Firsts quotes

Firsts

8.8K quotes on this topic — from poets, philosophers, and thinkers across history.

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Firsts quotes (page 68 of 439)

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Franz Kafka Writer
Firsts

"Two possibilities: making oneself infinitely small or being so. The second is perfection, that is to say, inactivity, the first is beginning, that is to say, action."

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Noam Chomsky Linguist, Philosopher, Activist
Firsts

"The first thing you ought to do is verify what I present. Just because I say it doesn't make it true. So check it out, see what looks correct, what looks wrong, look at other material which wasn't discussed, figure out what the truth really is. That's what you've got a brain for."

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Noam Chomsky Linguist, Philosopher, Activist
Firsts

"Hence, a generative grammar must be a system of rules that can iterate to generate an indefinitely large number of structures. This system of rules can be analyzed into the three major components of a generative grammar: the syntactic, phonological, and semantic components... the syntactic component of a grammar must specify, for each sentence, a deep structure that determines its semantic interpretation and a surface structure that determines its phonetic interpretation. The first of these is interpreted by the semantic component; the second, by the phonological component."

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Henry Miller Novelist, Essayist
Firsts

"You can look at things all your life and not see them really. This ‘seeing’ is, in a way, a ‘not seeing,’ if you follow me. It is more of a search for something, in which, being blindfolded, you develop the tactile, the olfactory, the auditory senses —and thus see for the first time."

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Henry Miller Novelist, Essayist
Firsts

"Those interested in celestial navigation are advised to first obtain a rudimentary knowledge of integral calculus, phlebotomy, astral physics and related subjects. The use of liquor is strictly forbidden on interplanetary flights."

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Lester Bowie Musician, Trumpeter
Firsts

"I always tell my students when you're going to be a jazz musician the first thing you've got to do is be a professional musician, and that means you have to feed yourself with the instrument."

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Mark Twain Writer, Humorist
Firsts

"You can't reason someone out of something that they weren't reasoned into in the first place."

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Lillian Russell Singer and Actress
Firsts

"So many pleasing episodes of one's life are spoiled by shouting. You never heard of an unhappy marriage unless the neighbors have heard it first."

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