--- title: "12 Firsts Quotes By Julian Barnes" description: "12 Firsts quotes by Julian Barnes. Plus more from Julian Barnes and more Firsts sayings from other authors." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f1b/julian-barnes-522_breakfast_a-couple-s-first-task-it-has-always-seem_3161200.png" --- > [A couple's first task, it has always seemed to me, is to solve the problem of breakfast; if this can be worked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/a-couple-s-first-task-it-has-always-seemed-to-me-is-to-solve-the/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f1b/julian-barnes-522_breakfast_a-couple-s-first-task-it-has-always-seem_3161200.png) > [Grief seems at first to destroy not just all patterns, but also to destroy a belief that a pattern exists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/grief-seems-at-first-to-destroy-not-just-all-patterns-but-also-to/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ef/julian-barnes-522_belief_grief-seems-at-first-to-destroy-not-just_3173128.jpg) > [You grew old first not in your own eyes, but in other people's eyes; then, slowly, you agreed with their opinion of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/you-grew-old-first-not-in-your-own-eyes-but-in-other-people-s-eyes/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b5/julian-barnes-522_age_you-grew-old-first-not-in-your-own-eyes_363893.png) > [In 1980, I published my first novel, in the usual swirl of unjustified hope and justified anxiety.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/in-1980-i-published-my-first-novel-in-the-usual-swirl-of-unjustified/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/24e/julian-barnes-522_anxiety_in-1980-i-published-my-first-novel-in-th_681963.png) > [“And does history repeat itself, the first time as tragedy, the second time as farce?No, that’s too grand, too considered a process.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/and-does-history-repeat-itself-the-first-time-as-tragedy-the-second/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b26/julian-barnes-522_century_and-does-history-repeat-itself-the-first_456274.jpg) > [Remember the botched brothel-visit in L’Education sentimentale and remember its lesson. Do not participate: happiness lies in the imagination, not the act.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/remember-the-botched-brothel-visit-in-l-education-sentimentale-and/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f69/julian-barnes-522_anticipation_remember-the-botched-brothel-visit-in-l_1424099.png) > [In my terms, I settled for the realities of life, and submitted to its necessities: if this, then that, and so the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/in-my-terms-i-settled-for-the-realities-of-life-and-submitted-to-its/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf9/julian-barnes-522_abandoned_in-my-terms-i-settled-for-the-realities_601696.jpg) > [You put together two people who have not been put together before; and sometimes the world is changed, sometimes not. They may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/you-put-together-two-people-who-have-not-been-put-together-before-and/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/909/julian-barnes-522_changed_you-put-together-two-people-who-have-not_159335.png) > [In those days, we imagined ourselves as being kept in some kind of holding pen, waiting to be released into our lives.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/in-those-days-we-imagined-ourselves-as-being-kept-in-some-kind-of/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a4/julian-barnes-522_advantage_in-those-days-we-imagined-ourselves-as-b_2269986.png) > [Life is like invading Russia. A blitz start, massed shakos, plumes dancing like a flustered henhouse; a period of svelte progress recorded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/life-is-like-invading-russia-a-blitz-start-massed-shakos-plumes/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/158/julian-barnes-522_bitter_life-is-like-invading-russia-a-blitz-sta_296383.jpg) > [We live on the flat, on the level, and yet - and so - we aspire. Groundlings, we can sometimes reach as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/we-live-on-the-flat-on-the-level-and-yet-and-so-we-aspire-groundlings/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e1/julian-barnes-522_art_we-live-on-the-flat-on-the-level-and-yet_1695688.png) > [You put together two people who have not been put together before. Sometimes it is like that first attempt to harness a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/you-put-together-two-people-who-have-not-been-put-together-before/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/471/julian-barnes-522_balloons_you-put-together-two-people-who-have-not_29885.jpg) ## Other authors on Firsts ## More by Julian Barnes > [“You put together two things that have not been put together before. And the world is changed. People may not notice at the time,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/you-put-together-two-things-that-have-not-been-put-together-before/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [“I settled into a contented routine of working, spending my free time with Veronica and, back in my student room, wanking explosively to fantasies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/i-settled-into-a-contented-routine-of-working-spending-my-free-time/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [The greatest patriotism is to tell your country when it is behaving dishonorably, foolishly, viciously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/the-greatest-patriotism-is-to-tell-your-country-when-it-is-behaving/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [“There is only good vodka and very good vodka—there is no such thing as bad vodka.