4
I have said this at the beginning in order that if the discourse which is now about to be presented to the public should appear to some to be more feebleCf. same apology in Isoc. 5.149; Isoc. 15.9; Isoc. Letter 6.6. than those which have been published in former years, they may not compare it in the matter of rhetorical variety and finish to my former compositions but may judge it in relation to the subject matter which I have deemed appropriate to the present occasion.
5
I intend to discuss the achievements of Athens and the virtues of our ancestors, although I shall not begin with them but with a statement of my personal experience, since it is more urgent, I think, to begin with this. For notwithstanding that I strive to live in a manner above reproach and without offence to others, I am continually being misrepresented by obscure and worthless sophists and being judged by the general public, not by what I really am, but by what they hear from others.Cf. Isoc. 15.4-8.