All Quotes

"You cannot explain away a wantonly immoral act because you think it is connected to some higher purpose."

"There are four lights!"

"No, I am not dead. Because I refuse to believe the afterlife is run by you. The universe is not so badly designed!"

"I would rather die as the man I was than live the life I just saw."

"There are many parts of my youth that I'm not proud of. There were loose threads, untidy parts of me that I would like to remove. But when I pulled on one of those threads it unraveled the tapestry of my life."

"There was no opportunity. There was no pause. (mock Teutonic) He just kept talking in one long, incredibly unbroken sentence, moving from topic to topic so that no one had a chance to interrupt. It was really quite hypnotic."

"There is a way out of every box, a solution to every puzzle; it's just a matter of finding it. See also: The middle of Youtube Video "Captain Picard: The Role Model We Need" (16.06.2021) by user "Ryan's Edits"."

"I prefer to look on the future as something which is not written in stone. A lot of things can happen in 25 years."

"We are what we are, and we're doing the best we can. It is not for you to set the standards by which we should be judged!"

"Now, this will put the ship at risk. Quite frankly, we may not survive. But I want you to believe that I am doing this for a greater purpose, and that what is at stake here is more than any of you can possibly imagine. I know you have your doubts about me, about each other, about this ship. All I can say is that although we have only been together for a short time, I know that you are the finest crew in the fleet. And I would trust each of you with my life. So, I am asking you for a leap of faith — and to trust me."

"So, five-card stud, nothing wild. And the sky's the limit."

"Sitting here, all these years, nursing my offended dignity, writing books of history people prefer to forget. I never asked anything of myself at all. [...] I haven’t been living. I’ve been waiting to die."

"I'm not in the habit of consulting lawyers before I do what needs to be done."

"But murder is not justice. There is no solace in revenge. You have had your humanity restored to you. Don't squander it now."

"Changed? The Borg? They coolly assimilate entire civilizations, entire systems, in a matter of hours. They don't change! They metastasize."

"You have a past. You have a story, just waiting to be claimed."

"The past is written, but the future is left for us to write, and we have powerful tools, Rios: openness, optimism, and the spirit of curiosity. All they have is secrecy, and fear, and fear is the great destroyer, Rios."

"Data's capacity for expressing and processing emotion was limited. I suppose we had that in common."

"There's a difference between killing an attacking enemy and watching a wounded one die."

"One more thing. Uh, I have a brain abnormality. I've known for years. Uh, I never had any symptoms, so I never thought much about it. However, just before we left the Earth, I learned that my condition was more acute. The prognosis was terminal, and there is no effective treatment. There will be no further discussion. Anyone who treats me like a dying man will run the risk of pissing me off."

"Well, hope and the odds make poor bedfellows."

"To say you have no choice is a failure of imagination."

"If we wanted to destroy you, Soji, we would've joined forces with the Romulans. We would be training our phasers on you right now. We aren't. We won't! You know why? Because we trust you to make the right choice. I trust you, Soji. I know you. I believe in you. That's why I saved your lives. So that you could save ours in return. That's the whole point. That's why we're here. To save each other."

"It says a great deal about the mind of Commander Data that, looking at the human race with all its violence and corruption, willful ignorance, he could still see kindness, the immense curiosity, and greatness of spirit. And he wanted, more than anything else, to be part of that, to be part of the human family. We are such stuff as dreams are made of, and our little life is rounded with a sleep."

"Seize today for we know nothing of tomorrow."

"We often refer to space as the final frontier. But the older I get, the more I come to believe that the true final frontier is time. In command, as in life, what we do in crisis often weighs upon us less heavily than what we wish we had done, what could have been. Time offers many opportunities, but it rarely offers second chances. And as steps forward go I would like to acknowledge your classmate the first fully Romulan cadet at Starfleet Academy: Elnor. May you all go boldly into a future freed from the shackles of the past. I stand before you the last Picard. My ancestor captained the second ship, behind Jacques Cartier. A great-great cousin Renee Picard was instrumental in early exploration of this solar system. Yet I choose to leave you with the words of my mother, who was no explorer at all. When I was a boy she would point to the night sky and say, "Look up, Jean-Luc, and let's see what's out there"."

"We cannot live in this reality. If we want to save the future, then we have to repair the past."

"Distance offers no protection from time."

"History’s darkest moments can be a tipping point for change."

"Guinan! Don't leave the Earth just yet. I know you're done with listening, but you're not done with humanity. Change always comes later than we think it should."

"Or the promise of legacy revealed the rot that is hidden underneath it."

"There are moments in time we wish we could travel back to. Memories. Pieces of life better lived in reverse. In those moments, tragic endings might rewind into joyful beginnings. Moments of loss into those of gains. I remember now, in a cloudy moment of extreme melancholy, my mother hung herself here in this place. And for all I've lived, all I've seen and done, I suppose this is the moment I've kept myself from remembering, this moment I am so powerless to reverse. My mother was ill, I'm told, but I only ever thought she was inspired. That night, my father had locked her into her room for her own safety. Perhaps for mine, as well. But she begged me to help her, told me how much she needed me, how much she needed my help. And this is the part I've spent my whole life trying not to remember. I thought I was saving her. So, after he fell asleep, I let her out, you see. If only I had left that door closed, she might have become an old woman. I used to imagine seeing her older, offering me a cup of tea and asking for a chat. This skeleton key migrated all over the house. I wish, that day, it hadn't ended up in my hand. I loved her. Desperately."

"I refuse to accept an outcome that has not yet occurred. Come. We have work to do."

"Make a good future."

"There are moments in our lives we fear to relive and others we long to repeat. While time cannot give us second chances, maybe people can."

"Y’know, there will be a time when you will need to remember that no matter how bleak or unwinnable a situation, as long as you and your crew remain steadfast in your dedication, one to another, you are never ever without hope."

"I think we all need connection. Don't we?"

"[to Beverly Crusher] Look, I know that time is precious, but do you think you could give me a moment or two with Jack?"

"You’re only ever really as good as those around you. Your crew become a part of you. Complete you. They lift you up to accomplish the things you never could do alone."

"Fate has a way of surprising us."

"You don't leave the doors open if you want to keep the wolves out."

"There is a tide in the affairs of men Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune; Omitted, all the voyage of their life Is bound in shallows and in miseries. On such a full sea are we now afloat; And we must take the current when it serves, Or lose our ventures."

"Jean-Luc Picard taught me how to speak. I’m pretty sure that I already knew how to say words by the time that I was watching ‘’Star Trek: The Next Generation’’ with my parents, but Patrick Stewart’s captain is how I remember learning that words and communication are noble and important. That you can be strong without imposing yourself physically on others. That making an effort to unite yourself with other people is powerful as well as merely desirable."

"Captain Picard, is the exact opposite of a Hollywood action-hero."

"Jean-Luc Picard! Chief contact with the Q Continuum. Arbiter of succession for the Klingon Empire. Savior of Earth from Borg invasion. Captain of the Enterprises D and E. The man even worked alongside the great Spock."

"Captain Picard is the hero we need right now. He exemplifies in some ways even more then James Kirk—and I’m not gonna get into the Kirk vs Picard argument because I love Captain Kirk, he was my first captain—but Picard is even more of an exemplar of everything that is best about Star Trek’s vision for the future."

":K'mpec: After I die, you will act in my name to arbitrate the struggle for power."

":Jean-Luc Picard: I will?"

":K'mpec: No one on the Council can be trusted, and I have my reasons for wanting an outsider."

":Jean-Luc Picard: K'mpec, you cannot possibly be serious. A Federation officer has no business in ..."