Chapter and verse quotation-citation correspondence site

Correspondence on not-so-famous lost words

H. John Rogers writes: “The Onala Club in Pittsburgh has a placemat on its wall that reads, ‘Fai bene—Do good /Scordate—Forget about it / Fai male—Do bad / Pensaci—Think about it.’ ” He wonders if this is an old Italian saying, or if someone can provide a specific source.

“something wrong with the experiment” (May-June). Robert Kantowicz supplied a sidelight on this topic from Walter Isaacson’s Einstein: His Life and Universe (2007), which states on page 252 that when a student asked Einstein how he would have reacted had eclipse observations contradicted the general theory of relativity, the physicist replied, “Then I would have been sorry for the dear Lord; the theory is correct.”

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

Related topics

You might also like

In 1954, Gregory Corso moved into Eliot House. How he stayed there is a literary legend.

The popular Harvard English professor published Under Water this spring.

All That’s Unseen charts the Harvard graduate’s uneasy journey from Appalachia to Cambridge and back.  

Most popular

The University will compensate families of those whose remains were sold and establish a scholarship to honor anatomical donors.

Why Some Citizens Reject Science

Bridging the gulf to science deniers

Harvard’s Arctic Initiative brings together researchers from across disciplines to understand rapid warming in the Arctic.

Explore More From Current Issue

Three actors perform on stage, with one actor interacting closely with another, set against abstract backgrounds.

The play Spare Parts is a contemporary fable about the quest to live forever.

A woman with curly blonde hair sits casually against a stone wall, wearing a black top and jeans.

Chloe Chapin trains her Broadway costume designer’s eye on the history of men’s fashion.

Modern building with large glass windows, surrounded by greenery and pedestrians.

A roundup of University news from the summer of 2026