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answer he intends to show that the wisdom of men is worth little or 
nothing; he is not speaking of Socrates, he is only using my name 
by way of illustration, as if he said, He, O men, is the wisest, who, 
like Socrates, knows that his wisdom is in truth worth nothing. And 
so I go about the world, obedient to the god, and search and make 
enquiry into the wisdom of any one, whether citizen or stranger, 
who appears to be wise; and if he is not wise, then in vindication of 
the oracle I show him that he is not wise; and my occupation quite 
absorbs me, and I have no time to give either to any public matter 
of interest or to any concern of my own, but I am in utter poverty 
by reason of my devotion to the god. 

There is another thing:— young men of the richer classes, who 
have not much to do, come about me of their own accord; they like 
to hear the pretenders examined, and they often imitate me, and 
proceed to examine others; there are plenty of persons, as they 
quickly discover, who think that they know something, but really 
know little or nothing; and then those who are examined by them 
instead of being angry with themselves are angry with me: This 
confounded Socrates, they say; this villainous misleader of 
youth!— and then if somebody asks them, Why, what evil does he 
practise or teach? they do not know, and cannot tell; but in order 
that they may not appear to be at a loss, they repeat the ready- 
made charges which are used against all philosophers about teach- 
ing things up in the clouds and under the earth, and having no 
gods, and making the worse appear the better cause; for they do 
not like to confess that their pretence of knowledge has been detec- 
ted— which is the truth; and as they are numerous and ambitious 
and energetic, and are drawn up in battle array and have persuas- 
ive tongues, they have filled your ears with their loud and inveter- 
ate calumnies. And this is the reason why my three accusers, Mele- 
tus and Anytus and Lycon, have set upon me; Meletus, who has a 
quarrel with me on behalf of the poets; Anytus, on behalf of the 
craftsmen and politicians; Lycon, on behalf of the rhetoricians: and