[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 pjreitan at HOTMAIL.COM
Wed Aug 30 23:08:12 UTC 2017


One more early example with an apparently mangled version of the original;

and, a precursor from a year earlier - from an article about women playing golf.


In relating the story about her commencement address:


"It is very simple," ran her answer. "You should merely have the face of a goddess, the voice of a siren, the temper of an angel, the endurance of an ox, and the skin of a rhinoceros."


Munsey's magazine, Volume 23, Number 2, May 1900, page 276 (HathiTrust).


In an article about women playing golf:


"The Caddie gathers no moss in that region [(North Carolina)], and needs the feet of a goat and the skin of a rhinoceros to follow the ball on its downward course and fish it out of the thickets."


The Puritan, Volume 4, Number 1, October 1898, page 89.



________________________________
From: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU> on behalf of Peter Reitan <pjreitan at HOTMAIL.COM>
Sent: Wednesday, August 30, 2017 1:21:04 PM
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
Subject: Re: Quote: The face of Venus, the figure of Juno, the brains of Minerva, the memory of Macaulay… the hide of a rhinoceros

---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
Poster:       Peter Reitan <pjreitan at HOTMAIL.COM>
Subject:      Re: 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
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

One more earlier example.


Mrs. Kendal delivered the lines at the graduation exercises of New York's A=
merican Academy of the Dramatic Arts, held in the Empire Theater on March 2=
7, 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 rec=
ited her advice to a young American girl who had written her asking what sh=
e needed to become an actress.  The reply was:


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






________________________________
From: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU> on behalf of ADSGar=
son O'Toole <adsgarsonotoole at GMAIL.COM>
Sent: Wednesday, August 30, 2017 12:31 PM
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
Subject: Re: Quote: The face of Venus, the figure of Juno, the brains of Mi=
nerva, the memory of Macaulay=85 the hide of a rhinoceros

---------------------- Information from the mail header -------------------=
----
Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
Poster:       ADSGarson O'Toole <adsgarsonotoole at GMAIL.COM>
Subject:      Re: Quote: The face of Venus, the figure of Juno, the brains =
of
              Minerva, the memory of Macaulay=3D?UTF-8?Q?=3DE2=3D80=3DA6_?=
=3Dthe hide of
              a rhinoceros
---------------------------------------------------------------------------=
----

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=3DE2=3D80=3D94and the skin of a rhinoceros.
[End excerpt]

Garson<http://www.americandialect.org>
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 ...


American Dialect Society<http://www.americandialect.org/>
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 ...


www.americandialect.org<http://www.americandialect.org>
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 ...


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 ...



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


American Dialect Society<http://www.americandialect.org/>
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 ...


www.americandialect.org<http://www.americandialect.org>
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 ...


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 ...



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



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



More information about the Ads-l mailing list