Chapter and verse quotation-citation correspondence site

Correspondence on not-so-famous lost words

Thomas Gutheil seeks the full text of a poem with a final couplet that runs, as best he recollects: “His claims to be brutally frank were just endless, / Until, to be brutally frank, he was friendless.”

More queries from the archives:

“Life is all right but for a bad 15 minutes at the end” (perhaps from Edward Gibbon)

“Not at the table, Amanda” (c. 1920s)

“Beginning in October effectively again”

“Childhood is a lost, enchanted land, and we spend the rest of our lives trying to find it again.”

The words to “My Little Papaya Tree,” heard sung on the radio to the tune of “The 12 Days of Christmas”

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

These Harvard Mountaineers Braved Denali’s Wall of Ice

John Graham’s Denali Diary documents a dangerous and historic climb.

How Stories Help Us Cope with Climate Change

The growing genre of climate fiction offers a way to process reality—and our anxieties.

Open Book: A New Nuclear Age

Harvard historian Serhii Plokhy’s latest book looks at the rising danger of a new arms race.

Most popular

One of Harvard’s Oldest Structures Is Hiding Behind a Beer Garden

A crumbling wall in Harvard Square holds centuries of the city’s story, if you know how to read it.

Trump Administration Sues Harvard over Civil Rights

The March 20 suit seeks to rescind research grants that were restored in an earlier court ruling.

Can We Disagree Better? A Harvard Professor Has Tips.

Kennedy School professor of public policy Julia Minson on how to improve political conversations

Explore More From Current Issue

Modern building surrounded by greenery and a walking path under a blue sky.

A New Landscape Emerges in Allston

The innovative greenery at Harvard’s Science and Engineering Complex

Older man in a green sweater holds a postcard in a warmly decorated office.

How a Harvard Hockey Legend Became a Needlepoint Artist

Joe Bertagna’s retirement project recreates figures from Boston sports history.