ABSTRACT

Augustine did not receive baptism until eight months later, on the 24th April 387. In the interval he retired to a property situated at Cassiciacum, not far from Milan, which his friend Verecundus the grammarian had placed at his disposal, and he stayed there till the beginning of Lent 387. He had need of mental quiet; in addition, he was suffering from his chest. He shared this studious retreat with Monica, his mother, his brother Navigius, his son Adeodatus, and some friends among whom were Alypius and Romanianus. The contra Academicos, the de Vita Beata, and the De Ordine resulted from the philosophic discussions which constituted the favourite recreation of the learned and pious company with which Augustine had surrounded himself. A stenographer took them down, and the transcriptions, revised and retouched by Augustine who adapted them to a Ciceronian style, formed the matter of these" dialogues," which cannot be said to be fictitious since they more or less reproduce faithfully authentic conversations.