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/there-is-only-good-vodka-and-very-good-vodka-there-is-no-such-thing/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [Alice Munro can move characters through time in a way that no other writer can.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/alice-munro-can-move-characters-through-time-in-a-way-that-no-other/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [How rarely do our emotions meet the object they seem to deserve? How hopelessly we signal; how dark the sky; how big the waves.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/how-rarely-do-our-emotions-meet-the-object-they-seem-to-deserve-how/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [You put together two people who have not been put together before. Sometimes it is like that first attempt to harness a hydrogen balloon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/you-put-together-two-people-who-have-not-been-put-together-before/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [“Also, when you are young, you think you can predict the likely pains and bleaknesses that age might bring. You imagine yourself being lonely,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/also-when-you-are-young-you-think-you-can-predict-the-likely-pains/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [“Why slum it where people were burdened by yesterday, and the day before, and the day before that? By history? Here, on the Island,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/why-slum-it-where-people-were-burdened-by-yesterday-and-the-day/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [“In those years before mobile phones, email and Skype, travelers depended on the rudimentary communications system known as the postcard. Other methods--the long-distance phone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/in-those-years-before-mobile-phones-email-and-skype-travelers/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [“My train was late, slowed by the usual Sunday engineering work. I got home in the early evening. I remember that I had a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/my-train-was-late-slowed-by-the-usual-sunday-engineering-work-i-got/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [In life, every ending is just the start of another story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/in-life-every-ending-is-just-the-start-of-another-story/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [“Indeed, isn’t the whole business of ascribing responsibility kind of a cop-out? We want to blame an individual so that everyone else is exculpated.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/indeed-isn-t-the-whole-business-of-ascribing-responsibility-kind-of-a/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [Some of the freckles I once loved are now closer to liver spots. But it’s still the eyes we look at, isn’t it? That’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/some-of-the-freckles-i-once-loved-are-now-closer-to-liver-spots-but/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [“And what percentage of people take up the option to die off?’ She looked at me, her glance telling me to be calm. ‘Oh,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/and-what-percentage-of-people-take-up-the-option-to-die-off-she/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/firsts/julian-barnes/#itemlist", "name": "12 Firsts Quotes By Julian Barnes", "numberOfItems": 12, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A couple's first task, it has always seemed to me, is to solve the problem of breakfast; if this can be worked out amicably, most other difficulties can too.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Julian Barnes" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/a-couple-s-first-task-it-has-always-seemed-to-me-is-to-solve-the/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f1b/julian-barnes-522_breakfast_a-couple-s-first-task-it-has-always-seem_3161200.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f1b/julian-barnes-522_breakfast_a-couple-s-first-task-it-has-always-seem_3161200.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f1b/julian-barnes-522_breakfast_a-couple-s-first-task-it-has-always-seem_3161200.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“A couple's first task, it has always seemed to me, is to solve the problem of breakfast; 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They may crash and burn, or burn and crash. But sometimes, something new is made, and then the world is changed. Together, in that first exaltation, that first roaring sense of uplift, they are greater than their two separate selves. Together, they see further, and they see more clearly.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Julian Barnes" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/you-put-together-two-people-who-have-not-been-put-together-before-and/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/909/julian-barnes-522_changed_you-put-together-two-people-who-have-not_159335.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/909/julian-barnes-522_changed_you-put-together-two-people-who-have-not_159335.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/909/julian-barnes-522_changed_you-put-together-two-people-who-have-not_159335.