"Didn't I tell you that we—the ruling class—owned all the land, all the forest, and everything? If any of our food bringers failed to bring us food, we punished them or forced them to starve to death. Very few did that. They preferred to bring us food, make us clothes, and prepare for us a thousand—oyster shells, ho-ho—pleasures and desires. And I was, in those days, Professor Smith, Professor James Howard Smith. My lectures were very popular, in the sense that many, many boys and girls loved to listen to me talk to them about books written by others.
I was very happy, and I had many nice things to eat. My hands were soft because I didn't work with them, and my whole body was clean and covered in the softest clothes..."
He looked at the mangy goatskin he was wearing with disgust.
"We didn't wear such things in those days. Even the slaves wore better clothes. We were very clean. We washed our faces and hands several times a day. You boys never wash unless you fall into the water or go swimming."
"Same with you, Grandfather," Ho-Ho replied.
"I know, I know, I'm a dirty old man, but times have changed. Nobody washes these days; the tools used for that purpose are no longer available. I haven't seen a bar of soap for sixty years.