A correspondence corner for not-so-famous lost words

Correspondence on not-so-famous lost words

Carol Ochs seeks a citation for “All science, all religion began with the innovator, the nonconformist, the heretic.” She writes, “In the 1950s, it was on the front cover of the Sunday New York Times Book Review with a photo of a sculpture of a hand reaching up.”

Thomas Burrows hopes, after a half-century of searching, that someone can provide him with the source of the following assertion, delivered by Professor Frank Moore Cross during an elementary Hebrew course: “It was a saying of the ancient rabbis that you may as well learn Hebrew now because you will need it in the world to come.”

George Bason wishes to know who first declared, “Lazy people take the most pains,” and what he or she meant by it.

More queries from the archives:

“Words are walls between us / Difficult to scale— / Guardians of self / That make a jail.”

“Elephants coming two by two each as big as a launch in tow…”

“Memory is an old woman who saves dirty rags and throws away pearls and diamonds.”

“Admit impediments” (September-October). Thomas Ehrlich was the first to identify this quotation from the sonnet “Admit impediments” written by Norma (Holzman) Farber, A.M. ’32, in response to Shakespeare’s Sonnet 116.

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

Why Men Have Worn the Same Black Suits for 200 Years

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

There’s a New Sargent Painting in Town

Harvard Art Museums restores a rare glimpse of an American master.

Two Scientists Bring the Laboratory to the Stage

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

Most popular

Trump Administration Asks Appeals Court to Restore Harvard Funding Cuts

The government’s lawyers homed in on a jurisdictional argument for its authority to to terminate federal grants. 

Trump Administration Will Investigate Alleged Visa Fraud at Harvard

The announcement comes two days after a federal appeals court heard arguments about an international students ban.

Harvard Weathers a Year of Turmoil

The federal government has launched unprecedented actions against the University. Here’s a guide.

Explore More From Current Issue

Three young women posed side by side against red background.

The 2026-2027 Ledecky and Summer Undergraduate Fellows

A man in a suit speaks at a podium.

David Battat promotes alumni engagement.

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.