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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.

We have now sunk to a depth at which restatement of the obvious is the first duty of intelligent men.

George Orwell

Our efforts to preserve and protect the Alamo are first and foremost about preserving and protecting the story of the battle itself.

Quotes by George P. Bush

I've been interested in American politics since I was eight. That was in 1968. It was an interesting year. I was a huge Eugene McCarthy supporter, so I guess he was the first senator I really knew about and cared...

Quotes by George Packer

First, how to memorialize the heroes of 9/11; second, something that expresses our resolve.

Quotes by George Pataki

I work for two years on a book and it comes out and two days later I've got my first e-mail: When is the next one coming out?

George R.R. Martin

The whole competition thing disturbs me. Not that I wasn't a part of it when I first started.

Quotes by George Murray

The first thing a kindness deserves is acceptance, the second, transmission.

Quotes by George MacDonald

Because when the film was first mooted, the Beatles didn't like the idea at all. In fact they wouldn't have any part in it. And when Brian had committed them, it was part of a deal he did with United...

Quotes by George Martin

Insight is the first condition of Art.

Quotes by George Henry Lewes

The first priority of any serious program against poverty is to strengthen the male role in poor families.

Quotes by George Gilder

First, take the government of the Indians out of politics; second, let the laws of the Indians be the same as those of the whites; third, give the Indian the ballot.

Quotes by George Crook

In comic strips, the person on the left always speaks first.

Quotes by George Carlin

The Crows are very handsome and gentlemanly Indians in their personal appearance: and have been always reputed, since the first acquaintance made with them, very civil and friendly.

Quotes by George Catlin

I requested the gentlemen to put on their hats, and the ladies their shawls, to avoid catching cold, and then had the windows widely opened. This proceeding caused some astonishment and alarm at first; for the Americans generally have a...

Quotes by George Combe

When Uganda got debt relief in 1999, the first item President Museveni bought was a presidential jacket for himself.

Quotes by George Ayittey

The prejudices of ignorance are more easily removed than the prejudices of interest; the first are all blindly adopted, the second willfully preferred.

Quotes by George Bancroft

In course of time my first novel appeared. It was a love story.

Quotes by George Barr McCutcheon

I first began to dry specimens for preservation carelessly perhaps at first, but before the season was over, I had collected between one and two hundred species.

Quotes by George Bentham

We have first raised a dust and then complain we cannot see.

Quotes by George Berkeley

'Empire of the Sun' is one of the films that I often think about. I think it had a profound effect on me when I first watched it as a teenager.

Quotes by George Blagden

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.