Explore the most impactful and insightful quotes and sayings by Nelson Mandela, and enrich your perspective with the wisdom. Share these inspiring Nelson Mandela quotes pictures with your friends on social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, or your personal blogs, completely free. Here are the top 614 Nelson Mandela quotes for you to read and share.
I came to accept that I have no right whatsoever to judge others in terms of my own customs, however much I may be proud of such customs. -- Nelson Mandela
As long as outmoded ways of thinking prevent women from making a meaningful contribution to society, progress will be slow. As long as the nation refuses to acknowledge the equal role of more than half of itself, it is doomed to failure. -- Nelson Mandela
Few things make the life of a parent more rewarding and sweet as successful children. -- Nelson Mandela
We can build a society grounded on friendship and our common humanity - a society founded on tolerance. That is the only road open to us. -- Nelson Mandela
My time in prison only deepened my resolve against apartheid. Even while I was in prison, I fought against it, teaching my cellmates about white supremacy and how to fight against it. -- Nelson Mandela
Live life as though nobody is watching, and express yourself as though everyone is listening. -- Nelson Mandela
Music is a great blessing. It has the power to elevate and liberate us. It sets people free to dream. It can unite us to sing with one voice. Such is the value of music. -- Nelson Mandela
In that moment, something stirred deep inside all of us, something strong and intimate, that bound us to one another. In that moment we felt the hand of the great past that made us what we were and the power of the great cause that linked us all together. -- Nelson Mandela
The relations between a man and his or her god is a personal matter; you can't go out and challenge the belief of people in a superior being. -- Nelson Mandela
If you are negotiating you must do so in a spirit of reconciliation, not from the point of view of issuing ultimatums. -- Nelson Mandela
To deny people of their human rights is to challenge their very humanity. To impose on them a wretched life of huger and deprivation is to dehumanize them. But such has been the terrible fate of all black persons in our country under the system of apartheid. -- Nelson Mandela
The brave man is not the one who has no fears, he is the one who triumphs over his fears. -- Nelson Mandela
People tend to measure themselves by external accomplishments, but jail allows a person to focus on internal ones; such as honesty, sincerity, simplicity, humility, generosity and an absence of variety. You learn to look into yourself. -- Nelson Mandela
Be a life long student, read as many books as possible. -- Nelson Mandela
We, the people of South Africa, declare for all our country and the world to know:
That South Africa belongs to all who live in it, black and white, and that no government can justly claim authority unless it is based on the will of the people. -- Nelson Mandela
Where globalization means, as it so often does, that the rich and powerful now have new means to further enrich and empower themselves at the cost of the poorer and weaker, we have a responsibility to protest in the name of universal freedom. -- Nelson Mandela
One subject we hearkened back to again and again was the question of whether there were tigers in Africa. -- Nelson Mandela
There is little to be said in favour of poverty, but it was often an incubator of true friendship. Many people will appear to befriend you when you are wealthy, but precious few will do the same when you are poor -- Nelson Mandela
Who could doubt that sport is a crucial window for the propagation of fair play and justice? After all, fair play is a value that is essential to sport. -- Nelson Mandela
Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world. -- Nelson Mandela
Leaders will have to give clear and decisive leadership towards a world of tolerance and respect for difference, and an uncompromising commitment to peaceful solutions of conflicts and disputes. -- Nelson Mandela
Teach the children that Africans are not one iota inferior to Europeans. -- Nelson Mandela
Let us give practical recognition to the injustices of the past,by building a future based on equality&social justice -- Nelson Mandela
Each of us, as citizens, has a role to play in creating a better world for our children -- Nelson Mandela
Sometimes, I feel like one who is on the sidelines, who has missed life itself. -- Nelson Mandela
We should take heart from our own experience and performance. In a cynical world we have become an inspiration to many. -- Nelson Mandela
Times change, we need to change as well. -- Nelson Mandela
It is not beyond our power to create a world in which all children have access to a good education. -- Nelson Mandela
The challenge for each one of you is to take up these ideals of tolerance and respect for others and put them to practical use in your schools, your communities and throughout your lives. -- Nelson Mandela
It is my greatest wish that the Children's Fund should continue to be a beacon of hope and light. -- Nelson Mandela
I cannot say for certain if there is such a thing as love at first sight, but I do know that the moment I first glimpsed Winnie Nomzamo, I knew that I wanted to have her as my wife. -- Nelson Mandela
We can't fight AIDS unless we do much more to fight TB as well. -- Nelson Mandela
It's not our weaknesses that frighten us. It's our strengths. -- Nelson Mandela
Where people of goodwill get together and transcend their differences for the common good, peaceful and just solutions can be found even for those problems which seem most intractable. -- Nelson Mandela
Justice and I became friends, though we were opposites in many ways - he was extroverted, I was introverted; he was lighthearted, I was serious. -- Nelson Mandela
I enjoyed the discipline and solitariness of long-distance running, which allowed me to escape from the hurly-burly of school life. -- Nelson Mandela
I will not leave South Africa, nor will I surrender. Only through hardship, sacrifice and militant action can freedom be won. The struggle is my life. I will continue fighting for freedom until the end of my days. -- Nelson Mandela
The people of Africa have learned the lessons of patience and endurance in their long struggle for freedom.
