‘But it seems plain that in America the duties of these guardians, such as suppressing and encouraging opinions and the like, have been usurped by manufacturers and people of that sort who ought never to be given any power at all.’ ‘Such is the unhappy truth in America.’ ‘We must therefore educate a guardian class for the Americans who shall drive these usurpers from their position of influence and lead the Americans towards wisdom.’ ‘We must.’ ‘And shall we draw our guardians from men or from women?’ ‘As it is America, from women,’ suggested Phaelon. ‘I agree,’ I said, ‘we will make women guardians, for we are desperate and the proverb speaks truly:―― Desperate diseases need desperate remedies. And we will do so for several reasons. For in the first place such an arrangement will seem natural to the Americans themselves, and the poet has well written: Nature is strong. ‘And secondly the women live longer and we shall be able to train them more thoroughly. And thirdly, the women show some interest in philosophy, while the men are hopeless. For the women think they know something when in fact they know nothing, but the men are not even aware that there is anything to know. And fourthly the women are accustomed to leisure, and do not fear or despise it, for the men have passed it on to them, not knowing what to do with it themselves.’ ‘But there is a better reason than any of these,’ said Agathon. ‘What is that?’ asked Lysis. ‘Why, that the American women are exceedingly agreeable when they are young. Or did you not think so, Socrates?’ ‘I did think so,’ I said, ‘and though I did not mention it, I will confess it was the chief reason. They are not so attractive as our Grecian youths, indeed, but they are attractive all the same. For in America the individuals, both youths and maidens and women, but chiefly the maidens, are full of lovableness and goodwill when they are young, but are very quickly brought under the tyranny of propaganda and betrayed by riches and the sense of efficiency into a false valuing of what is to be aimed at in living.’ ‘Begin quickly,’ said Agathon, ‘and let us see you open this college for young women, for I take it from what you say you would not wish Xantippe to control so important a matter.’ ‘By the dog, no,’ I cried. ‘Then,’ said Agathon, ‘let us found our college.’ ‘By all means,’ I said, ‘but first let us see whether any of the existing universities and colleges will be of any use to us, for there are many hundreds of them.’ ‘Indeed, Socrates,’ said Lysis in surprise, ‘many hundred colleges? I should not have supposed there were any at all.’ I had been of this opinion, and I said: ‘I had not supposed so either, for I thought no educated person would be willing to listen to Xantippe, but I soon learned the answer to my puzzle, for nothing is easier in America than to attend college and nothing harder than to get educated.’