“When I have a terrible need of - shall I say the word - religion, then I go out and paint the stars.”

“I dare say that when I get out of this bed I shall do some deed of an almost terrible virtue.”

“The word 'happiness' does indeed have meaning, doesn't it? I shall go out in search of it.”

“For most people, religion is nothing more than a substitute for a malfunctioning brain. If people need religion, ignore them and maybe they will ignore you, and you can go on with your life. It wasn't until I was beginning to do Star Trek that the subject of religion arose. What brought it up was that people were saying that I would have a chaplain on board the Enterprise. I replied, "No, we don't.”

“You - you alone will have the stars as no one else has them...In one of the stars I shall be living. In one of them I shall be laughing. And so it will be as if all the stars were laughing, when you look at the sky at night...You - only you - will have stars that can laugh.”

“When I need some striking inspiration about deep depression for my new painting, I just need to go to check my bank account...”