Chapter & Verse

Correspondence on not-so-famous lost words...

Ken Bresler requests a source for “God looks down and judges.”

“Tyranny of the left versus that of the right…dogs and cats” (March-April). Thomas Owen forwarded this unattributed anecdote from Leo Tolstoy (1946; page 651), by Ernest J. Simmons: “When asked ‘Is there not a difference between the killing that a revolutionist does and that which a policeman does?’ Tolstoy answered: ‘There is as much difference between cat-shit and dog-shit. But I don’t like the smell of either one or the other.’”

“Carving nature at her joints” (May-June). Lydia Kirsopp Lake was the first to identify Plato as the ultimate source of this concept, seen (in Harold N. Fowler’s translations for the Loeb Classical Library) in Phaedrus 265 d-e, “dividing things again by classes, where the natural joints are, and not trying to break any part, after the manner of a bad carver,” and in Statesman 287c, “Let us divide them, then, like an animal that is sacrificed, by joints.”

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

In her memoir All That's Unseen, Emilee Hackney explores religion, friendship, and home.

Shakespeare and Stephen King Have a Lot in Common

Shakespeare scholar Caroline Bicks studies horror and fear in literature. 

Radcliffe Institute Announces 2026-2027 Fellows

Scholars will tap Harvard’s intellectual resources during the coming academic year.

Most popular

An animal’s journey from grief to love shows how much humans need each other, too.

Cognitive Benefits of Healthy Buildings

Do workplace environments contribute to poor health for employees? 

The Supreme Court Affirmative Action Rulings: An Analysis

The underlying arguments project clashing worldviews of race and appropriate remedies.

Explore More From Current Issue

Black and white photo of Joseph Murray in a white lab coat sitting in an office.

Nobel Prize recipient Joseph E. Murray dedicated much of his career to organ transplant surgery.

A profile illustration of a man surrounded by colorful, whimsical text in multiple languages.

For both American and international students, growing up is like learning a new language.

A chaotic scene in a messy room with people engaging in various activities, some cleaning.

Until the 1950s, professionals cleaned up after students in the dorms.