The Idea of a University

by John Henry Cardinal Newman, Martin J. Svaglic (Introduction)

Overview

No man was ever better qualified to write such a book as The Life of a University than Cardinal Newman was. And the subject has never been more pressing than it is today. In this classic, Newman poses a number of important questions: What is the purpose of education? What does it mean to be educated? What is the role of a university? What is the relationship between learning and the life of a society? And where does Catholicism fit in?

The issues Newman examined with incomparable insight continue to be relevant today, one hundred and fifty years after it was first published. This book has been recognized as probably the greatest of its kind, and no one interested in the relationship between religion, learning, culture and politics can afford to neglect it.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780268210052
Publisher:	University of Notre Dame Press
Publication date:	11/01/2024
Series:	Notre Dame Series in Great Books
Pages:	480
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x (d)

About the Author

John Henry Cardinal Newman (1801-1890) was an Anglican priest, poet and theologian and later a Catholic cardinal, who was an important and controversial figure in the religious history of England in the 19th century.

Martin J. Svaglic (1916-1998) taught English at Loyola University Chicago for almost 45 years until retiring in 1983. Svaglic served as the Frederick Ives Carpenter Visiting Professor at the University of Chicago. During his career, Svaglic became a leading authority in nineteenth-century literature, with a focus on John Henry Newman and the Oxford Movement.

Table of Contents

Preface     vii
Preface to the original edition     xi
University Teaching
Introductory     3
Theology a Branch of Knowledge     17
Bearing of Theology on other Branches of Knowledge     37
Bearing of Other Branches of Knowledge on Theology     60
Knowledge its Own End     83
Knowledge Viewed in Relation to Learning     103
Knowledge Viewed in Relation to Professional Skill     125
Knowledge Viewed in Relation to Religion     148
Duties of the Church towards Knowledge     175
University Subjects
Christianity and Letters. A Lecture in the School of Philosophy and Letters     199
Literature. A Lecture in the School of Philosophy and Letters     215
English Catholic Literature     236
In its relation to Religious Literature     236
In its relation to Science     238
In its relation to Classical Literature     244
In its relation to the Literature of the Day     254
Elementary Studies     264
Grammar     266
Composition     277
Latin Writing     288
General Religious Knowledge     296
A Form of Infidelity of the Day     304
Its Sentiments     304
Its Policy     312
University Preaching     323
Christianity and Physical Science. A Lecture in the School of Medicine     342
Christianity and Scientific Investigation. A lecture written for the School of Science     365
Discipline of Mind. An Address to the Evening Classes     385
Christianity and Medial Science. An Address to the Students of Medicine     405

Editorial Reviews

It is a classic; like so many classics, however, and alas, it is largely forgotten or too seldom read. This is decidedly not because it is difficult to read; it is wonderfully readable, and the reading of it will, we urge you to believe, transform the imagination of any student. In nine interconnected essays, Newman defines the nature of the true university and the purpose of education—knowledge as an end in itself—and defends, by extolling, the liberal arts.” —The American Citizen

“Martin Svaglic’s introduction and notes are helpful to the general reader and indispensable to the student. Notre Dame Press is to be commended for reissuing the only complete text of The Idea of a University . . .” —Catholic New Times

From the Publisher