Soliloquies: St. Augustine's Cassiciacum Dialogues, Volume 4

by Saint Augustine, Michael P. Foley (Translator)

Overview

A fresh, new translation of Augustine’s fourth work as a Christian convert

The first four works written by St. Augustine of Hippo after his conversion to Christianity are dialogues that have influenced prominent thinkers from Boethius to Bernard Lonergan. Usually called the Cassiciacum dialogues, these four works are of a high literary and intellectual quality, combining Ciceronian and neo-Platonic philosophy, Roman comedy and Vergilian poetry, and early Christian theology. They are also, arguably, Augustine’s most charming works, exhibiting his whimsical levity and ironic wryness.

Soliloquies is the fourth work in this tetralogy. Augustine coined the term “soliloquy” to describe this new form of dialogue. Soliloquies, a conversation between Augustine and his reason, fuses the dialogue genre and Roman theater, opening with a search for intellectual and moral self-knowledge before converging on the nature of truth and the question of the soul’s immortality. Foley’s volume also includes On the Immortality of the Soul, which consists of notes for the unfinished portion of the work.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780300255775
Publisher:	Yale University Press
Publication date:	10/27/2020
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	352
File size:	510 KB

About the Author

Michael P. Foley is professor of patristics at Baylor University. He is the author or editor of several books, including Frank Sheed’s translation of Augustine’s Confessions.

Editorial Reviews

Finalist for the Soeurette Diehl Fraser Award for Best Translation of a Book, sponsored by the Texas Institute of Letters

Praise for the series:
 
“Foley’s exceptional labors now allow modern Anglophone readers to access the treasure of these dialogues, along with the related On the Immortality of the Soul. In each of Foley’s four volumes, an excellent translation is accompanied by a short introduction, then a commentary slightly longer than Augustine’s text, as well as hundreds of footnotes. Each volume stands on its own for classroom use.”—Daniel E. Burns, Review of Politics
 
“Michael Foley’s orchestration of the Cassiciacum dialogues—a four-part translation, annotation, and commentary—renders Augustine’s most important voice, the voice of the seeker, readily available to a broad readership. These are perfect teaching texts, and they are equally compelling for experts.  This welcome return of the dialogues, separate and yet intimately related in Foley’s handling of them, marks the most important literary event in Augustinian studies since Peter Brown’s biography.”—James Wetzel, Villanova University
 
“Yale University Press has excelled in publishing these beautiful volumes. Michael Foley models good translation, deeply engaged with the intricacies of the Latin and yet flowing elegantly and readably across the page. Foley’s commentary introduces the reader carefully and invitingly into these important and complex texts from Augustine’s first years as a Christian writer. They belong on the shelves of all who value the wisdom of the early Christian tradition.”—Lewis Ayres, Durham University
 
“A truly impressive undertaking.”—Marc D. Guerra, Assumption College
 
“A consistent, faithful and elegant translation of the crucial but relatively neglected dialogues by Augustine of Hippo.”—Simon Oliver, Durham University
 
“Michael Foley’s lively, precise new translation makes this dramatic dialogue accessible to today’s reader, adding yet another dimension to our understanding of the endless breadth of Augustine’s developing thought.”—Brian Daley, University of Notre Dame
 
“Foley has provided a vital and long-needed service, giving us lively, engaging and accurate translations, and commentaries that are well-grounded without being overwhelming.”—Erik Kenyon, Bryn Mawr Classical Review
 
“Michael P. Foley has given us a clear, compelling, and valuable resource in his new translation of Augustine’s inaugural work as a Christian convert. . . . Foley’s commentary and introductions somehow manage to be both informative and contextualizing without overshadowing the intricacies and insights of the text they are in service of.”—Zachary Thomas Settle, Augustinian Studies
 
“Michael Foley’s new translation of Augustine’s Cassiciacum dialogues (of which the first two of a projected four volumes are now available) is clear, useful, and long overdue.”—Elizabeth Klein, Theological Studies
 
“Foley is to be congratulated on providing a good critical edition and not least a readable translation of the text.”—Nicholas Paxton, Melita Theologica
 
“Foley’s translation reads easily and is transparent. Literal translation and identical formatting in each volume contribute substantially to the reader’s insight into the plan of the Cassiciacum dialogues. Michael Foley’s reading and translation are convincing in many respects.”—Martin Claes, Augustiniana
 
“Foley’s translations and commentaries on the Cassiciacum dialogues offer a smooth presentation of Augustine’s ear

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