In a cynical world we have become an inspiration to many. We signal that good can be achieved amongst human beings who are prepared to trust, prepared to belief in the goodness of people. -- Nelson Mandela
It was a useful reminder that all men, even the most seemingly cold-blooded, have a core of decency, and that if their heart is touched, they are capable of changing. -- Nelson Mandela
That day, Miss Mdingane told me that my new name was Nelson. Why she bestowed this particular name upon me I have no idea. Perhaps it had something to do with the great British sea captain Lord Nelson, but that would be only a guess. -- Nelson Mandela
It's a tragedy what is happening, what Bush is doing. All Bush wants is Iraqi oil. There is no doubt that the U.S. is behaving badly. Why are they not seeking to confiscate weapons of mass destruction from their ally Israel? This is just an excuse to get Iraq's oil. -- Nelson Mandela
The calm and tolerant atmosphere that prevailed during the elections depicts the type of South Africa we can build. It set the tone for the future. We might have our differences, but we are one people with a common destiny in our rich variety of culture, race and tradition. -- Nelson Mandela
Only armchair politicians are immune from committing mistakes. Errors are inherent in political action. -- Nelson Mandela
Do not allow your anger to control your reason, but rather your reason to control your anger. -- Nelson Mandela
To the youth of today, I also have a wish to make: be the scriptwriters of your destiny and feature yourselves as stars that showed the way towards a brighter future. -- Nelson Mandela
Know your enemy - and learn about his favorite sport. -- Nelson Mandela
The importance of a high moral code, which is at the foundation of the Scout movement, cannot be stressed too highly. -- Nelson Mandela
You see, when there is danger, a good leader takes the front line. But when there is celebration, a good leader stays in the back room. If you want the cooperation of human beings around you, make them feel that they are important. And you do that by being humble. -- Nelson Mandela
The wounds that cannot be seen are more painful than those that can be treated by a doctor. -- Nelson Mandela
Peace is not just the absence of conflict; peace is the creation of an environment where all can flourish regardless of race, color, creed, religion, gender, class, caste or any other social markers of difference. -- Nelson Mandela
Do not judge me by my successes, judge me by how many times I fell down and got back up again. -- Nelson Mandela
Do not judge me by my success, judge me by how many times I feel down and got back up again. -- Nelson Mandela
I appeal to the Youth and those on the ground: start talking to each other across divisions of race and political organizations. -- Nelson Mandela
Take it upon yourself where you live to make people around you joyful and full of hope. -- Nelson Mandela
I have found Jews to be more broad-minded than most whites on issues of race and politics, perhaps because they themselves have historically been victims of prejudice. -- Nelson Mandela
If I preached unity, I must act like a unifier, even at the risk of perhaps alienating some of my own colleagues. -- Nelson Mandela
Safety and security don't just happen, they are the result of collective consensus and public investment. We owe our children, the most vulnerable citizens in our society, a life free of violence and fear. -- Nelson Mandela
I am confident that nobody ... will accuse me of selfishness if I ask to spend time, while I am still in good health, with my family, my friends and also with myself. -- Nelson Mandela
Sabotage did not involve loss of life, and it offered the best hope for future race relations. Bitterness would be kept to a minimum and, if the policy bore fruit, democratic government could become a reality. -- Nelson Mandela
Let us join hands and build a truly South African nation. -- Nelson Mandela
A real leader uses every issue, no matter how serious and sensitive, to ensure that at the end of the debate we should emerge stronger and more united than ever before. -- Nelson Mandela
Young people are capable, when aroused, of bringing down the towers of oppression and raising the banners of freedom. -- Nelson Mandela
Although I am a gregarious person, I love solitude even more. -- Nelson Mandela
I started to make a study of the art of war and revolution and, whilst abroad, underwent a course in military training. If there was to be guerrilla warfare, I wanted to be able to stand and fight with my people and to share the hazards of war with them. -- Nelson Mandela
Never, never and never again shall it be that this beautiful land will again experience the oppression of one by another. -- Nelson Mandela
Our march to freedom is irreversible. We must not allow fear to stand in our way. -- Nelson Mandela
The curious beauty of African music is that it uplifts even as it tells a sad tale. You may be poor, you may have only a ramshackle house, you may have lost your job, but that song gives you hope. -- Nelson Mandela
The curious beauty about African music is that it uplifts even as it tells a sad story. -- Nelson Mandela
The so-called 'Palestinian autonomous areas' are bantustans. These are restricted entities within the power structure of the Israeli apartheid system. -- Nelson Mandela
There's no such thing as part freedom. -- Nelson Mandela
Even if you have a terminal disease, you don't have to sit down and mope. Enjoy life and challenge the illness that you have. -- Nelson Mandela
As I walked out the door toward the gate that would lead to my freedom, I knew if I didn't leave my bitterness and hatred behind, I'd still be in prison. -- Nelson Mandela
Resentment is like a glass of poison that a man drinks; then he sits down and waits for his enemy to die. -- Nelson Mandela
