Fighting With Shadows

This reference to "fighting with shadows" may be a veiled criticism of the biases of the jury. The old accusers, according to Socrates, are those members of society who falsely accused him of making idle speculations and arguing for the sake of argument. Since the jury is composed of Athenians it is quite possible that many of the jurors were involved in making these accusations. Instead of stating directly that the jury is far from impartial, Socrates may be veiling his criticism by speaking of the old accusers as if they are outside the court. That may be one of the reasons why he cannot name them or that he is fighting with shadows (since he cannot cross examine them.