Jean-Luc Picard

From Wikiquote
Jump to navigation Jump to search
Let's make sure history never forgets the name Enterprise.

Jean-Luc Picard (13 July 2305–) is a character in the Star Trek fictional universe, the captain of the USS Enterprise-D and the Enterprise-E. He was played by British actor Patrick Stewart in the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation, the subsequent films and the streaming television series Star Trek: Picard.

Quotes[edit]

Someone once told me that time was a predator that stalked us all our lives. But I rather believe that time is a companion who goes with us on the journey and reminds us to cherish every moment because they'll never come again. What we leave behind is not as important as how we've lived.
That is what it is to be human. To make yourself more than you are.
There can be no justice so long as laws are absolute. Even life itself is an exercise in exceptions.
Seize the time... Live now! Make now always the most precious time. Now will never come again.
Things are only impossible until they're not!
Shall I tell you what true evil is? It is to submit to you. It is when we surrender our freedom, our dignity instead of defying you.
Trust requires time and experience.
Communication is a matter of patience, imagination.
There is a way out of every box, a solution to every puzzle; it's just a matter of finding it.
The Prime Directive is not just a set of rules; it is a philosophy ... and a very correct one. History has proven again and again that whenever mankind interferes with a less developed civilization, no matter how well intentioned that interference may be, the results are invariably disastrous.
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!
I prefer to look on the future as something which is not written in stone.
And the sky's the limit.
The past is written, but the future is left for us to write, and we have powerful tools: openness, optimism, and the spirit of curiosity.
Seize today for we know nothing of tomorrow.
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.

Star Trek: The Next Generation[edit]

  • Space, the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Its continuing mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no one has gone before!
    • Introduction spoken during the opening credits of each episode, derived from the introduction to the original Star Trek series. Both versions are by Gene Roddenberry and reused for Star Trek Beyond.
  • Sometimes, Riker, the best way to win a fight is not to be there.
  • You say you are true evil? Shall I tell you what true evil is? It is to submit to you. It is when we surrender our freedom, our dignity instead of defying you.
  • Being first at any cost is not always the point.
    • "Tin Man" (23 March 1990) by Dennis Putman Bailey and David Bischoff
  • Jean-Luc Picard: We think we've come so far. Torture of heretics, burning of witches, is all ancient history. Then, before you can blink an eye, suddenly, it threatens to start all over again.
Worf': I believed her. I... helped her. I did not see her for what she was.
Jean-Luc Picard: Mr. Worf, villains who twirl their moustache are easy to spot. Those who clothe themselves in good deeds are well-camouflaged.
Worf: I think... after yesterday people will not be so ready to trust her.
Jean-Luc Picard: Maybe. But she, or someone like her, will always be with us. Waiting for the right climate in which to flourish, spreading fear in the name of righteousness. [...] Vigilance, Mr. Worf. That is the price we must continually pay.
  • In my experience, communication is a matter of patience, imagination. I would like to believe these are qualities we have in sufficient measure.
  • The first duty of every Starfleet officer is to the truth, whether it's scientific truth or historical truth or personal truth! It is the guiding principle on which Starfleet is based! If you can't find it within yourself to stand up and tell the truth about what happened, you don't deserve to wear that uniform!
  • There are four lights!

Star Trek: Picard[edit]

