Quotes from Fullmetal Alchemist, Volume 1

“Nothing's perfect, the world's not perfect. But it's there for us, trying the best it can; that's what makes it so damn beautiful.”
― Hiromu Arakawa, quote from Fullmetal Alchemist, Volume 1

“Humankind cannot gain something without first giving something in return. To obtain, something of equal value must be lost. This is Alchemy's First Law of Equivalent Exchange. In those days, we really believed that to be the world's one, and only, truth.”
― Hiromu Arakawa, quote from Fullmetal Alchemist, Volume 1

“Even when our eyes are closed, there's a whole world that exists outside ourselves and our dreams.”
― Hiromu Arakawa, quote from Fullmetal Alchemist, Volume 1

“Water: 35 liters, Carbon: 20 kg, Ammonia: 4 liters, Lime:1.5 kg, Phosphrus: 800 g, salt: 250g, saltpeter:100g, Sulfer: 80g, Fluorine: 7.5 g, iron: 5.6 g, Silicon: 3g, and 15 other elements in small quantities.... thats the total chemical makeup of the average adult body. Modern science knows all of this, but there has never been a single example of succesful human trasmutation. It's like there's some missing ingredient..... Scientists have been trying to find it for hundreds of years, pouring tons of money into research, and to this day they don't have a theory. For that matter, the elements found in a human being is all junk that you can buy in any market with a child's allowence. Humans are pretty cheaply made.”
― Hiromu Arakawa, quote from Fullmetal Alchemist, Volume 1

“Well, it's like that myth about the hero. He made wings out of wax so he could fly, but when he got too close to the Sun, to God, the wax melted and he crashed to the ground”
― Hiromu Arakawa, quote from Fullmetal Alchemist, Volume 1

“Is it alright to believe in the future where everyone can live in happiness?”
― Hiromu Arakawa, quote from Fullmetal Alchemist, Volume 1

“Ed, "I hate deserts. There is nothing but sand *collapses* If there was some grass I could turn it into bread. I'm starving! Huh? Hey! Al' where'd you go? Al? Hey!"

Al, "Down here! *Al's hand emerges from the sand beneath Ed and grabs Ed's leg*"

Ed, "AHH!!"

Al, "I sunk again. . ."

(cut to later, after Ed dug Al out)

Al, "I get full."

Ed, "Full of what? *kicks Al and sand falls out of his chest plate and buries Ed*"

Al, "Hahahaha. . .hahaha. . .haha. . . ha. . . *still laughing, inches away from Ed*"

Ed, "*bursts out of sand and starts running after Al* Get back here!"

Al, "What are you going to do?"

Ed, "Nothing!"

Al, "Than why are you chasing me?"

Ed, "Stop and you'll find out!"

Al, "I promise I won't get buried again!"

Ed, "Not unless it's by me!"

Al," Ed!"

Ed, "Rrrrrrrrr!”
― Hiromu Arakawa, quote from Fullmetal Alchemist, Volume 1

“Teachings that do not speak of pain have no meaning...because humankind cannot gain anything without first giving something in return.”
― Hiromu Arakawa, quote from Fullmetal Alchemist, Volume 1

“To obtain something, something of equal value must be lost.”
― Hiromu Arakawa, quote from Fullmetal Alchemist, Volume 1

“Life will come to an end, a return to dust from which we came... The spirit becomes memories living in the minds of people.”
― Hiromu Arakawa, quote from Fullmetal Alchemist, Volume 1

“Okay, I'm gonna do something slightly illegal now, so you just look the other way for a second.”
― Hiromu Arakawa, quote from Fullmetal Alchemist, Volume 1

“A painless lesson is one without any meaning, one who does not sacrifice anything cannot achieve anything.”
― Hiromu Arakawa, quote from Fullmetal Alchemist, Volume 1

“There once was a hero who flew too close to the sun. His wings of wax fell apart and he plummeted to the earth.”
― Hiromu Arakawa, quote from Fullmetal Alchemist, Volume 1

About the author

Popular quotes

“The gospel invitation is wide-open to all: “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Romans 10:13). “Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take of the free gift of the water of life” (Revelation 22:17). And yet when we come, we discover that we were chosen in Christ before the creation of the world (Ephesians 1:4). That is grace.”
― Jerry Bridges, quote from The Joy of Fearing God

“Alecto… what do you think would happen if people found out about you? Your abilities, your life, Mearth’s super 8 films, those powers of yours… how would they react?”

“I don’t know,” said Alecto, “but ordinary people like a show, especially when it’s a disturbing one. They enjoy seeing misery… probably because it allows them to pretend that they themselves are not so miserable, too. Also, they would probably find out about you, how you know about Personifications, how you saw the films… they would put us in cages and throw peanuts at us, I guess.”

“All joking aside, Alecto.…”

“Who is joking, Mandy Valems?”
― Rebecca McNutt, quote from Mandy and Alecto: The Collected Smog City Book Series

“And then I'm dancing, swept away by the music and the magic and Ryn's arms guiding me. We spin graceful circles around the floor. Ryn lets go of me and I twirl beneath his arm, laughing at the same time. It is so not me, and yet I find I'm actually enjoying it.
"See?" Ryn says, "This is easy. And you might possibly be having fun."
The magic guides me as I step out of Ryn's arms, twirl behind his back, and catch his hand. "You might possibly be right."
He pulls me back into position. "Oh, I forgot to tell you something," he says. He leans forward and his lips brush my ear as he whispers, "You are more beautiful than any other girl in this room.”
― Rachel Morgan, quote from The Faerie Prince

“A man only begins to be a man when he ceases to whine and revile, and commences to search for the hidden justice which regulates his life. And he adapts his mind to that regulating factor, he ceases to accuse others as the cause of his condition, and builds himself up in strong and noble thoughts; ceases to kick against circumstances, but begins to use them as aids to his more rapid progress, and as a means of the hidden powers and possibilities within himself.”
― James Allen, quote from As a Man Thinketh: You Are Literally What You Think

“Confruntarea cu moartea iminenta poate sa propulseze omul in intelepciune si la o noua profunzime a existentei.”
― Irvin D. Yalom, quote from Momma and the Meaning of Life: Tales of Psychotherapy

Interesting books

About BookQuoters

BookQuoters is a community of passionate readers who enjoy sharing the most meaningful, memorable and interesting quotes from great books. As the world communicates more and more via texts, memes and sound bytes, short but profound quotes from books have become more relevant and important. For some of us a quote becomes a mantra, a goal or a philosophy by which we live. For all of us, quotes are a great way to remember a book and to carry with us the author’s best ideas.

We thoughtfully gather quotes from our favorite books, both classic and current, and choose the ones that are most thought-provoking. Each quote represents a book that is interesting, well written and has potential to enhance the reader’s life. We also accept submissions from our visitors and will select the quotes we feel are most appealing to the BookQuoters community.

Founded in 2023, BookQuoters has quickly become a large and vibrant community of people who share an affinity for books. Books are seen by some as a throwback to a previous world; conversely, gleaning the main ideas of a book via a quote or a quick summary is typical of the Information Age but is a habit disdained by some diehard readers. We feel that we have the best of both worlds at BookQuoters; we read books cover-to-cover but offer you some of the highlights. We hope you’ll join us.