Logo - Feel The Words

Only Quotes

On narrowed choices and the one option that remains.

The word 'only' frames very different ideas here: a single film genre praised for its originality, a physicist's account of shifting foundations, and a stated view on Cold War-era power struggles across Europe. For more, see our Life quotes.

Anything can happen in SF. And the fact that nothing ever does happen in SF is only due to the poverty of our imaginations, we who write it or edit it or read it. But SF can in principle deal...

Quotes by John Sladek

This war so far has cost us $125 billion and counting, because largely we decided to do it on our own, with only the United Kingdom as a paying, fully participating partner.

Quotes by John Spratt

No one wants advice - only corroboration.

John Steinbeck

Man is the only kind of varmint sets his own trap, baits it, then steps in it.

John Steinbeck

Time is the only critic without ambition.

John Steinbeck

You know how advice is. You only want it if it agrees with what you wanted to do anyway.

John Steinbeck

All religion seems to need to prove that it's the only truth. And that's where it turns demonic. Because that's when you get religious wars and persecutions and burning heretics at the stake.

Quotes by John Shelby Spong

I can only give away the love that I have received.

Quotes by John Shelby Spong

I'm John Salley, and I'm a vegan. I'm a vegan because I'm only four pounds heaver than I was in 1989.

Quotes by John Salley

I'm excited about seeing a bipartisan plan to reform education in the United States. The only other option is to protect the status quo and I really don't think anybody wants to do that.

Quotes by John Rowland

Not only is there but one way of doing things rightly, but there is only one way of seeing them, and that is, seeing the whole of them.

Quotes by John Ruskin

I have only been seeking to get them to the negotiating table and, thank God, that's where they are.

Quotes by John Prescott

I was the one that brought it in, but not only for the north-east, for every area so we can develop all the regional economies, lift up the national productivity, get greater wealth and share it more evenly.

Quotes by John Prescott

When I'm writing a lyric, things can only get so serious before they start becoming humorous.

Quotes by John Prine

Nip the shoots of arbitrary power in the bud, is the only maxim which can ever preserve the liberties of any people.

Quotes by John Quincy Adams

The oceans that surround the world produce 185 billion tons of CO2 per annum. Man per annum only produces six billion tons, so what could possibly be the concern?

Quotes by John Raese

Democracy is the only system capable of reflecting the humanist premise of equilibrium or balance. The key to its secret is the involvement of the citizen.

Quotes by John Ralston Saul

Only when God was said to have died did various leaders, professions and sectors risk pushing themselves forward as successors.

Quotes by John Ralston Saul

The average music-lover hears only the production under prevailing conditions.

Quotes by John Philip Sousa

The applause is a celebration not only of the actors but also of the audience. It constitutes a shared moment of delight.

Quotes by John Polanyi

Frequently Asked Questions

What subjects do the "Only" quotes on this page cover?
The quotes touch on horror as a film genre that blends experimental technique into the mainstream, geopolitical strategy around balance of power in Europe, and reflections on the empirical foundations of science and modern physics.
Is there a quote here about horror movies?
Yes, one discusses horror as one of the only genres able to weave abstract, experimental filmmaking techniques into mainstream cinema, noting that creating something genuinely spooky takes particular skill.
Does this page include anything about geopolitics?
Yes, one quote discusses the balance of power in Eurasia from an Anglo-American perspective, weighing the choice of aligning with a Western Europe against Russia.
Is there a quote here about science and physics?
Yes, two touch on this - one on how scientific concepts are drawn from empirical data, and another on how the "foundations of physics have started moving" as modern physics developed, unsettling older assumptions. For more thoughtful, reflective lines, see Life or Good.
Is this page more scientific and political than personal?
Yes, these particular quotes lean intellectual and analytical rather than personal. For more everyday, relatable quotes, try Like or Me.

You can also browse our Good quotes and Like quotes for lighter reflections.