There is no future without forgiveness -- Nelson Mandela
We recall our terrible past so that we can deal with it, to forgive where forgiveness is necessary, without forgetting; to ensure that never again will such inhumanity tear us apart; and to move ourselves to eradicate a legacy that lurks dangerously as a threat to our democracy. -- Nelson Mandela
If there are dreams about a beautiful South Africa, there are also roads that lead to their goal. Two of these roads could be named Goodness and Forgiveness. -- Nelson Mandela
South Africans must recall the terrible past so that we can deal with it, forgiving where forgiveness is necessary but never forgetting. -- Nelson Mandela
One of the things I learned when I was negotiating was that until I changed myself, I could not change others. -- Nelson Mandela
I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear. -- Nelson Mandela
A winner is a dreamer who never gives up -- Nelson Mandela
I would like it to be said: here lies a man who has done his duty on earth -- Nelson Mandela
We have laid the foundation for a better life. Things that were unimaginable a few years ago have become everyday reality. I belong to the generation of leaders for whom the achievement of democracy was the defining challenge. -- Nelson Mandela
For a revolution is not just a question of pulling a trigger; its purpose is to create a fair just society -- Nelson Mandela
Crime must be brought under control ... Freedom without civility, freedom without the ability to live in peace, was not true freedom at all. -- Nelson Mandela
We must look within ourselves, become responsible and provide fresh solutions if we ever want to do more than complain,or make excuses. -- Nelson Mandela
We know what needs to be done
all that is missing is the will to do it, -- Nelson Mandela
Whatever position I occupied, it was the result of colleagues - of my comrades in the movement - who had decided in their wisdom to use me for the purpose of focusing the attention of the country and the international community on me. -- Nelson Mandela
It is not our diversity which divides us; it is not our ethnicity, or religion or culture that divides us. Since we have achieved our freedom, there can only be one division amongst us: between those who cherish democracy and those who do not. -- Nelson Mandela
This must be a world of democracy and respect for human rights, a world freed from the horrors of poverty, hunger, deprivation and ignorance, relieved of the threat and the scourge of civil wars and external aggression and unburdened of the great tragedy of millions forced to become refugees. -- Nelson Mandela
A free press is one of the pillars of democracy. -- Nelson Mandela
An educated, enlightened & informed population is one of the surest ways of promoting the health of a democracy -- Nelson Mandela
There was much in such a society that was primitive and insecure and it certainly could never measure up to the demands of the present epoch. But in such a society are contained the seeds of revolutionary democracy in which none will be held in slavery. -- Nelson Mandela
We must nurture tolerance, collective wisdom, and democracy. -- Nelson Mandela
Democracy meant all men were to be heard, and a decision was taken together as a people. Majority rule was a foreign notion. A minority was not to be crushed by a majority. -- Nelson Mandela
Greece is the mother of democracy and South Africa is its youngest daughter -- Nelson Mandela
I greet you all in the name of peace, democracy and freedom for all. -- Nelson Mandela
Whether you change the linen or stitch up wounds, cook the food or dispense the medicines, it is in your hands to help build a public service worthy of all those who gave their lives for the dream of democracy -- Nelson Mandela
The New World Order that is in the making must focus on the creation of a world of democracy, peace and prosperity for all. -- Nelson Mandela
The victory of democracy in South Africa is the common achievement of all humanity. -- Nelson Mandela
Democracy is based on the majority principle. This is especially true in a country such as ours where the vast majority have been systematically denied their rights. At the same time, democracy also requires that the rights of political and other minorities be safeguarded. -- Nelson Mandela
The day I am afraid to do, that is the day I am no longer fit to lead. -- Nelson Mandela
History and the generations to come will judge our leaders by the decisions they make in the coming weeks. -- Nelson Mandela
Death is something inevitable. When a man has done what he considers to be his duty to his people and his country, he can rest in peace. I believe I have made that effort and that is, therefore, why I will sleep for the eternity. -- Nelson Mandela
To go to prison because of your convictions and be prepared to suffer for what you believe in, is something worthwhile. It is an achievement for a man to do his duty on earth irrespective of the consequences. -- Nelson Mandela
On the first day of school, my teacher, Miss Mdingane, gave each of us an English name and said that from thenceforth that was the name we would answer to in school. This was the custom among Africans in those days and was undoubtedly due to the British bias of our education. -- Nelson Mandela
Freedom cannot be achieved unless women have been emancipated from all forms of oppression ... Our endeavors must be about the liberation of the woman, the emancipation of the man and the liberty of the child. -- Nelson Mandela
I made a mistake by being ejected from the presidency. Next time, I will choose a Cabinet which will allow me to be life President. -- Nelson Mandela
Part of building a new nation means building a spirit of tolerance, love and respect amongst the people of this country. -- Nelson Mandela
