A correspondence corner for not-so-famous lost words

Correspondence on not-so-famous lost words

Jacob Adler seeks a source for the assertion by Menasseh ben Israel in book 2, chapter 26, of Nishmat Hayyim [The Breath of Life], (Amsterdam, 1651), that if an elephant “kills a human being, he does not leave the body until he has cut branches and twigs from the trees of the forest and covered it up and buried it beneath them ”

“Italian and Spanish song texts” (September-October). “After a fair bit of searching,” Constantine Finehouse found the texts Ernest Bergel sought “on this pretty marvelous website: lieder.net.” The site traces the Italian song to an 1841 compilation, Canti popolari toscani, corsi, illirici, greci, raccolti ed illustrati da Niccolò Tommaseo (Venezia, G. Tasso), but provides only the texts, without further sourcing, for the two Spanish songs.

Send inquiries and answers to Chapter and Verse, Harvard Magazine, 7 Ware Street, Cambridge 02138, or via email 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.

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

Harvard’s Class of 2029 Reflects Shifts in Racial Makeup After Affirmative Action Ends

International students continue to enroll amid political uncertainty; mandatory SATs lead to a drop in applications.

The University has pushed the adoption of AI into teaching and operations, but faculty resistance is growing louder.

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

Explore More From Current Issue

A smiling elderly man in glasses sits comfortably in a striped armchair.

Plus, veteran higher education leader Thomas Ehrlich reflects on university curricula for his 70th reunion

Colorful cartoon animals, including dogs, cows, rabbits, and a fence, on a pink background.

Inseparable cows, big dogs fostering a tiny kitten, and a show beagle’s second act

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.