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

Novelist Lev Grossman on Why Fantasy Isn’t About Escapism

The Magicians author discusses his influences, from Harvard to King Arthur to Tolkien.

England’s First Sports Megastar

A collection of illustrations capture a boxer’s triumphant moment. 

This TikTok Artist Combines Monsters and Mental Heath

Ava Jinying Salzman’s artwork helps people process difficult feelings.

Most popular

Why Men Are Falling Behind in Education, Employment, and Health

Can new approaches to education address a growing gender gap?

U.S. Appeals Court Preserves NIH Research Funding

The court made permanent an injunction preventing caps on reimbursement for overhead costs.

Explore More From Current Issue

Four young people sitting around a table playing a card game, with a chalkboard in the background.

On Weekends, These Harvard Math Professors Teach the Smaller Set

At Cambridge Math Circle, faculty and alumni share puzzles, riddles, and joy.

Man in a suit holding a pen, smiling, seated at a desk with a soft background.

A Congenial Voice in Japanese-American Relations

Takashi Komatsu spent his life building bridges. 

An axolotl with a pale body and pink frilly gills, looking directly at the viewer.

Regenerative Biology’s Baby Steps

What axolotl salamanders could teach us about limb regrowth