A new society cannot be created by reproducing the repugnant past, however refined or enticingly repackaged. -- Nelson Mandela
Freedom would be meaningless without security in the home and in the streets. -- Nelson Mandela
Our freedom is also incomplete, dear compatriots, as long as we are denied our security by criminals who prey on our communities, who rob our businesses and undermine our economy, who ply their destructive trade in drugs in our schools, and who do violence against our women and children. -- Nelson Mandela
A man who takes away another man's freedom is a prisoner of hatred, he is locked behind the bars of prejudice and narrow mindedness. -- Nelson Mandela
Our daily deeds as ordinary South Africans must produce an actual South African reality that will reinforce humanity's belief in justice, strengthen its confidence in the nobility of the human soul, and sustain all our hopes for a glorious life for all. -- Nelson Mandela
Soccer is one of the most unifying activities amongst us. -- Nelson Mandela
As we judge others so are we judged by others. The suspicious will always be tormented by suspicion. -- Nelson Mandela
I cherish my own freedom dearly, but I care even more for your freedom. From a response to an offer of conditional freedom, read by Zindzi Mandela at a rally, Jabulani Stadium, Soweto, South Africa, -- Nelson Mandela
A good head and good heart are always a formidable combination. But when you add to that a literate tongue or pen, then you have something very special. -- Nelson Mandela
Our children are our greatest treasure. They are our future. Those who abuse them tear at the fabric of our society and weaken our nation. -- Nelson Mandela
Prison is a still point in a turning world, and it is very easy to remain in the same place in jail while the world moves on. -- Nelson Mandela
The impression that you are a demigod worried me. I wanted to be like an ordinary human being with virtues and vices. -- Nelson Mandela
After climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb. -- Nelson Mandela
Living isn't just about doing for yourself,but what you do for others as well. -- Nelson Mandela
Our people outside of prison used my name to mobilize the community locally and internationally. But for me to be treated separately from my colleagues, who had contributed as much as and even more than I had, would have been a betrayal of them. -- Nelson Mandela
We can't win a war, but we can win an election. -- Nelson Mandela
AIDS is our number one enemy. This enemy can be defeated. While the research for a cure continues, four principles
love, support, acceptance and care for those affected
can make us winners. -- Nelson Mandela
Our experience has taught us that with goodwill a negotiated solution can be found for even the most profound problems. -- Nelson Mandela
We cannot proclaim this century the African Century and then ignore the AIDS pandemic, as some political leaders are apt to do. To claim this century the African Century is to declare war on AIDS. -- Nelson Mandela
Disabled children are equally entitled to an exciting and brilliant future. -- Nelson Mandela
There is no easy walk to freedom anywhere, and many of us will have to pass through the valley of the shadow of death again and again before we reach the mountaintop of our desires. -- Nelson Mandela
Children are the most important asset in a country. For them to become that asset, they must receive education and love from their parents. -- Nelson Mandela
What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we have made to the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead. -- Nelson Mandela
A garden was one of the few thing in prison that one could control. To plant a seed, watch it grow, to tend it then harvest it, offered a simple but enduring satisfaction. The sense of being the custodian of this small patch of earth offered a taste of freedom. -- Nelson Mandela
Isimangaliso must be the only place on the globe where the oldest land mammal (rhinoceros) and the world biggest terrestrial mammal (elephant) share an ecosystem with the world's oldest fish (coelacanth) and the world's biggest marine mammal (whale) -- Nelson Mandela
Why is it that in this courtroom I face a white magistrate, am confronted by a white prosecutor and escorted into the dock by a white orderly? Can anyone honestly and seriously suggest that in this type of atmosphere the scales of justice are evenly balanced? -- Nelson Mandela
The path of those who preach love, and not hatred, is not easy. They often have to wear a crown of thorns. -- Nelson Mandela
It was ANC policy to try to educate all people, even our enemies: we believed that all men, even prison service warders, were capable of change, and we did our utmost to try to sway them. -- Nelson Mandela
Running taught me valuable lessons. In cross-country competition, training counted more than intrinsic ability, and I could compensate for a lack of natural aptitude with diligence and discipline. I applied this in everything I did. -- Nelson Mandela
[I] read Anne Frank's diary [while imprisoned] on Robben Island and derived much encouragement from it. -- Nelson Mandela
I would wear the blue overalls of the fieldworker and often wore round, rimless glasses known as Mazzawati teaglasses. I had a car, and I wore a chauffeur's cap with my overalls. The pose of chauffeur was convenient because I could travel under the pretext of driving my master's car. -- Nelson Mandela
I remember Mac retorting that hundreds of years ago there was a Hindi word for a craft that flew in the air, long before the airplane was invented, but that did not mean that airplanes existed in ancient India. -- Nelson Mandela
