Correspondence on not-so-famous lost words

Correspondence on not-so-famous lost words

Alfred King seeks a source for: “We have no moral right to decide on a basis of opinion, that which can be determined as a matter of fact.”

Norman Holly writes, “In the 1950s, when only men were admitted to Harvard, students published a risqué ditty, ‘Don’t Send Your Daughter to Harvard.’ (It was available at the Coop.) Does anyone know the lyrics and the tune?”

“the importance of every hour…as it passes” (September-October). Eliot Kieval, the first of several readers to identify what is known as “Jane Austen’s Third Prayer,” provided a link to a 1994 article by the late Bruce Stovel, Ph.D. ’71, about the prayers, published by the Jane Austen Society of North America: www.jasna.org/persuasions/printed/number16/stovel.htm. Daniel Rosenberg noted that the texts appear in R. W. Chapman’s edition of Austen’s minor works; Katie Schubert supplied an online link to the prayer at https://www.leithart.com/archives/002984.php. The exact quotation, in context, is: “Another day is now gone, and added to those, for which we were before accountable. Teach us almighty father, to consider this solemn truth, as we should do, that we may feel the importance of every day, and every hour as it passes, and earnestly strive to make a better use of what thy goodness may yet bestow on us, than we have done of the time past.”

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

The Gretel and the Great War author on how the Lampoon derailed his science career—and set him on a literary path.

Harvard Art Museums restores a rare glimpse of an American master.

A theatrical reenactment explores a 1976 clash between science and democracy.

Most popular

A former Harvard College writing tutor changes her mind on LLMs.

How Your Social Circle Affects Your Microbiome and Health

The microbiome may be socially exchanged, modulating both health and metabolism.

Another opening-day win brings a quarterback question. 

Explore More From Current Issue

Three hands hold smartphones displaying social media profiles with likes and hearts.

Tell us about how social media impacts your daily life.

A glowing bulb shape surrounded by colorful, swirling energy lines against a blue background.

Harvard researchers achieve medical breakthroughs in cancer therapy and infection control.

A flooded office scene with computers, a woman working, and a pink sunset backdrop.

A College student’s attempt to recapture the romanticism of the workplace.