Fans have always known that Star Trek is an amazing show. The rest of us would do well to get on board. The series is actually full of timeless and universal wisdom.
The fascinating characters in the Star Trek series offer insights about ourselves and others, and encourage us all to live well. Here are 75 of the most inspiring Star Trek quotes.
Our Favorite Star Trek Quotes
- “Evil does seek to maintain power by suppressing the truth.” “Or by misleading the inoccent.” Spock and Dr. McCoy
- “Improve a mechanical device and you may double productivity. But improve man, you gain a thousandfold.” Khan Noonien Singh
- “Compassion: that’s the one thing no machine ever had. Maybe it’s the one thing that keeps men ahead of them.” Dr. McCoy
- “It is possible to commit no errors and still lose. That is not a weakness. That is life.” Captain Jean-Luc Picard
- “You can use logic to justify almost anything. That’s its power. And its flaw.” Captain Cathryn Janeway
- “Logic is the beginning of wisdom, not the end.” Spock
- “Things are only impossible until they’re not.” Captain Jean-Luc Picard
- “I am pleased to see that we have differences. May we together become greater than the sum of both of us.” Surak
- “Without followers, evil cannot spread.” Spock
- “The prejudices people feel about each other disappear when they get to know each other.” Captain James T. Kirk
- “Time is fluid…like a river with currents, eddies, backwash.” Spock
- “A library serves no purpose unless someone is using it.” Mr. Atoz
- “Humans do have an amazing capacity for believing what they choose — and excluding that which is painful.” Spock
- “Live now; make now always the most precious time. Now will never come again.” Captain Jean-Luc Picard
- “Change is the essential process of all existence.” Spock
- “Without freedom of choice there is no creativity.” Captain James T. Kirk
- “With the first link, the chain is forged. The first speech censored, the first thought forbidden, the first freedom denied, chains us all irrevocably.” Captain Jean-Luc Picard
- “Live long, and prosper.” Spock
- “If we’re going to be damned, let’s be damned for what we really are.” Captain Jean-Luc Picard
- “Human beings do not survive on bread alone … but on the nourishments of liberty. For what indeed is a man without freedom … naught but a mechanism, trapped in the cogwheels of eternity.” Harry Mudd
- “Your will to survive, your love of life, your passion to know … Everything that is truest and best in all species of beings has been revealed to you. Those are the qualities that make a civilization worthy to survive.” Lai the Vian
- “There is a way out of every box, a solution to every puzzle; it’s just a matter of finding it.” Captain Jean-Luc Picard
- “You may find that having is not so pleasing a thing as wanting. This is not logical, but it is often true.” Spock
- “Sometimes a feeling is all we humans have to go on.” CaptainJames T. Kirk
- “I speak of rights! A machine has none; a man must. If you do not grant him that right, you have brought us down to the level of the machine; indeed, you have elevated that machine above us!” Samuel T. Cogley
- “When you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.” Spock
- “Those who want war will find causes, no matter how many of them you take away.” Diane Duane
- “A little suffering is good for the soul.” Captain James T. Kirk
- “The heart is not a logical organ.” Dr. Janet Wallace
- “Pain is a thing of the mind. The mind can be controlled.” Spock
- “To all mankind — may we never find space so vast, planets so cold, heart and mind so empty that we cannot fill them with love and warmth.” Garth
- “It can be argued that a human is ultimately the sum of his experiences.” Benjamin Sisko
- “It would seem that evil retreats when forcibly confronted.” Yarnek of Excalbia
- “When a child is taught, it’s programmed with simple instructions, and at some point, if its mind develops properly, it exceeds the sum of what it was taught, thinks independently.” Dr. Daystrom
- “When governments murder those who speak the truth, it is time to get new governments.” Diane Duane
- “Believing oneself to be perfect is often the sign of a delusional mind.” Data
- “I would be delighted to offer any advice I can on understanding women. When I have some, I’ll let you know.” Captain Jean-Luc Picard
- “Intuition, however illogical, is recognized as a command prerogative.” Captain James T. Kirk
- “Violence in reality is quite different from theory.” Spock
- “I object to intellect without discipline; I object to power without constructive purpose.” Spock
- “It’s hard to believe that something which is neither seen nor felt can do so much harm.” “That’s true. But an idea can’t be seen or felt.” Vanna and Captain James T. Kirk