The names of Dingane and Bambata, Hintsa and Makana, Squngthi and Dalasile, Moshoeshoe and Sekhukhuni, were praised as the glory of the entire African nation. I hoped then that life might offer me the opportunity to serve my people and make my own humble contribution to their freedom struggle. -- Nelson Mandela
Trade justice for the developing world and for this generation is a truly significant way for the developed countries to show commitment to bringing about an end to global poverty. -- Nelson Mandela
I hate race discrimination most intensely and in all its manifestations. I have fought it all during my life; I fight it now, and will do so until the end of my days. -- Nelson Mandela
We can neither heal nor build if, on the one hand the rich in our society see the poor as hordes of irritants or if on the other hand the poor sit back, expecting charity. All of us must take responsibility for the upliftment of our conditions, prepared to give our best to the benefit of all -- Nelson Mandela
In my younger days, I was arrogant - jail helped me to get rid of it. I did nothing but make enemies because of my arrogance. -- Nelson Mandela
It is my deepest conviction that the children should be seen and heard as our most treasured assets. -- Nelson Mandela
In order to build our nation, we must all exceed our own expectations. -- Nelson Mandela
I watched, along with all of you, as the tens of thousands of our people stood patiently in long queues for many hours. Some sleeping on the open ground overnight waiting to cast this momentous vote. -- Nelson Mandela
Those who can't imagine change reveal the deficits of their imaginations, not the difficulty of change. -- Nelson Mandela
We do not want freedom without bread, nor do we want bread without freedom. Investiture, Clark University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA, July 10, 1993 -- Nelson Mandela
I commend #AIESEC's continuing efforts to develop the #future #business #leadership of our countries. -- Nelson Mandela
We slaughter one another in our words and attitudes. We slaughter one another in the stereotypes and mistrust that linger in our heads, and the words of hate we spew from our lips. -- Nelson Mandela
Prison life, fortunately, I spent a lot of years, about 18 years with other prisoners, and, as I say, they enriched your soul. -- Nelson Mandela
There is nothing like returning to a place that remains unchanged to find the ways in which you yourself have altered. -- Nelson Mandela
To be the father of a nation is a great honor, but to be the father of a family is a greater joy. -- Nelson Mandela
South Africans have no concept of time and this is also why we can't solve poverty and social problems ... It's now 10 years since the fall of the Apartheid government and we cannot blame Apartheid for being tardy. -- Nelson Mandela
When we can sit in the face of insanity or dislikes and be free from the need to make it different, then we are free. -- Nelson Mandela
Even behind prison walls I can see the heavy clouds and the blue sky over the horizon -- Nelson Mandela
Courageous people do not fear forgiving, for the sake of peace. -- Nelson Mandela
Poetry cannot block a bullet or still a sjambok, but it can bear witness to brutality-thereby cultivating a flower in a graveyard. -- Nelson Mandela
It enables me to go to bed with an enriching feeling in my soul and the belief that I am changing myself. -- Nelson Mandela
A leader ... is like a shepherd. He stays behind the flock, letting the most nimble go out ahead, whereupon the others follow, not realizing that all along they are being directed from behind. -- Nelson Mandela
As an attorney, I could be rather flamboyant in court. I did not act as though I were a black man in a white man's court, but as if everyone else - white and black - was a guest in my court. When trying a case, I often made sweeping gestures and used high-flown language. -- Nelson Mandela
In some ways, it is easier to be a dissident, for then one is without responsibility. -- Nelson Mandela
Only free men can negotiate,prisoners can't enter in contracts -- Nelson Mandela
Exercise is the key not only to physical health but to peace of mind. -- Nelson Mandela
I knew we could improve our lives even in jail. We could come out as different men, and we could even come out with two degrees. Educating ourselves was a way to give ourselves the most powerful weapon for freedom. -- Nelson Mandela
One effect of sustained conflict is to narrow our vision of what is possible. -- Nelson Mandela
You can start changing our world for the better daily, no matter how small the action. -- Nelson Mandela
You know, you can only lead them from behind. -- Nelson Mandela
I can't pretend that I'm brave and that I can beat the whole world. -- Nelson Mandela
There will be life after Mandela. On my last day I want to know that those who remain behind will say: 'The man who lies here has done his duty for his country and his people.' -- Nelson Mandela
Out of the motorcar (I learned later that this majestic vehicle was a Ford V8) stepped a short, thickset man wearing a smart suit. -- Nelson Mandela
Adversity cleanses the lethargies of man -- Nelson Mandela
The Liberty Bell is "a very significant symbol for the entire democratic world." -- Nelson Mandela
I was not a messiah, but an ordinary man who had become a leader because of extraordinary circumstances. -- Nelson Mandela
Press Freedom will never be under threat in South Africa for as long as the ANC is the majority party -- Nelson Mandela
You encourage people by seeing the good in them. -- Nelson Mandela
Give a child love, laughter and peace, not AIDS. -- Nelson Mandela
Let freedom reign. The sun never set on so glorious a human achievement. -- Nelson Mandela
Quitting is leading too. -- Nelson Mandela
I found solitary confinement the most forbidding aspect of prison life. There is no end and no beginning; there is only one's mind, which can begin to play tricks. Was that a dream or did it really happen? One begins to question everything. -- Nelson Mandela
