The Quotes Queue

Return to main article:

Alongside the March-April cover story, “Quotable Harvard,” compiled by Fred Shapiro, we asked readers to forward their own candidates for this informal canon. Selections from the resulting nominations appear here; read the full roll, and contribute to the conversation, at https://harvardmag.com/quotations.

~The Editors

 

“I know I asked the bartender for more ice, but this is ridiculous….”—Attributed to John Jacob Astor IV, class of 1888, aboard the Titanic

 

“It’s not easy getting up here and saying nothing. It takes a lot of preparation.”—Barry Toiv ’77, then serving as President Bill Clinton’s deputy press secretary

 

“A teacher affects eternity: he can never tell where his influence stops.”—Henry Adams, A.B. 1858, in The Education of Henry Adams

 

“In any battle between the literati and the philistines, the philistines invariably win.”—Harry T. Levin, professor of comparative literature, following the 1961 court ruling adverse to Grove Press, in the Boston censorship trial for having published Henry Miller’s Tropic of Cancer

 

“I am a professor of comparative literature, not of comparative lust.”—Harry T. Levin, testifying in the same trial, responding to the prosecutor’s question: “Professor Levin, which do you think would more excite lewd and libidinous desires in the mind of a young girl—Shakespeare’s ‘Rape of Lucrece’ or Henry Miller’s Tropic of Cancer?”

Click here for the May-June 2011 issue table of contents

You might also like

Stand-Up to Simmer Down

In comedy groups, students find ways to be absurd, present, and a little less self-conscious.

Reconstructing the Berlin Wall

David Leo Rice explores the strange, unseen forces shaping our world.

Most popular

House Committee Subpoenas Harvard Over Tuition Costs

The University must turn over all requested materials related to tuition and financial aid by mid-July. 

The Power of Patience

Teaching students the value of deceleration and immersive attention

The Professor Who Quantified Democracy

Erica Chenoweth’s data shows how—and when—authoritarians fall.

Explore More From Current Issue

Garber, Trump, and the Fight for Harvard’s Future

Introducing a guide to the issues, players, and stakes.

Harvard Economist Nicole Maestas on Aging and Health Policy

The Harvard health economist not afraid to get in the weeds

A Look at Harvard’s Distinctive Doctoral Regalia

On regalia, a Jack-of-all-trades retirement, and a Bok’s office bon mot.