A mathematician’s apology for mathematics doubles as a self-defense.

Evidence

I should say at once that my defence of mathematics will be a defence of myself, and that my apology is bound to be to some extent egotistical. I should not think it worth while to apologize for my subject if I regarded myself as one of its failures. — G. H. Hardy, A Mathematician’s Apology, 132

Categorization

• DEFINE: Clarifies the unusual sense in which Hardy uses ‘apology’ — a self-defense, not a confession of wrongdoing.
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — G. H. Hardy, A Mathematician’s Apology, 132