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

“Do not even suggest jazz. I saw Newsies and was traumatized for, like, five years.”
― Richelle Mead, quote from Succubus Shadows

“We can hold them off," Shudder said. "What do you think, Skulduggery?"
"Should be fun," Skulduggery responded. "Valkyrie here has never held off a horde of zombies before. It'll be a good experience for her."
"Oh, joy," she muttered.”
― Derek Landy, quote from Dark Days

“And our differences?” Elend asked. “At first glance, the key and the lock it fits may seem very different,” Sazed said. “Different in shape, different in function, different in design. The man who looks at them without knowledge of their true nature might think them opposites, for one is meant to open, and the other to keep closed. Yet, upon closer examination, he might see that without one, the other becomes useless. The wise man then sees that both lock and key were created for the same purpose.”
― Brandon Sanderson, quote from Mistborn Trilogy Boxed Set

“The cashier – a bubble popping juvenile delinquent – asks me, “Will that be all?” I look at the bags of diapers that are now bagged in my cart and then at the empty belt. He is staring at me with his watery marijuana eyes, waiting for my answer.
“Um, no, I’d like all this invisible shit too.” I wave a hand at the conveyer and he is actually dumb enough to look.”
― Tarryn Fisher, quote from Dirty Red

“As they clean the walls with wet cloths and sponges, they uncover the earlier paints, most prevalent a stark blue that must have been inspired by Mary's blue robes. Renaissance painters could get that rare color only from ground lapis lazuli brought from quarries in what is now Afghanistan.”
― Frances Mayes, quote from Under the Tuscan Sun

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.