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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 first reason for starting to do the symphony concerts was to play this new piece of mine.

Quotes by Gerry Mulligan

I left Barcelona because I believed it was very difficult to have minutes in the first team, as there are very good players.

Quotes by Gerard Deulofeu

The first Western teacher of English in Japan was a Native American.

Quotes by Gerald Vizenor

Naanabozho was the first tribal trickster on the earth.

Quotes by Gerald Vizenor

The Phantom, as well as being backed up by that music, it just so was a role that I identified with so powerfully. From the first second that I walked on to perform.

Quotes by Gerard Butler

But no work from a first rate mind is ever really second rate.

Quotes by Gerald Finzi

Playing Joanne in 'London to Brighton' was my first taste of film, and I loved every second of it.

Quotes by Georgia Groome

The anguish of the neurotic individual is the same as that of the saint. The neurotic, the saint are engaged in the same battle. Their blood flows from similar wounds. But the first one gasps and the other one gives.

Quotes by Georges Bataille

When I first arrived at the Matignon, my desire was to reconcile Parliament and De Gaulle. I had forgotten only two things. Parliament and De Gaulle.

Quotes by Georges Pompidou

Lenience will operate with greater force, in some instances than rigor. It is therefore my first wish to have all of my conduct distinguished by it.

Quotes by George Washington

The first election I remember was Dewey Truman in '48. I was, I guess, seven years old.

Quotes by George Will

First, we could have defied both of them and could have gone to war against both of these nations for this violation of international law and interference with our neutral rights.

Quotes by George William Norris

We opened the first Men's Wearhouse in Houston in August 1973, then a store a year for 10 years in Texas. In the early 1980s I opened a store in the San Francisco Bay Area. Within the year, the Texas...

Quotes by George Zimmer

But when we came out of camp, that's when I first realized that being in camp, that being Japanese-American, was something shameful.

Quotes by George Takei

The way it works: The orchestra plays a few selections of its own and I terminate the first part of the programme on piano, usually with a movement from a Mozart concerto.

Quotes by George Shearing

Can anybody be given a great degree of creativity? No. They can be given the equipment to develop it-if they have it in them in the first place.

Quotes by George Shearing

In Braille you write your flat sign first and then your note.

Quotes by George Shearing

Between Scott on the earlier side and Dickens and Thackeray on the other, there was an immense production of novels, illustrated by not a few names which should rank high in the second class, while some would promote more than...

Quotes by George Saintsbury

Back in 1992, I had my first story accepted by 'The New Yorker.'

Quotes by George Saunders

Sometimes the first duty of intelligent men is the restatement of the obvious.

George Orwell

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.