Raffi Musiker: But you remember what we used to say back then?
Jean-Luc Picard: One impossible thing at a time.
  • 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.
    • The Impossible Box (February 27, 2020) by Nick Zayas
William Riker: That time you were flying off to Romulus, to plan the Great Supernova Rescue. Do you remember what I said?
Jean-Luc Picard: 'So you want to be ass-deep in Romulans for the rest of your life?'
William Riker: I believe I also reminded you of Newton's Fourth Law of Thermodynamics.
Jean-Luc Picard: No good deed goes unpunished.
William Riker: Classic Picard arrogance. You get to make the decisions about who gets to take the chances and who doesn't, and who's in the loop and who's out of the loop, and, naturally, it always ends up with you. And that's fine on the bridge of your starship, captain, but now you're dealing with a teenager, more or less. That can be an extremely humbling experience. Frankly, not sure you're up to it.
Jean-Luc Picard: Perhaps I'm not.
William Riker: There you go. Baby steps.
Jean-Luc Picard: Baby steps.
Kirsten Clancy: That's a hell of a report.
Jean-Luc Picard: And you thought I was a desperate old man. Quixotic, paranoid, possibly senile…
Kirsten Clancy: Let's just leave it at quixotic.
Jean-Luc Picard: And now the windmills have turned out to be giants.
    • Broken Pieces (March 12, 2020) by Samantha Humphrey and Michael Chabon
  • 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.
    • Broken Pieces (March 12, 2020) by Samantha Humphrey and Michael Chabon
  • Data's capacity for expressing and processing emotion was limited. I suppose we had that in common.
    • Broken Pieces (March 12, 2020) by Samantha Humphrey and Michael Chabon
  • There's a difference between killing an attacking enemy and watching a wounded one die.
    • Et En Arcadia Argo, Part 1 (March 19, 2020) by Michael Chabon & Ayelet Waldman & Akiva Goldsman
  • To be alive is a responsibility. As well as a right.
    • Et En Arcadia Argo, Part 2 (March 26, 2020) by Michael Chabon & Akiva Goldsman
  • 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.
    • Et En Arcadia Argo, Part 2 (March 26, 2020) by Michael Chabon & Akiva Goldsman
  • Seize today for we know nothing of tomorrow.
    • The Star Gazer (March 3, 2022) by Akiva Goldsman & Terry Matalas
  • 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".
    • The Star Gazer (March 3, 2022) by Akiva Goldsman & Terry Matalas
  • 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.
    • Watcher (March 24, 2022) by Juliana James & Jane Maggs (Teleplay) as well as by Travis Fickett & Juliana James (Story)
  • 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.
    • Farewell (May 5, 2022) by Christopher Monfette and Akiva Goldsman
  • 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.
    • No Win Scenario (March 9, 2023) by Terry Matalas & Sean Tretta
  • 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.
    • No Win Scenario (March 9, 2023) by Terry Matalas & Sean Tretta
  • Fate has a way of surprising us.
    • The Bounty (March 23, 2023) by Christopher Monfette
  • You don't leave the doors open if you want to keep the wolves out.
    • The Last Generation (April 20, 2023) by Terry Matalas
William Riker: Hope you're feeling lucky, Jean-Luc.
Jean-Luc Picard: You know, Will, I've come to believe that the stars have always been in my favor.
    • The Last Generation (April 20, 2023) by Terry Matalas

Quotes about Picard[edit]

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. ~ Santiago Cabrera
The bridge of the Enterprise, under the moderate and controlled command of Captain Picard, is a locus of "enlightened understanding." ~ Rosemarie Garland Thomson
Alphabetized by author
  • Captain Picard, is the exact opposite of a Hollywood action-hero.
    • Dirk Baecker, in Inclusion/ Exclusiom (2002), p. 76
  • Picard stands as the bearer of Starfleet's conscience and an exemplar of moral autonomy.
    • Kevin Decker and Jason Eberl Star Trek and Philosophy: The Wrath of Kant (2008), p. 141
  • Captain Picard is perceived to be a gentler soul than Captain Kirk.
    • Marc Dipaol, in War, Politics and Superheroes : Ethics and Propaganda in Comics and Film (2011), p. 30
  • The new captain of the Enterprise, Jean-Luc Picard, is the wise man. He rules the Enterprise with a sagely wisdom.
  • Patrick Stewart's identification with Jean-Luc Picard is a prime exemplar of the extreme entanglement between actor and character produced by cult television programs, yet in Stewart's case this entanglement has not precluded a very active and successful post-Star Trek career.
    • Sara Gwenllian-Jones and Roberta E. Pearson, in Cult Television (2004), p. 65
  • Those ... who are familiar with the character Captain Picard, already know him to be the leader that we all wish we worked for, whose leadership gives us confidence and comfort in meeting the challenges we face each and every day, and the type of leader that we should strive to become.
    • Wess Roberts and Bill Ross in Make It So : Leadership Lessons from Star Trek, The Next Generation (1995), p. xi
  • He intrigues me, this Picard. Remarkably analytical and dispassionate, for a human. I understand why my father chose to mind-meld with him. There's almost a Vulcan quality to the man.

External links[edit]

Wikipedia
Wikipedia
Wikipedia has an article about:
Commons
Commons
  Creator     Gene Roddenberry  (1921–1991)  
  Television series     Star Trek  (1966–1969) · The Animated Series  (1973–1974) · The Next Generation  (1987–1994) · Deep Space Nine  (1993–1999) · Voyager  (1995–2001) · Enterprise  (2001–2005) · Discovery  (2017–) · Picard  (2020–) · Lower Decks  (2020–) · Prodigy  (2021–) · Strange New Worlds  (2022–)
  Feature films     The Original Series     The Motion Picture  (1979) · The Wrath of Khan  (1982) · The Search for Spock  (1984) · The Voyage Home  (1986) · The Final Frontier  (1989) · The Undiscovered Country  (1991)  
  The Next Generation     Generations  (1994) · First Contact  (1996) · Insurrection  (1998) · Nemesis  (2002)  
  Reboot series     Star Trek  (2009) · Into Darkness  (2013) · Beyond  (2016)  
  Video games     Borg  (1996) · Klingon Academy  (2000)  
  Proverbs     Klingon · Vulcan  
  Other     Star Trek franchise · Last words in Star Trek media · Jean-Luc Picard· Phase II