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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.

I have done only two portraits: one of the artist Francesco Clemente and another of Andy Warhol.

Quotes by Jean-Michel Basquiat

Not only do the Americans not defend our films, they buy them up just for remakes. It is shameful to kneel at their feet.

Quotes by Jean-Paul Belmondo

She believed in nothing; only her skepticism kept her from being an atheist.

Quotes by Jean-Paul Sartre

It is only in our decisions that we are important.

Quotes by Jean-Paul Sartre

I'm here for the long-term, that's for sure. I think this championship is growing massively. It's only going to get more and more interesting.

Quotes by Jean-Eric Vergne

One can decide that the principal role of knowledge is as an indispensable element in the functioning of society, and act in accordance with that decision, only if one has already decided that society is a giant machine.

Quotes by Jean-Francois Lyotard

A work can become modern only if it is first postmodern. Postmodernism thus understood is not modernism at its end but in the nascent state, and this state is constant.

Quotes by Jean-Francois Lyotard

It is too difficult to think nobly when one thinks only of earning a living.

Quotes by Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Force does not constitute right... obedience is due only to legitimate powers.

Quotes by Jean-Jacques Rousseau

The English think they are free. They are free only during the election of members of parliament.

Quotes by Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Falsehood has an infinity of combinations, but truth has only one mode of being.

Quotes by Jean-Jacques Rousseau

We pity in others only the those evils which we ourselves have experienced.

Quotes by Jean-Jacques Rousseau

I hate books; they only teach us to talk about things we know nothing about.

Quotes by Jean-Jacques Rousseau

I only see clearly what I remember.

Quotes by Jean-Jacques Rousseau

I undertake the same project as Montaigne, but with an aim contrary to his own: for he wrote his Essays only for others, and I write my reveries only for myself.

Quotes by Jean-Jacques Rousseau

I only made one film with a score, and I hate it. I hate the score of that film. It's not coming from me. I had nothing to do with it.

Quotes by Jean-Marc Vallee

I was supposed to do only one or two episodes of 'Big Little Lies,' but I realized I couldn't just step away.

Quotes by Jean-Marc Vallee

A director makes only one movie in his life. Then he breaks it into pieces and makes it again.

Quotes by Jean Renoir

Man is the only animal that learns by being hypocritical. He pretends to be polite and then, eventually, he becomes polite.

Quotes by Jean Kerr

To rewrite history on the bases of hypotheses which have not materialized is not only a fruitless task, but, in my eyes, meaningless.

Quotes by Jean Monnet

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.