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“You put together two people who have not been put together before; and sometimes the world is changed…” — Julian Barnes", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 9, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "In those days, we imagined ourselves as being kept in some kind of holding pen, waiting to be released into our lives. And when the moment came, our lives -- and time itself -- would speed up. How were we to know that our lives had in any case begun, that some advantage had already been gained, some damage already inflicted? Also, that our release would only be into a larger holding pen, whose boundaries would be at first undiscernible.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Julian Barnes" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/in-those-days-we-imagined-ourselves-as-being-kept-in-some-kind-of/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a4/julian-barnes-522_advantage_in-those-days-we-imagined-ourselves-as-b_2269986.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a4/julian-barnes-522_advantage_in-those-days-we-imagined-ourselves-as-b_2269986.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a4/julian-barnes-522_advantage_in-those-days-we-imagined-ourselves-as-b_2269986.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“In those days, we imagined ourselves as being kept in some kind of holding pen, waiting to be released into…” — Julian Barnes", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 10, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Life is like invading Russia. A blitz start, massed shakos, plumes dancing like a flustered henhouse; a period of svelte progress recorded in ebullient despatches as the enemy falls back; then the beginning of a long, morale-sapping trudge with rations getting shorter and the first snowflakes upon your face. The enemy burns Moscow and you yield to General January, whose fingernails are very icicles. Bitter retreat. Harrying Cossacks. Eventually you fall beneath a boy-gunner's grapeshot while crossing some Polish river not even marked on your general's map.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Julian Barnes" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/life-is-like-invading-russia-a-blitz-start-massed-shakos-plumes/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/158/julian-barnes-522_bitter_life-is-like-invading-russia-a-blitz-sta_296383.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/158/julian-barnes-522_bitter_life-is-like-invading-russia-a-blitz-sta_296383.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/158/julian-barnes-522_bitter_life-is-like-invading-russia-a-blitz-sta_296383.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Life is like invading Russia. A blitz start, massed shakos, plumes dancing like a flustered henhouse; a…” — Julian Barnes", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 11, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We live on the flat, on the level, and yet - and so - we aspire. Groundlings, we can sometimes reach as far as the gods. Some soar with art, others with religion; most with love. But when we soar, we can also crash. There are few soft landings. We may find ourselves bouncing across the ground with leg-fracting force, dragged towards some foreign railway line. Every love story is a potential grief story. If not at first, then later. If not for one, then for the other. Sometimes, for both.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Julian Barnes" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/we-live-on-the-flat-on-the-level-and-yet-and-so-we-aspire-groundlings/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e1/julian-barnes-522_art_we-live-on-the-flat-on-the-level-and-yet_1695688.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e1/julian-barnes-522_art_we-live-on-the-flat-on-the-level-and-yet_1695688.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e1/julian-barnes-522_art_we-live-on-the-flat-on-the-level-and-yet_1695688.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We live on the flat, on the level, and yet - and so - we aspire. Groundlings, we can sometimes reach as far…” — Julian Barnes", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 12, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "You put together two people who have not been put together before. Sometimes it is like that first attempt to harness a hydrogen balloon to a fire balloon: do you prefer crash and burn, or burn and crash? But sometimes it works, and something new is made, and the world is changed. Then, at some point, sooner or later, for this reason or that, one of them is taken away. and what is taken away is greater than the sum of what was there. this may not be mathematically possible; but it is emotionally possible.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Julian Barnes" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/you-put-together-two-people-who-have-not-been-put-together-before/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/471/julian-barnes-522_balloons_you-put-together-two-people-who-have-not_29885.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/471/julian-barnes-522_balloons_you-put-together-two-people-who-have-not_29885.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/471/julian-barnes-522_balloons_you-put-together-two-people-who-have-not_29885.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“You put together two people who have not been put together before. 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