetoric get personified and start duking it out for control over Pheidippides.