- “Time is the fire in which we burn.” Malcolm McDowell
- “Men don’t talk peace unless they’re ready to back it up with war.” Col. Green
- “It’s time you learned that freedom is never a gift. It has to be earned.” Captain James T. Kirk
- “May I point out that I have gotten a chance to examine your counterparts closely. They are brutal, savage, uncivilized and illogical. They are in every way examples of Homo sapiens, the very flower of humanity.” Spock
- “There’s only one kind of woman …” “Or man, for that matter. You either believe in yourself or you don’t.” Captain James T. Kirk and Harry Mudd
- “Life and death are seldom logical.” “But attaining a desired goal always is.” Dr. McCoy and Spock
- “This is why one must be careful with life,” her father had said, in very controlled wrath. “Death is the most hateful thing. Don’t allow the destruction of what you can never restore.” Diane Duane
- “Can you imagine how life could be improved if we could do away with jealousy, greed, hate …” “It can also be improved by eliminating love, tenderness, sentiment — the other side of the coin.” Dr. Roger Corby and Captain James. T Kirk
- “I fail to comprehend your indignation, sir. I have simply made the logical deduction that you are a liar.” Spock
- “Many Myths are based on truth.” Spock
- “To be human is to be complex. You can’t avoid a little ugliness – from within – and from without.” Captain James T. Kirk
- “Every living thing wants to survive.” Spock
- “Superior ability breeds superior ambition.” Spock
- “Look at these three words written larger than all the rest, and with special pride never written before or since — tall words, proudly saying, “We the people” … these words and the words that follow … must apply to everyone or they mean nothing.” Captain James T. Kirk
- “A lie is a very poor way to say hello.” Edith Keeler
- “To boldly go where no man has gone before.” Captain James T. Kirk
- “It is necessary to have purpose.” Alice #1
- “Madness has no purpose. Or reason. But it may have a goal.” Spock
- “When the personality of a human is involved, exact predictions are hazardous.” Dr. McCoy
- “If I can have honesty, it’s easier to overlook mistakes.” Captain James T. Kirk
- “A father doesn’t destroy his children.” Lt. Carolyn Palamas
- “Our species can only survive if we have obstacles to overcome. You remove those obstacles. Without them to strengthen us, we will weaken and die.” Captain James T. Kirk
- “Behind every great man, there is a woman — urging him on.” Harry Mudd
- “Another dream that failed. There’s nothing sadder.” Captain James T. Kirk
- “We’re a most promising species, Mr. Spock, as predators go. Did you know that? I frequently have my doubts. I don’t. Not any more. And maybe in a thousand years or so, we’ll be able to prove it.” Captain James T. Kirk
- “One man cannot summon the future. But one man can change the present!” Alternate Mr. Spock
- “Curious, how often you humans manage to obtain that which you do not want.” Spock
- “We prefer to help ourselves. We make mistakes, but we’re human — and maybe that’s the word that best explains us.” Captain James T. Kirk
- “Now, I don’t pretend to tell you how to find happiness and love, when every day is a struggle to survive. But I do insist that you do survive, because the days and the years ahead are worth living for!” Edith Keeler
- “Leave bigotry in your quarters; there’s no room for it on the bridge.” Captain James T. Kirk
- “The release of emotion is what keeps us healthy. Emotionally healthy.” “That may be, Doctor. However, I have noted that the healthy release of emotion is frequently unhealthy for those closest to you.” Dr. McCoy and Spock
- “How we deal with death is at least as important as how we deal with life.” Captain James T. Kirk
- “Insults are effective only where emotion is present.” Spock
- “Too much of anything, even love, isn’t necessarily a good thing.” Captain James T. Kirk
Related: Ron Swanson Quotes
Conclusion
These quotes from Star Trek offer encouragement and inspiration. And if you are a huge Star Trek fan they will bring you back to an episode of the TV show or a specific Star Trek Movie. In either case, they will bring a smile to your face. They help us remember that, regardless of the place, time, or situation we find ourselves in, living well is important. Yes, we are complex. But then, we are human.
Related: The Best Spock Quotes and Ready Player One Quotes
I’m Alice Judy and AnQuotes is a fun hobby for me. We know that everyone loves a great quote and our mission here is simple – to be the best and most interesting quote site in the world! If you have quotes you would like us to cover, please contact us.
