The Cassiciacum dialogues represent the earliest post-conversion writings of Augustine of Hippo (354–430 CE). They are both philosophical in nature and theological in content. Recent scholarship from Gerald Boersma, Carol Harrison, Bart van Egmond, and others has demonstrated the vitality of Augustine's early thought. Thus, the work of fresh translations is a necessary endeavor, and, for this reason, Michael Foley, Associate Professor of Patristics at Baylor University, should be lauded for his work in these volumes. Even more than fresh translations, Foley has provided readers with a helpful series introduction, as well as commentary contained within each of the texts to aid readers in apprehending the nuances of Augustine's thought contained therein.
In volume 1, Contra academicos (Against the Academics), Foley sets the stage by helping readers understand the parallels between Augustine's dialogue on Ciceronian skepticism and that of the Octavius penned by Minucius Felix (ca. 160–ca. 250 AD). While it is difficult to identify the direct influence of this earlier dialogue, Foley remarks, “the parallels are remarkably strong” (4). Augustine's distrust of the New Academy arose from their inability to affirm truth, which Augustine saw as “a threat rather than an aid to the philosophical life” (9). Augustine leads a conversation between Alypius, Trygetius, and Licentius on the merits and faults of skepticism. Augustine's conclusion is that our grasp of truth is dependent upon divine authority and chiefly upon the Son of God as the personification of truth. In sum, Augustine asserts that the academics are too esoteric for their own good.
In volume 2, De beata vita (On the Happy Life), Augustine takes up the age-old question of what comprises the good and happy life. In this dialogue, Augustine explores the question of happiness as both a philosophical and a theological quest. The question of happiness must inevitably conclude with God's grace. Augustine's preoccupation with happiness is not based on how and when happiness is achieved but on the reality that it can be achieved in God alone. Here, Augustine's mother, Monica, takes a prominent role as one who is keenly aware of the happy life and its relationship to God, ending the dialogue with a hymn to the triune God originally penned by Augustine's theological influence, Ambrose of Milan (ca. 340–397 CE).
In volume 3, De ordine (On Order), Augustine and his dialogue partners take up the task of considering divine order and questions regarding the relationship between good and evil. While perhaps not a strict theodicy, as Foley posits, the work nonetheless addresses the classic questions of how to understand the various dilemmas of humanity amid the belief in an omnipotent, omniscient, and omnibenevolent God. And while Augustine may model De ordine on the similar work of Cicero, Foley notes, “Augustine's focus on the truths of the mystical body of Christ rather than the concerns of the body politic accounts for his operation on a grander, more ambitious scale” (14–15). Religion, as Augustine argues, is primarily for God's sake not the state's.
Finally, in volume 4, Soliloquiorum (Soliloquies), Augustine provides a work that is groundbreaking among ancient philosophical dialogues: a conversation between man and himself. Soliloquiorum is the least obvious of the Cassiciacum writings, as it does not contain cues as to the same Italian setting or the other friends who have been present in the other works. Though missing these cues, the work still firmly belongs within the tetralogy and completes the works as the final installment. As Foley notes, “It presupposes them” (5). This work speaks less about a turn to the subject “but [rather] of a return to ourselves” (7). Augustine spends much time considering the nature of the soul—a persistent and perplexing question throughout his life and writing. Foley notes the work of recent scholarship that has connected Soliloquiorum to De immortalitate animae (On the Immortality of the Soul), which was written after the fact and likely intended to be the final book of Soliloquiorum.
Foley has done readers of Augustine an excellent service in both providing new translations of these early works and commentary notes that provide fresh insight to both the philosophical and theological discussions. Earlier translations from the Fathers of the Church series (Ludwig Schopp, Denis J. Kavanagh, Robert P. Russell, and Thomas F. Gilligan, trans., Saint Augustine: The Happy Life, Answer to Skeptics, Divine Providence and the Problem of Evil, Soliloquies, vol. 5 [The Catholic University of America Press, 1948]) still carry weight, but the additional material contained in these new volumes make Foley's the preferred translations for modern readers. Additionally, though New City Press has a translation of De beata vita contained within a distinct volume (Boniface Ramsey, ed., Trilogy on Faith and Happiness, Roland J. Teske, Michael G. Campbell, and Ray Kearney, trans. [2010]), remaining translations of the Cassiciacum works are yet to be released. Once again, this makes Foley's work invaluable for modern-day readers and researchers. These works are to be commended for courses in Augustine's early thought, as reference works for students and researchers of Augustine, and for general readers with an interest in Augustine's early thought.
