[Ads-l] Quote: The face of Venus, the figure of Juno, the brains of Minerva, the memory of Macaulay=?Windows-1252?Q?=85_?=the hide of a rhinoceros

[Peter Reitan]

One more earlier example.


Mrs. Kendal delivered the lines at the graduation exercises of New York's American Academy of the Dramatic Arts, held in the Empire Theater on March 27, 1900.  She claims to have used the line in a reply to a fan-letter from a young American girl seeking career advice.


Werner's Magazine, Volume 25, Number 3, May, 1900, page 303 (HathiTrust).


"As to the qualifications for a successful dramatic career, Mrs. Kendal recited her advice to a young American girl who had written her asking what she needed to become an actress.  The reply was:


'Why, it is the easiest thing in the world, the very easiest.  You only require the following things: The imagination of a poet, the strength of a horse, the figure of a Greek statue, the temper of an angel, the face of a god, and the skin of a rhinoceros.'"






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Subject: Re: Quote: The face of Venus, the figure of Juno, the brains of Minerva, the memory of Macaulay… the hide of a rhinoceros

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              Minerva, the memory of Macaulay=?UTF-8?Q?=E2=80=A6_?=the hide of
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Wonderful, Peter; thanks.  I suspect that the 1901 statement and the
1919 statement found by Bill are part of the same family. The "great
English player" in the 1919 citation was probably a reference to Madge
Kendal.

Here is an instance of the 1901 statement that appeared a month
earlier in England. I will update the entry and acknowledge you.

[ref] 1901 June 14, The Citizen (Gloucester Citizen), The Passing
Hour, Quote Page 3, Column 6, County: Gloucestershire, England.
(British Newspaper Archive)[/ref]

[Begin excerpt]
Speaking at a meeting, on Thursday, in connection with the Girls'
Friendly Society, Mrs. Kendal enumerated the chief qualifications
requisite for success on the stage as the face of a goddess, the
strength of a lion, the figure of a Venus, the voice of a dove, the
temper of an angel, the grace of a swan, the agility of an
antelope=E2=80=94and the skin of a rhinoceros.
[End excerpt]

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American Dialect Society<http://www.americandialect.org/>
www.americandialect.org
The American Dialect Society, founded in 1889, is dedicated to the study of the English language in North America, and of other languages, or dialects of other ...



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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org