Quotation Q&A

Correspondence on not-so-famous lost words

J.P. Akins requests the complete text of a poem he remembers from his youth about the Harvard-Yale game and the way it “releases us, changed and changeless, into the November evening. ” He thinks it may be the work of the late David McCord ’21, L.H.D. ’56.

 

From our archives, here are more as-yet-unsourced phrases and aphorisms, in hopes that a reappearance, in print and online, will yield identifications.

“Whereas the music of Beethoven as-pires to heaven, the music of Mozart was written from there.”
“…and rain, that graybeard sing….”
“…easier to imagine the weather putting something off because of Miss ….”
“…like one of the seven deadly sins wrapped up in the cloak of the other six.”
“Alas, we would no longer be able to listen to the music of Mozart.”
“Cynicism is the fruit of disappointed hopes that were never well justified to begin with.”
“Lust is the lamp that lifts the gloom./ Lust is the light that fills the room.”


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

Most popular

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

Singer Elisa Smith’s whiskey-soaked voice and subversive feminism is part of the genre’s urban shift.

Before a data center is built, Francesca Dominici and Le Xie aim to predict costs to the grid, the air, and the neighbors next door.

Explore More From Current Issue

Aerial view of modern high-rise buildings surrounded by greenery and city skyline.

In a sea of red brick, the Science Center and Peabody Terrace make their mark.

Two figures stand before a large, colorful pixelated face against a yellow background.

Harvard scientists identify hundreds of genes under selective pressure.

An open book with a film strip emerging, trailing popcorn and a dancer silhouette.

Readers Respond to Our Adaptations Survey

We asked people to share their favorite art adaptations. Here’s what they said.