Chapter & Verse

A correspondence corner for not-so-famous lost words

Thomas Gutheil seeks the name “of a (regrettably not recent) science-fiction story in which it is proposed that cancers exert psychological as well as physical damage and the physician has to enter into essentially telepathic contact with the patient to combat this.”

Robert Kemp would like to learn the origin of an expression frequently used by his father: “Such is life in a large city with many inhabitants.”

Bill Hopkins hopes someone can identify this prayer: “Lord, if only I have you,/ I make no demands of Heaven and Earth./ When my body and soul fade away,/ You, God, are ever my heart’s comfort, and my portion.// When I have you, Lord Jesus,/ What should I ask of Heaven?/ How could I find delight/ in the turmoil of this vile world?/ When my body and soul fade away/ and the night of death sets in,/ you are yet my life.// Happy the man who carries Jesus/ Deep in the chamber of his heart!/ He will have fulfillment,/ He will lack no treasure,/ So long as he finds shelter and protection/ In God the Lord.”

Eliot Kieval asks when the late Pete Seeger ’40 first emblazoned on his banjo the declaration, “This machine surrounds hate and forces it to surrender,” and whether that saying was original with him or derived in part or in whole from someone else.

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

Click here for the May-June 2014 issue table of contents

You might also like

The 2025 Pulitzer Prizes Announced

Winners across five categories, from commentary on Gaza to criticism on public architecture

A New Voice

Ann Kim Ha’s poignant children’s books

Faith through Film

The “Accidental Talmudist” on making Jewish movies

Most popular

The New Gender Gaps

What to do as men and boys fall behind

Danielle Allen Debates Far-Right Blogger Curtis Yarvin

Popular monarchist debates Allen on democracy.

Rebecca Henderson: Does Capitalism Need to be Reimagined?

How to reform capitalism to confront climate change and extreme inequality, with economist and McArthur University Professor Rebecca Henderson

Explore More From Current Issue

The Estate Behind Saint-Gaudens National Historical Park

Park offers art, nature, and history in New Hampshire

The Trump Administration's Impact on Higher Education

Unprecedented federal actions against research funding, diversity, speech, and more

Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences on Discipline and Financial Aid

The Faculty of Arts and Sciences discusses classroom conversations, boosts aid, addresses discipline—and faces austerity