The most difficult matter is not so much to change the world as yourself. -- Nelson Mandela
It can be said that there are four basic and primary things that the mass of people in a society wish for: to live in a safe environment, to be able to work and provide for themselves, to have access to good public health and to have sound educational opportunities for their children. -- Nelson Mandela
I was able to change my life by knowing that if somebody does something good for you, you have to respond. -- Nelson Mandela
The titanic effort that has brought liberation to South Africa, and ensured the total liberation of Africa, constitutes an act of redemption for the black people of the world. -- Nelson Mandela
If you sit down and talk to a person, it's easy to convince him that apartheid can never save a country and will lead to the slaughtering of innocent people - including his own people. -- Nelson Mandela
If you want the cooperation of humans around you, you must make them feel they are important - and you do that by being genuine and humble. -- Nelson Mandela
On the The AIDS Epidemic: This is a war. It has killed more people than has been the case in all previous wars and in all previous natural disasters ... We must not continue to be debating, to be arguing, when people are dying. -- Nelson Mandela
Our differences are our strength as a species and as a world community. -- Nelson Mandela
Without education, your children can never really meet the challenges they will face. So it's very important to give children education and explain that they should play a role for their country. -- Nelson Mandela
If you are stimulated by what you do, you never get tired -- Nelson Mandela
Honour belongs to those who never forsake the truth even when things seem dark and grim, who try over and over again, who are never discouraged by insults, humiliation and even defeat. -- Nelson Mandela
Let us give publicity to H.I.V./AIDS and not hide it, because the only way to make it appear like a normal illness like TB, like cancer, is always to come out and say somebody has died because of H.I.V./AIDS, and people will stop regarding it as something extraordinary. -- Nelson Mandela
One of the things that made me long to be back in prison was that I had so little opportunity for reading, thinking and quiet reflection after my release. I intend, amongst other things, to give myself much more opportunity for such reading and reflection. -- Nelson Mandela
Overcoming poverty is not a gesture of charity. It is an act of justice. It is the protection of a fundamental human right, the right to dignity and a decent life.
[ Live 8 Concert, Mary Fitzgerald Square, Johannesburg, South Africa, 2 July 2005] -- Nelson Mandela
There are many people in South Africa who are rich and who can share those riches with those not so fortunate who have not been able to conquer poverty. -- Nelson Mandela
the land of their birth; the Urban Areas Act of -- Nelson Mandela
Keep your friends close - and your rivals even closer. -- Nelson Mandela
There were many dark moments when my faith in humanity was sorely tested ... -- Nelson Mandela
You negotiate in bad faith if you do not forgive your adversary. -- Nelson Mandela
The world remains beset by so much human suffering, poverty and deprivation. It is in your hands to make of our world a better one for all, especially the poor, vulnerable and marginalized. -- Nelson Mandela
It is said that no one truly knows a nation until one has been inside its jails. A nation should not be judged by how it treats its highest citizens, but its lowest ones. -- Nelson Mandela
The cause of Communism is the greatest cause in the history of mankind! -- Nelson Mandela
Whenever I am with energetic young people, I feel like a recharged battery. -- Nelson Mandela
This document [the Reconstruction and Development Programme] was translated into a simpler manifesto called 'A Better Life for All', which in turn became the ANC's campaign slogan. -- Nelson Mandela
I never think of the time I have lost. I just carry out a programme because it's there. It's mapped out for me. -- Nelson Mandela
I have never cared very much for personal prizes. A person does not become a freedom fighter in the hope of winning awards. -- Nelson Mandela
Our continent must be allowed to do its own things, charting its course and destiny. -- Nelson Mandela
Like the gardener, a leader must take responsibility for what he cultivates; he must mind his work, try to repel enemies, preserve what can be preserved, and eliminate what cannot succeed. -- Nelson Mandela
The time for the healing of the wounds has come. The moment to bridge the chasms that divide us has come. The time to build is upon us. -- Nelson Mandela
Without language, one cannot talk to people and understand them; one cannot share their hopes and aspirations, grasp their history, appreciate their poetry, or savor their songs. -- Nelson Mandela
We fought injustice wherever we found it, no matter how large, or how small, and we fought injustice to preserve our own humanity. -- Nelson Mandela
When a man is denied the right to live the life he believes in, he has no choice but to become an outlaw. -- Nelson Mandela
I dream of an Africa which is in peace with itself. -- Nelson Mandela
If we do not do something to prevent it, Africa's animals, and the places in which they live, will be lost to our world, and her children, forever. Before it is too late, we need your help to lay the foundation that will preserve this precious legacy long after we are gone. -- Nelson Mandela
Blaming things on the past does not make them better. -- Nelson Mandela
Part of being optimistic is keeping one's head pointed toward the sun, one's feet moving forward. -- Nelson Mandela
