How you, Athenians, have been affected by the speeches of my accusers, I know not; for my part, by hearing them, I almost forgot who I am, so persuasive were their speeches. Yet, to tell the truth, they have said nothing true. What has especially astonished me in them is that they said you must be careful not to be deceived by me, as if I were a skilled orator. Not to blush that they will be immediately refuted by the fact, when I show that I am in no way a skilled orator, that is, it seems to me, the most impudent thing in their accusation, unless they call him a skilled orator who speaks the truth. For if that is what they mean, I will agree that I am an orator, but not after their fashion. So, as I was telling you, they have said nothing, or almost nothing, true; whereas from me you shall hear the whole truth. But no, by Jupiter, Athenians, you shall not hear speeches adorned with fine phrases like theirs, nor decked out with elegant words; you shall hear words spoken without art, at random, with the first words that present themselves; for I am sure that what I say is just, and that none of you should look for anything else. It would not be fitting, at my age, to come before you like a young man forging speeches. Therefore, Athenians, I ask you one thing only: if you hear me, in my defense, use the same words that I am accustomed to employ in the public square, near the stalls where several of you have heard me, do not be astonished at it and do not make it a subject of tumult. Indeed, this is today for the first time that I appear before a court, at seventy years of age; I am therefore entirely a stranger to the language of this place. Just as therefore if I were truly a stranger, you would forgive me for speaking in the language and manner of my country, even so I beg you, and this is just, not to pay attention to my manner of speaking, good or bad, but to consider solely whether what I say is just or not. For it is the duty of the judge, and that of the orator is to speak the truth.

It seems to me first just, Athenians, to defend myself against the first accusations that were brought against me, and against the first accusers, before answering the last ones and the latter. Indeed, for a long time already and without any foundation, many people have spread themselves against you concerning me, saying that there is a certain Socrates, a wise man who meditates on heavenly things and who scrutinizes what happens beneath the earth, and who makes bad causes appear good. It is these slanderers who, spreading in speeches full of hatred, have harmed me, because those who hear them believe that men who give themselves to these researches do not admit the existence of the gods. Besides, these accusers are numerous, and they have been accusing me for a long time; they were already speaking to you at an age when you could best believe them, some of you being children or quite young men; and their accusations were all the more powerful as they were without defense. But the most striking thing is that it is impossible for me to know and name most of them, except under the guise of a comic poet who played me in a comedy. Now, all those who, out of envy and malice, have persuaded you, or who, convinced by others, have convinced themselves, all these are my most formidable accusers; for those who listen to them imagine that those who research these things do not believe in the gods. Besides, these accusers are in great number, they have been accusing me for a long time; they were already speaking to you at an age when you could best believe them, some of you being children or quite young men; and their accusations were all the more powerful as they were without defense. The most striking thing is that it is impossible for me to know and name most of them, except under the guise of a comic poet who played me in a comedy. Now, all those who, out of envy and malice, have persuaded you, or who, convinced by others, have convinced themselves, all these are my most formidable accusers; for those who listen to them imagine that those who research these things do not believe in the gods. Then, there are also the accusers who spoke the last time; but it is the first ones that must be refuted; let us therefore answer their calumnies, and defend ourselves against them, so that you may know that they are without foundation.

That is why, Athenians, I must defend myself against the first accusations, and show that the calumny of which I have been the object has no foundation. And now, I am going to try to convince you that it is calumnious and that it is not true.