Chapter & Verse

Helen Snider hopes someone can provide all the verses to a song dating at least to 1907 that begins, "The elephant goes round and round,/The...

Helen Snider hopes someone can provide all the verses to a song dating at least to 1907 that begins, "The elephant goes round and round,/The band begins to play./The little boys around the monkey cage/Had better stay away."

 

Gregg Hurwitz requests a source for the statement "There is no justice. There is only the law."

 

Henry Urrows asks who first wrote or said, "The well-educated Englishman is the noblest work of God."

 

Emily DeHuff has heard that the sentence "The sheep are asleep on the hillside" is significant in World War II cryptography, but has been unable to find out why. She requests assistance.

Harry Goldgar would welcome a citation for the comment "Wagner is the Puccini of music," which he has heard attributed to Igor Stravinsky.

 

"I smell a rat" (March-April). Jon Weinberg was first of several readers to report that the original statement (which continues, "I see him forming in the air and darkening the sky; but I'll nip him in the bud") is attributed to Sir Boyle Roche, an eighteenth-century member of the Irish parliament. Sharon Fenwick noted that Roche is also alleged to have said, "Half the lies our opponents tell about us are not true."

 

Send inquiries and answers to "Chapter and Verse," Harvard Magazine, 7 Ware Street, Cambridge 02138.        

Most popular

Harvard Faculty Approve a Cap on A Grades

Reforms to reduce grade inflation will take effect in the fall of 2027.

Harvard Alumni and Faculty Win Six Pulitzer Prizes

Winners include Jill Lepore, Bess Wohl, Pablo Torre, and Hannah Natanson.

Meet Harvard’s 2026 Student Commencement Speakers

Two undergraduates and a Ph.D. candidate will address the graduating class on May 28.

Explore More From Current Issue

A woman in glasses gestures while speaking to two attentive listeners at a table.

How to Cook with Wild Plants

From wild greens spanakopita to rose petal panna cotta, forager and chef Ellen Zachos makes one-of-a-kind meals.

A glowing orange sun with a star and a trailing gas cloud in space.

A Harvard Astrophysicist Explains the Bizarre Behavior of a Supergiant Star

The dimming and rapid rotation of Betelgeuse may be caused by a hidden companion.

Historical scene depicting a parade with soldiers and a town square in the background.

When the Revolution Hit Cambridge, Harvard Moved to Concord

College students broke hearts and windows during their year in exile.