Ethiopia always has a special place in my imagination and the prospect of visiting Ethiopia attracted me more strongly than a trip to France, England, and America combined. I felt I would be visiting my own genesis, unearthing the roots of what made me an African. -- Nelson Mandela
The process of illusion & disillusionment is part of life and goes on endlessly. -- Nelson Mandela
Communists have always played an active role in the fight by colonial countries for their freedom, because the short-term objects of Communism would always correspond with the long-term objects of freedom movements. -- Nelson Mandela
Great anger and violence can never build a nation. -- Nelson Mandela
Where you stand depends on where you sit. -- Nelson Mandela
For me, nonviolence was not a moral principle but a strategy; there is no moral goodness in using an ineffective weapon. -- Nelson Mandela
When we decided to take up arms, it was because the only other choice was to surrender and to submit to slavery. -- Nelson Mandela
I am not the only one who did not want revenge. Almost all my colleagues in prison did not want revenge, because there is no time to do anything else except to try and save your people. -- Nelson Mandela
The United States has made serious mistakes in the conduct of its foreign affairs, which have had unfortunate repercussions long after the decisions were taken. -- Nelson Mandela
You have a limited time to stay on earth. You must try to use that period for the purpose of transforming your country into what you desire it to be: a democratic, non-racial, non-sexist country. And that is a great task. -- Nelson Mandela
A bright future beckons. The onus is on us, through hard work, honesty and integrity, to reach for the stars. -- Nelson Mandela
We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us, it's in everyone. -- Nelson Mandela
I would like to be remembered not as anyone unique or special, but as part of a great team in this country that has struggled for many years, for decades and even centuries. The greatest glory of living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time you fall. -- Nelson Mandela
One cannot be prepared for something while secretly believing it will not happen. -- Nelson Mandela
From the poorest of countries to the richest of nations, education is the key to moving forward in any society. -- Nelson Mandela
Having resentment against someone is like drinking poison and thinking it will kill your enemy. -- Nelson Mandela
I detest racialism, because I regard it as a barbaric thing, whether it comes from a black man or a white man. -- Nelson Mandela
Money won't create success, the freedom to make it will. -- Nelson Mandela
The purpose of freedom is to create it for others. Prison desk calendar, written on Robben Island, June 2, 1979 -- Nelson Mandela
Our fear is not that we are inadequate, but that we are powerful beyond measure. -- Nelson Mandela
Suddenly there were no Xhosas or Zulus, no Indians or Africans, no rightists or leftists, no religious or political leaders; we were all nationalists and patriots bound together by a love of our common history our culture, our country, and our people. -- Nelson Mandela
My respect for human beings is based not on the colour of a man's skin nor authority he may wield, but purely on merit. -- Nelson Mandela
Our single most important challenge is therefore to help establish a social order in which the freedom of the individual will truly mean the freedom of the individual. -- Nelson Mandela
Freedom is meaningless if people cannot put food in their stomachs, if they can have no shelter, if illiteracy and disease continue to dog them. -- Nelson Mandela
The histories of our two peoples, Palestinian and South African, correspond in such painful and poignant ways, that I intensely feel myself being at home amongst compatriots -- Nelson Mandela
Today we are a nation at peace with itself, united in our diversity, not only proclaiming but living out the contention that South Africa belongs to all who live in it. We take our place amongst the nations of the world, confident and proud in being an African country. -- Nelson Mandela
From the beginning, Mandela and Tambo was besieged with clients. We were not the only African lawyers in South Africa, but we were the only firm of African lawyers. For Africans, we were the firm of first choice and last resort. -- Nelson Mandela
As long as many of our people still live in utter poverty, as long as children still live under plastic covers, as long as many of our people are still without jobs, no South African should rest and wallow in the joy of freedom. -- Nelson Mandela
Education is the great engine to personal development. -- Nelson Mandela
The suffering inflicted, and more often than not on the most vulnerable sectors of society, demeans all of us as humanity. That it is invariably women, children, the aged and disabled who suffer in these conflicts stands to the added shame of humankind. -- Nelson Mandela
When the water starts boiling it is foolish to turn off the heat. -- Nelson Mandela
I dust [your photo] carefully every morning, for to do so gives me the pleasant feeling that I'm caressing you as in the old days. I even touch your nose with mine to recapture the electric current that used to flush through my blood whenever I did so. -- Nelson Mandela
My dream would be a multicultural society, one that is diverse and where every man, woman and child are treated equally. I dream of a world where all people of all races work together in harmony. -- Nelson Mandela
The very right to be human is denied every day to hundreds of millions of people as a result of poverty, the unavailability of basic necessities such as food, jobs, water and shelter, education, health care and a healthy environment. -- Nelson Mandela
