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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.

The principle of equity first came into evidence in Roman jurisprudence and was derived by analogy from the physical meaning of the word.

Quotes by Herbert Read

There was no race - but to the extent that there was an arms competition, it was almost entirely on the Soviet side, first to catch up and then to surpass the Americans.

Quotes by Herman Kahn

The relation of repetitions for learning and for repeating English stanzas needs no amplification. These were learned by heart on the first day with less than half of the repetitions necessary for the shortest of the syllable series.

Quotes by Hermann Ebbinghaus

Actually, when I first started dabbling in photography, I was still working for my parents as a salesman.

Quotes by Herb Ritts

When I looked at the other artists when I first started at Marvel, I was surrounded by giants. It was very intimidating.

Quotes by Herb Trimpe

The first duty of a newspaper is to be accurate. If it be accurate, it follows that it is fair.

Quotes by Herbert Bayard Swope

There are only three ways to meet the unpaid bills of a nation. The first is taxation. The second is repudiation. The third is inflation.

Quotes by Herbert Hoover

Since SpaceX's very beginnings, they have talked about recovering and reusing at least the first stages of their rockets.

Quotes by Henry Spencer

As plans for the first lunar landing started to be made, nobody had really thought about who would be out first.

Quotes by Henry Spencer

In the first few years, it was at least plausible to come in in the morning and read all the Usenet traffic that had come in, and 15 minutes later be off doing something useful.

Quotes by Henry Spencer

Foul-ups in testing are not uncommon, especially when the test setup is being tried for the first time.

Quotes by Henry Spencer

I have horses, I drive a truck, and I wear cowboy boots. First I'm a Texan.

Quotes by Henry Thomas

But the branches of industry are so multifarious, the divisions of labour so minutes and manifold, that it seems at first almost impossible to reduce them to any system.

Quotes by Henry Mayhew

I published in 1978 a report on dreams in the Journal of Clinical Psychology. It was the first study of its kind to demonstrate that it is possible for people to make constructive use of their dreams to improve their...

Quotes by Henry Reed

Wine is a turncoat; first a friend and then an enemy.

Quotes by Henry Fielding

Why call out the champion in my first title defense? Because that's who Henry Cejudo is.

Quotes by Henry Cejudo

The system has for its object an increase of persons that are to intervene between the producer and the consumer, living on the product of the land and labour of others, diminishing the power of the first, and increasing the...

Quotes by Henry Charles Carey

I think the first goal can be weight off your shoulders.

Quotes by Henrikh Mkhitaryan

If at first you don't succeed... so much for skydiving.

Quotes by Henny Youngman

Our first responsibility in the midst of violence is to prevent it from destroying us.

Quotes by Henri Nouwen

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.