Michael Novak, who died last Friday, was a gentleman — and a gentle man. A gentleman, even though his origin was not at all elite; he was born to a Slovak-American family in Johnstown, Pa. And a gentle man, who in expressing his strong and deep beliefs always treated respectfully and courteously those with other views. He was a longtime scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, as noted by AEI President Arthur Brooks in his remembrance, and a search for his works on the AEI website brings forth 414 results.

Michael started off as a Catholic theologian, way back in the days of the Second Vatican Council, and approached all sorts of issues — from capitalism to sports — from a theological perspective. His most important work, at least for many at AEI, was his 1982 book The Spirit of Democratic Capitalism, which leads off the long Michael Novak Page on amazon.com.