A correspondence corner for not-so-famous lost words

A correspondence corner for not-so-famous lost words

Burton Caine asks who said, “If the result is absurd, it impeaches the logic upon which it is founded.” He adds, “I cannot find it in Cardozo. Kingston v Chicago & N.W. Ry., Wisconsin Supreme Court, is close but substitutes ‘injustice’ for ‘absurd,’ and that makes all the difference.”

Judith Stix hopes to learn the title and author of a children’s book that ends, she recalls: “And that’s how they could tell the white horse from the black horse.”

Robert McGinnis wonders if anyone has traced the original source of a remark attributed to Mark Hanna: “There are two things that are important in politics. The first is money, and I can’t remember what the second one is.” The Macmillan Dictionary of Political Quotations (1993), he reports, “did not give a source. The New York Times ran the quote in September 1993. It has been widely repeated since.”

Erik Levin seeks aid in determining “if there is a use of ‘stalk’ in the modern sense of obsessive, unwanted attention prior to John le Carré’s 1968 novel A Small Town in Germany: ‘He would never do such a thing. It was not in his nature…. He assured me categorically that he was not...stalking me.’”

Michael Comenetz seeks a source for: “As a man grows older, he comes to know, with gradually increasing astonishment, that he is mortal.”

 

Send inquiries and answers to “Chapter and Verse,” Harvard Magazine, 7 Ware Street, Cambridge 02138, or via e-mail to chapterandverse@harvardmag.com.

You might also like

For This Poet, AI is a Writing Partner

Sasha Stiles trained a chatbot on her manuscripts. Now, her poems rewrite themselves.

A New “Black Swan” Musical Cranks Up the Tension

The creative team of the A.R.T.’s new show dish on adapting Darren Aronofsky’s thriller classic from screen to stage.

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.

Most popular

Harvard Weathers a Year of Turmoil

The federal government has launched unprecedented actions against the University. Here’s a guide.

Martin Nowak Placed on Leave a Second Time

Further links to Jeffrey Epstein surface in newly released files.

The Artemis II Mission Included a Harvard Space Medicine Experiment

Wyss Institute researchers are observing how human bone marrow responds to radiation and microgravity.

Explore More From Current Issue

Woman in historical dress standing in front of green foliage, smiling brightly.

This Harvard graduate brings women of the Revolution to life

Historical reenactor Lauren Shear reveals tricks of the trade for playing Tory loyalists, Revolutionary poets, and more. [p[]

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.

Historical battle scene with soldiers in red and blue uniforms, flags waving, chaotic action.

The Harvard-Trained Doctor Who Urged a Revolution

Before his heroic death, General Joseph Warren was dubbed “the greatest incendiary in all of America.”