¹ It is stated, or implied, by Starkie, van Leeuwen, and Rogers.

² The surviving fragments of the Banqueters hardly make it probable that Ar. would have regarded the Clouds as its sister-play. No doubt the two have something in common, but there is vastly more in the Clouds than a contrast of δ σώφρωγ and δ καγαπύуωγ. It is really only when we concentrate attention on the àγώυ of the Two Reasons that we think of the plays as identical in theme. Nor is it likely that Ar. is comparing the merit of the two plays: if merit, not content, had been the ground of comparison he would surely have chosen for preference Acharnians or Knights, which both gained first prizes. The sole reason for mentioning the Banqueters (which only gained second prize) was that the playwright wants to appeal to those who had recognized his merit from the time of his earliest effort.