---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: But the first glad moment in our first…"
description: "\"“But the first glad moment in our first love is a vision which returns to us to the last, and brings with it a thrill of feeling intense and special as..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e97/george-eliot-84_adventure_but-the-first-glad-moment-in-our-first-l_1850582.png"
---

#  But the first glad moment in our first love is a vision…

![“But the first glad moment in our first love is a vision which returns to us to the last, and brings with it a thrill of feeling intense and special as the recurrent sensation of a sweet odour breathed in a far off hour of happiness. It is a memory that gives a more exquisite touch to tenderness…” quote by George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e97/george-eliot-84_adventure_but-the-first-glad-moment-in-our-first-l_1850582.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e97/george-eliot-84_adventure_but-the-first-glad-moment-in-our-first-l_1850582.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e97/george-eliot-84_adventure_but-the-first-glad-moment-in-our-first-l_1850582.png)

> ““But the first glad moment in our first love is a vision which returns to us to the last, and brings with it a thrill of feeling intense and special as the recurrent sensation of a sweet odour breathed in a far off hour of happiness. It is a memory that gives a more exquisite touch to tenderness, that feeds the madness of jealousy, and adds the last keenness to the agony of despair.””

[George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

First love creates a vivid, lingering memory that intensifies both tenderness and jealousy, deepening emotional extremes.

**In simple terms:** First love’s memory intensifies feelings.

Key Takeaway

Acknowledge how past love shapes current emotions.

Themes

love memory jealousy despair

Mood

nostalgic melancholic

Type

literary emotional

When to use this quote

- relationship counseling
- creative writing
- therapy
- artistic expression

Key Concepts

romantic idealism psychological intensity

Questions to Reflect On

- What lingering feelings affect you?
- How can you balance nostalgia with present reality?

A Different Perspective

Idealizing past love can hinder present growth.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Adventure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adventure/) [Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) [First love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/first-love/) [Glad Moment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/glad-moment-1799396/) [Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) [Happiness Memory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness-memory-1572899/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Moment Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moment-love/) [Sensation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sensation/) [Sensation Sweet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sensation-sweet-2424115/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/)

## Related quotes

> [“I am glad that at such a moment my young man turned out to be not so reasonable; the time will come for an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/i-am-glad-that-at-such-a-moment-my-young-man-turned-out-to-be-not-so/)

[Fyodor Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/)

> [“And as angry as I am with what you have put me through, I am so very glad that we are now at this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-a-linde/and-as-angry-as-i-am-with-what-you-have-put-me-through-i-am-so-very/)

[K.A. Linde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-a-linde/)

> [“But I think there comes a point in love, a unique moment which later on the soul seeks in vain to surpass, and that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-gide/but-i-think-there-comes-a-point-in-love-a-unique-moment-which-later/)

[André Gide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-gide/)

> [Perfect happiness, even in memory, is not common.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/perfect-happiness-even-in-memory-is-not-common/)

[Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/)

> [“For one wild, glad moment we snapped the chain that binds us to earth, and joining hands with the winds we felt ourselves divine.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-keller/for-one-wild-glad-moment-we-snapped-the-chain-that-binds-us-to-earth/)

[Helen Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-keller/)

> [“...Past joys and achievements give us the outlines of how to get to a state of happiness again. That memory is a treasure that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janvier-chouteu-chando/past-joys-and-achievements-give-us-the-outlines-of-how-to-get-to-a/)

[Janvier Chouteu-Chando](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janvier-chouteu-chando/)

> [“First love is all sensation and ambient zooms, and letting the world ebb.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/durga-chew-bose/first-love-is-all-sensation-and-ambient-zooms-and-letting-the-world/)

[Durga Chew-Bose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/durga-chew-bose/)

> [How is it that the poets have said so many fine things about our first love, so few about our later love? Are their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/how-is-it-that-the-poets-have-said-so-many-fine-things-about-our/)

[George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/)

> [Its that moment you love him but you don't know how to tell him](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christie/its-that-moment-you-love-him-but-you-don-t-know-how-to-tell-him/)

[Christie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christie/)

> [How can one change one's entire life and build a new one on one moment of love? And yet, that's what you make me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greta-garbo/how-can-one-change-one-s-entire-life-and-build-a-new-one-on-one/)

[Greta Garbo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greta-garbo/)

> [Romance cannot be put into quantity production-the moment love becomes casual, it becomes commonplace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lewis-allen/romance-cannot-be-put-into-quantity-production-the-moment-love/)

[Frederick Lewis Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lewis-allen/)

