Chapter & Verse

Correspondence on not-so-famous lost words

Thomas Engelsing would like to learn the source of the following lines: “And now hear this, my ruder truth, thou art composed of lust unchained and most vile flux.”

 

Royall Moore hopes that someone can provide a citation for the phrase “North northwest the path of culture” (i.e., Egypt to Mesopotamia to Greece, Rome, Europe, and the New World)—a line he heard on a radio broadcast by Robert Frost, who was reading from his poems.

 

Tobe Kemp seeks a provenance for his family’s longtime expression, “And I’m the dumpsy dido that can do it.”

 

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 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

Harvard art historian Jennifer Roberts teaches the value of immersive attention

Teaching students the value of deceleration and immersive attention

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

Explore More From Current Issue

A man in a suit speaks at a podium.

David Battat promotes alumni engagement.

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

Runners compete on a track, with a Harvard athlete in the foreground and others behind.

After a historic 2025-26 season, athletes eye NCAA championships.