He says that the Spartans are not to blame for all their troubles. .
Dikaipolis sent Olympus to Sparta with a treaty for himself and his family. When Olympus got back and found Dikaipolis he had three different types of peace. They used wine as a symbol of peace. In this case there was a five-year vintage Peace. Dikaipolis despised this one; the next was the ten-year vintage Peace. He made a sour face at this one as well; he said it had a stink of top-level conferences and that it had turned sour just as their Allies. The last treaty was the thirty-year vintage of peace on land and sea. Dikaipolis favored this one.
When the Koryphaios found out that Olympus had gone to Sparta for Dikaipolis they were bound and determined to have him killed for treason. Dikaipolis made a deal with them, however. He wanted them to give him a chance to explain himself. Koryphaios agreed that they would give him a chance to defend himself. If they were not convinced then it would be execution for Dikaipolis.
Before Dikaipolis will explain his reasoning for obtaining a truce behind the Athenian's backs he feels he has a better shot at convincing them if he is dressed as a beggar. He goes to Euripides, a play writer, to get some old ratty beggar clothes from him that he used in one of his plays. .
When Dikaipolis finally returns wearing his beggar clothes he begins explaining how he will always be a Spartan-hater, but that they"re only human. He feels that they are too hard on them. He sees no reason why they should blame all their troubles on them, for it was their own gentlemen that are the cause of this war. When they cut the Magarians off from trade they were starving and slowly and painfully dying until they had to apply to Sparta for help. The Spartans tried to make a deal with the Athens in order to help out the Magarians, but the Athenians refused. This forced Sparta into a position of action.
The first Koryphaios disagreed with Dikaipolis" reasoning, but the second koryphaios agreed with him and protected him from being executed for treason.
