Chapter & Verse

A correspondence corner for not-so-famous lost words

Thomas Gutheil seeks the name “of a (regrettably not recent) science-fiction story in which it is proposed that cancers exert psychological as well as physical damage and the physician has to enter into essentially telepathic contact with the patient to combat this.”

Robert Kemp would like to learn the origin of an expression frequently used by his father: “Such is life in a large city with many inhabitants.”

Bill Hopkins hopes someone can identify this prayer: “Lord, if only I have you,/ I make no demands of Heaven and Earth./ When my body and soul fade away,/ You, God, are ever my heart’s comfort, and my portion.// When I have you, Lord Jesus,/ What should I ask of Heaven?/ How could I find delight/ in the turmoil of this vile world?/ When my body and soul fade away/ and the night of death sets in,/ you are yet my life.// Happy the man who carries Jesus/ Deep in the chamber of his heart!/ He will have fulfillment,/ He will lack no treasure,/ So long as he finds shelter and protection/ In God the Lord.”

Eliot Kieval asks when the late Pete Seeger ’40 first emblazoned on his banjo the declaration, “This machine surrounds hate and forces it to surrender,” and whether that saying was original with him or derived in part or in whole from someone else.

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

Breaking Bread

Alexander Heffner ’12 plumbs the state of democracy.

Reading the Winds

Thai sailor Sophia Montgomery competes in the Olympics.

Chinese Trade Dragons

How Will China’s Rapid Growth in the Clean Technology Industry Reshape U.S.-China Policy?

Most popular

Breaking Bread

Alexander Heffner ’12 plumbs the state of democracy.

Ride the Wave

Whether you’re a novice or a seasoned sailor, Boston offers plenty of ways to get out on the water this summer.

Who Built the Pyramids?

Not slaves. Archaeologist Mark Lehner, digging deeper, discovers a city of privileged workers.

More to explore

American Citizenship Through Photography

How photographs promote social justice

Harvard Philosophy Professor Alison Simmons on "Being a Minded Thing"

A philosopher on perception, the canon, and being “a minded thing”