Aristophanes' Clouds is an irreverent look at Socrates and a parable about how liberal education can go bad. Strepsiades wants to study with Socrates in order to get out of paying his debts, but isn't really ready for what Socrates has to teach him. The play makes us ask questions like: does Socrates deserve to get punished? What is the connection between philosophy and father-beating? How should the academy think about its relationship to the world outside of the academy? And why are fart jokes so funny?

Paul Ludwig of St. John's College, Annapolis, joins Tom Merrill and Sarah Marsh to talk about The Clouds. Ludwig's new book is Rediscovering Political Friendship: Aristotle, Modern Identity, Community, and Equality. His first book was Eros and Polis: Desire and Community in Greek Political Thought.

Here are some English translations of The Clouds:

Four Texts on Socrates, ed. and trans by West and West.

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