Sarah Bernhardt Quotes & Sayings (Page 2)

“For the theatre one needs long arms... an artiste with short arms can never make a fine gesture.”

“To be a good actor... it is necessary to have a firmly tempered soul, to be surprised at nothing, to resume each minute the laborious task that has barely just been finished.”

“He who is incapable of feeling strong passions, of being shaken by anger, of living in every sense of the word, will never be a good actor.”

“Permanent success cannot be achieved except by incessant intellectual labour, always inspired by the ideal.”

“I have often been asked why I am so fond of playing male parts. As a matter of fact, it is not male parts, but male brains that I prefer.”

“The truth, the absolute truth, is that the chief beauty for the theatre consists in fine bodily proportions.”

“What matters poverty? What matters anything to him who is enamoured of our art? Does he not carry in himself every joy and every beauty?”

“Each action of the actor on the stage should be the visible concomitant of his thoughts.”

“I have, thanks to my travels, added to my stock all the superstitions of other countries. I know them all now, and in any critical moment of my life, they all rise up in armed legions for or against me.”

“Although all new ideas are born in France, they are not readily adopted there. It seems that they must first commence to prosper in a foreign country.”