> [Why is it that we don't always recognize the moment love begins, but we always recognize the moment it ends?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/why-is-it-that-we-don-t-always-recognize-the-moment-love-begins-but/)

[Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/)

> [Love is a instigating moment. a moment of love is a moment of an affair. love is an affair,love is to instigate,and the love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/love-is-a-instigating-moment-a-moment-of-love-is-a-moment-of-an/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“I knew in that moment, I would never love anyone in my life the way I loved Evan Mathews.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-donovan/i-knew-in-that-moment-i-would-never-love-anyone-in-my-life-the-way-i/)

[Rebecca Donovan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-donovan/)

> [No matter how dark the moment, love and hope are always possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-chakiris/no-matter-how-dark-the-moment-love-and-hope-are-always-possible/)

[George Chakiris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-chakiris/)

## More by George Eliot

> [There are various orders of beauty, causing men to make fools of themselves in various styles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/there-are-various-orders-of-beauty-causing-men-to-make-fools-of/)

[George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/)

> [But the effect of her being on those around her was incalculably diffusive: for the growing good of the world is partly dependent on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/but-the-effect-of-her-being-on-those-around-her-was-incalculably/)

[George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/)

> [Scepticismcan never be thoroughly applied, else life would come to a standstill.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/scepticismcan-never-be-thoroughly-applied-else-life-would-come-to-a/)

[George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/)

> [Under every guilty secret there is hidden a brood of guilty wishes, whose unwholesome infecting life is cherished by the darkness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/under-every-guilty-secret-there-is-hidden-a-brood-of-guilty-wishes/)

[George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/)

> [The most powerful movement of feeling with a liturgy is the prayer which seeks for nothing special, but is a yearning to escape from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/the-most-powerful-movement-of-feeling-with-a-liturgy-is-the-prayer/)

[George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/)

> [ “\[W\]e must learn to accommodate ourselves to the discovery that some of those cunningly-fashioned instruments called human souls have only a very limited range… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/w-e-must-learn-to-accommodate-ourselves-to-the-discovery-that-some-of/)

[George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/)

> [“Mr. Casaubon had never had a strong bodily frame, and his soul was sensitive without being enthusiastic: it was too languid to thrill out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/mr-casaubon-had-never-had-a-strong-bodily-frame-and-his-soul-was/)

[George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/)

> [“... she took her husband's jokes and joviality as patiently as everything else, considering that "men would be so", and viewing the stronger sex…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/she-took-her-husband-s-jokes-and-joviality-as-patiently-as-everything/)

[George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/)

> [What is opportunity to the man who can't use it? An unfecundated egg, which the waves of time wash away into nonentity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/what-is-opportunity-to-the-man-who-can-t-use-it-an-unfecundated-egg/)

[George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/)

> [And, of course men know best about everything, except what women know better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/and-of-course-men-know-best-about-everything-except-what-women-know/)

[George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/)

> [“But let the wise be warned against too great readiness at explanation: it multiplies the sources of mistake, lengthening the sum for reckoners sure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/but-let-the-wise-be-warned-against-too-great-readiness-at-explanation/)

[George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/)

> [“But any one watching keenly the stealthy convergence of human lots, sees a slow preparation of effects from one life on another, which tells…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/but-any-one-watching-keenly-the-stealthy-convergence-of-human-lots/)

[George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/)

> [Perspective, as its inventor remarked, is a beautiful thing. What horrors of damp huts, where human beings languish, may not become picturesque through aerial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/perspective-as-its-inventor-remarked-is-a-beautiful-thing-what/)

[George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/)

> [“Sane people did what their neighbours did, so that if any lunatics were at large, one might know and avoid them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/sane-people-did-what-their-neighbours-did-so-that-if-any-lunatics/)

[George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/)

> [even those who call themselves 'intimate' know very little about each other - hardly ever know just how a sorrow is felt, and hurt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/even-those-who-call-themselves-intimate-know-very-little-about-each/)

[George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/)

[Explore all 1,492 George Eliot quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/)

## More Adventure quotes

> [I'm trying to write a film with my friend. I'd love to get the thrill of speaking actors making my work even funnier.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-howard/i-m-trying-to-write-a-film-with-my-friend-i-d-love-to-get-the-thrill/)

[Russell Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-howard/)

> [I painted the words "GREAT ADVENTURE" in Beijing, Dallas, San Francisco, Copenhagen, and Japan. What it means to me is completely different to everybody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-eine/i-painted-the-words-great-adventure-in-beijing-dallas-san-francisco/)

