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First Quotes

On beginnings, and what a 'first' really changes.

The quotes gathered here treat 'first' loosely: a rookie athlete crediting the teammates who set the tone early, a filmmaker's take on what should scare an audience right away, and a physicist weighing what can and can't be known first. If early relationships resonate, see our First Love.

When I was younger, I was always being told I had a period face, but 'Bel Ami' was my first shot at it.

Quotes by Holliday Grainger

The first casualty when war comes is truth.

Quotes by Hiram Johnson

I got colored mechanics in the United States Navy Yard for the first time.

Quotes by Hiram Rhodes Revels

I discovered freedom for the first time in England.

Quotes by Hirohito

The first time I listened to jazz was when I was 8.

Quotes by Hiromi Uehara

All in all, the League of Nations is not inevitably bound, as some maintain from time to time, to degenerate into an impotent appendage of first one, then another of the competing great powers.

Quotes by Hjalmar Branting

The sport is my first priority because it has given me everything.

Quotes by Hima Das

A technical objection is the first refuge of a scoundrel.

Quotes by Heywood Broun

One of my first dreams when I was a child was becoming a painter.

Quotes by Hideo Kojima

In order to produce the satisfaction of comprehension, there first needs to be the process of comprehension. Furthermore, the overarching idea at hand needs to be something that is actually comprehensible.

Quotes by Hidetaka Miyazaki

I notice that teams are now more interested in Japanese players than when I first went to Europe.

Quotes by Hidetoshi Nakata

I think the first couple of times you do make-out scenes, you psych yourself out and it's really nerve racking.

Quotes by Hilarie Burton

Isn't Googling someone the first thing everyone does?! They meet someone new and Google them!

Quotes by Hilarie Burton

My first crush was on John Travolta in 'Grease.'

Quotes by Hilary Duff

My first two novels were very black comedies.

Quotes by Hilary Mantel

'Show up at the desk' is one of the first rules of writing, but for 'Wolf Hall' I was about 30 years late.

Quotes by Hilary Mantel

My first career ambitions involved turning into a boy; I intended to be either a railway guard or a knight errant.

Quotes by Hilary Mantel

A man calumniated is doubly injured - first by him who utters the calumny, and then by him who believes it.

Quotes by Herodotus

In a continent but recently settled, many parts of which have as yet little historical or cultural background, the material for this volume has been gathered from a section that was one of the first to be colonized.

Quotes by Hervey Allen

It was Nietzsche who first made us conscious of the significance of the individual as a term in the evolutionary process-in that part of the evolutionary process which has still to take place.

Quotes by Herbert Read

Frequently Asked Questions

Does this page include a quote about starting an NFL career?
Yes. One quote looks back on the very beginning of an NFL career, crediting teammates named Tim Dwight and Eric Parker with showing what work ethic it takes to be an NFL receiver. It's a good example of first marking an early, formative stage of a career. For more on early milestones, see First Step quotes.
Is there a quote about horror movies or scaring an audience?
Yes - one quote states it plainly: "The first monster you have to scare the audience with is yourself." It's a compact idea about confronting your own fear before you can frighten anyone else. For more on how first moments set the tone, browse First Impression quotes.
Does this collection touch on science, like physics?
It does. One quote discusses the uncertainty relation, explaining that it does not refer to the past, and using the example of an electron's velocity being at first known and its position then exactly measured. It's a more technical, scientific sense of first.
What does the quote about the constitution say?
One quote makes a direct statement: "The constitution does not provide for first and second class citizens." It's a clear, principled statement about equal citizenship. It naturally pairs with First Class quotes on this page.
Do all the quotes here use "first" the same way?
Not at all - that's part of the appeal. Across this page, first describes a rookie's early days in the league, a monster's first scare, an electron's first known velocity, and even first-class citizenship. If you like exploring different kinds of firsts, First Love quotes make a nice companion stop.

One quote pushes past personal firsts into a civic claim about equal standing under the constitution, which broadens the theme beyond simple nostalgia. Related pages include First Impression and First Step.