evidence: In that translation, Plato attributed mentions of "slander" or slanderous speech to Socrates several times. In another translation, Socrates is characterized as lashing out at innumerable ill-speakers against him, blaming envy and slander for his prosecution: [...] However, the first iteration of the "when the debate is lost, slander becomes the tool of the losers" attributed to Socrates we located was from May 2006, on a personal website. Prior to that, we were unable to locate a version of the quote attributed to anyone at all. [...] - Socratic problem - The Cambridge Companion to Socrates; The Rise and Fall of the Socratic Problem - Plato’s Apology of Socrates - Apology By Plato - Quotable Quote: Socrates "When the debate is lost, slander becomes the tool of the loser."