[Ben Eine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-eine/)

> [I've used the Phoenix Centrifuge to replicate what the body's going to go through on the flight up. I've also done some gravity tests…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/i-ve-used-the-phoenix-centrifuge-to-replicate-what-the-body-s-going/)

[Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/)

> [I have lifted my plane . . . for perhaps a thousand flights and I have never felt her wheels glide from the Earth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beryl-markham/i-have-lifted-my-plane-for-perhaps-a-thousand-flights-and-i-have/)

[Beryl Markham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beryl-markham/)

> [I am attracted to looking at the different things language can mean even in one sometimes quite ordinary utterance. Writing is partly about listening…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rae-armantrout/i-am-attracted-to-looking-at-the-different-things-language-can-mean/)

[Rae Armantrout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rae-armantrout/)

> [What a thrill. You know you've entered new territory when you realise that your outfit cost more than your film.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-yu/what-a-thrill-you-know-you-ve-entered-new-territory-when-you-realise/)

[Jessica Yu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-yu/)

> [“So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned by a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-supertramp-chris-mccandless/so-many-people-live-within-unhappy-circumstances-and-yet-will-not/)

[Alexander Supertramp Chris McCandless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-supertramp-chris-mccandless/)

> [A common fallacy in much of the adverse criticism to which science is subjected today is that it claims certainty, infallibility and complete emotional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyril-norman-hinshelwood/a-common-fallacy-in-much-of-the-adverse-criticism-to-which-science-is/)

[Cyril Norman Hinshelwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyril-norman-hinshelwood/)

> [“Exactly. I think the original tantric Buddhists took notice of was some very wise old people who never studied in their youth, but took…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-niemczura/exactly-i-think-the-original-tantric-buddhists-took-notice-of-was/)

[Joe Niemczura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-niemczura/)

> [As an adventurer...I try to protect against the downside. I make sure I have covered as many eventualities as I can. In the end,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/as-an-adventurer-i-try-to-protect-against-the-downside-i-make-sure-i/)

[Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/)

> [“Love can give you such happiness, then can break the very heart it filled, leaving a hole that can never be fixed or protected…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-mcleod/love-can-give-you-such-happiness-then-can-break-the-very-heart-it/)

[Kevin McLeod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-mcleod/)

> [“It always gave Wolf a peculiar thrill thus to tighten his grip upon his stick, thus to wrap himself more closely in his faded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cowper-powys/it-always-gave-wolf-a-peculiar-thrill-thus-to-tighten-his-grip-upon/)

[John Cowper Powys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cowper-powys/)

> [“It all had to be squeezed and squeezed again, to provide a thrill, to provide enjoyment. What did people mean, with their simply determined…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence-2/it-all-had-to-be-squeezed-and-squeezed-again-to-provide-a-thrill-to/)

[D.H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence-2/)

> [I am not an adventurous person but I am gutsy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rahul-vaidya/i-am-not-an-adventurous-person-but-i-am-gutsy/)

[Rahul Vaidya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rahul-vaidya/)

> [Our civilization, bequeathed to us by fierce adventurers, eaters of meat and hunters, is so full of hurry and combat, so busy about many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/our-civilization-bequeathed-to-us-by-fierce-adventurers-eaters-of/)

[James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/)

[Browse all 7,690 Adventure quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adventure/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“But the first glad moment in our first love is a vision which returns to us to the last, and brings with it a thrill of feeling intense and special as the recurrent sensation of a sweet odour breathed in a far off hour of happiness. It is a memory that gives a more exquisite touch to tenderness, that feeds the madness of jealousy, and adds the last keenness to the agony of despair.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "George Eliot"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/but-the-first-glad-moment-in-our-first-love-is-a-vision-which-returns/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Adventure"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/but-the-first-glad-moment-in-our-first-love-is-a-vision-which-returns/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e97/george-eliot-84_adventure_but-the-first-glad-moment-in-our-first-l_1850582.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e97/george-eliot-84_adventure_but-the-first-glad-moment-in-our-first-l_1850582.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e97/george-eliot-84_adventure_but-the-first-glad-moment-in-our-first-l_1850582.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“But the first glad moment in our first love is a vision which returns to us to the last, and brings with it…” — George Eliot",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "George Eliot",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“But the first glad moment in...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/but-the-first-glad-moment-in-our-first-love-is-a-vision-which-returns/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/but-the-first-glad-moment-in-our-first-love-is-a-vision-which-returns/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
