“[A university] is a place which wins the admiration of the young by its celebrity, kindles the affections of the middle-aged by its beauty, and rivets the fidelity of the old by its associations. It is a seat of wisdom, a light of the world, a minister of the faith, an Alma Mater of the rising generation.”

This is not a new law and religion book. But in honor of Saint John Henry Newman’s canonization this weekend, here is one of the greatest treatments of the nature of a university ever written, Newman’s The Idea of a University Defined and Illustrated ([The title of this post, “Heart speaks to heart” was the motto Newman selected as Cardinal.]