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THE LYSISTRATA in
artist than party man. He was a comic poet
who revealed the essential comedy of all
things. The chorus of women, Lysistrata
herself, and the other leading ladies, all have
their foibles and absurdities ; only the chorus
of men, who are so keenly alive to them,
seem never to guess that there are smuts on
the pot. To seek in this age and country a
companion for these old fellows would be to
insult our Western civilization. Let us invent
a purely fantastic character one who ;
could
not sleep at night for fear of Prussians and
Social Democrats, who clamoured daily for a
dozen Dreadnoughts, conscription, and the
head of Mr. Keir Hardie on a charger, and
yet spent his leisure warning readers of the
daily papers against the danger of admitting
to any share of power a sex notorious for its
panic-fearfulness, intolerance, and lack of
humour ; such a one would indeed merit
admission to the x/? yepwrtav, would be a
proper fellow to take his stand e^? 'Apto-Toi,
beside the brave Aristogiton, and
TfjffSe ypao? Ttjv yvdQov,
this " monstrous regiment of women."
beat down
Aristophanes was a staunch Conservative,
but he disliked a stupid argument wherever
he found it. He cared intensely about politics,
but he could not easily forget that he was aoa