Nothing is black or white. -- Nelson Mandela
I don't think there is much history can say about me. I just want to be remembered as part of that collective. -- Nelson Mandela
People respond in accordance to how you relate to them. If you approach them on the basis of violence, that's how they'll react. But if you say, 'We want peace, we want stability,' we can then do a lot of things that will contribute towards the progress of our society. -- Nelson Mandela
MY greatest regret in life is that I never became the heavyweight boxing champion ofthe world. -- Nelson Mandela
Remember to celebrate milestones as you prepare for the road ahead. -- Nelson Mandela
learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. -- Nelson Mandela
The true character of a society is revealed in how it treats its children. -- Nelson Mandela
Some men, under the pressure of incarceration, showed true mettle, while others revealed themselves as less than what they had appeared to be. -- Nelson Mandela
Why is the United States behaving so arrogantly? All that (Mr. Bush) wants is Iraqi oil. -- Nelson Mandela
I will use the rest of my life to help the poor overcome the problems confronting them - poverty is the greatest challenge facing humanity. That is why I build schools; I want to free people from poverty and illiteracy. -- Nelson Mandela
The greatest single challenge facing our globalised world is to combat and eradicate its disparities. -- Nelson Mandela
I know that, throughout the world, there are good men and women concerned with the greatest challenges facing society today - poverty, illiteracy, and disease. -- Nelson Mandela
It is your duty to examine the conduct of public figures and to place them in the spotlight - that is your duty. -- Nelson Mandela
The message of reconciliation, of nation-building, of granting amnesty, indemnity, has struck a powerful, favorable chord. And people can understand that we're here not for purposes of retribution but to forget the past and to build our country. -- Nelson Mandela
In the end, reconciliation is a spiritual process, which requires more than just a legal framework. It has to happen in the hearts and minds of people. -- Nelson Mandela
I was first imprisoned in Pretoria, and then, thereafter, I was taken to Robben Island. I stayed there for a couple of weeks. I was taken back to Pretoria when I was charged in the Rivonia trial, when I was then sent to Robben Island for life. -- Nelson Mandela
The world is truly round and seems to start and end with those we love. -- Nelson Mandela
It always seems impossible until it's done. -- Nelson Mandela
It only seems impossible until it's done. -- Nelson Mandela
There can be no keener revelation of a society's soul than the way in which it treats its children. -- Nelson Mandela
Let each know that for each the body, the mind and the soul have been freed to fulfill themselves. -- Nelson Mandela
You know you are really famous the day you discover you have become a comic character! -- Nelson Mandela
The freedom we enjoy is a richly textured gift handcrafted by ordinary folk -- Nelson Mandela
A freedom fighter learns the hard way that it is the oppressor who defines the nature of the struggle,and the oppressed is often left no recourse but to use methods that mirror those of the oppressor.At a point, one can only fight fire with fire -- Nelson Mandela
Men, I think, are not capable of doing nothing, of saying nothing, of not reacting to injustice, of not protesting against oppression, of not striving for the good of society and the good life in the ways they see it. -- Nelson Mandela
Freedom alone is not enough without light to read at night, without time or access to water to irrigate your farm, without the ability to catch fish to feed your family. -- Nelson Mandela
Che Guevara's life is an inspiration for every human being who loves freedom. We will always honor his memory. -- Nelson Mandela
Courage is not the absence of fear - it s inspiring others to move beyond it. -- Nelson Mandela
We need to exert ourselves that much more, and break out of the vicious cycle of dependence imposed on us by the financially powerful: those in command of immense market power and those who dare to fashion the world in their own image. -- Nelson Mandela
It always gives me great pleasure to be surrounded by the beautiful children of our land. Whenever I am with the energetic young people ... I feel like a recharged battery, confident that our country can look forward to great things. -- Nelson Mandela
HIV/AIDS is the greatest danger we have faced for many, many centuries. HIV/AIDS is worse than a war. It is like a world war. Millions of people are dying from it. -- Nelson Mandela
It is so easy to break down and destroy.
The heroes are those who make peace and
build. -- Nelson Mandela
I realized that they could take everything from me except my mind and my heart. They could not take those things. Those things I still had control over. And I decided not to give them away. -- Nelson Mandela
I went as an observer, not a participant, for I do not think that I ever spoke. I wanted to understand the issues under discussion, evaluate the arguments, see the calibre of the men involved. -- Nelson Mandela
Poverty is not natural; it is man-made -- Nelson Mandela
It is in the character of growth that we should learn from both pleasant and unpleasant experiences. -- Nelson Mandela
When the history of our times is written, will we be remembered as the generation that turned our backs in a moment of global crisis or will it be recorded that we did the right thing? -- Nelson Mandela
A man is not a man until he has a house of his own. -- Nelson Mandela
There is nothing I fear more than waking up without a program that will help me bring a little happiness to those with no resources, those who are poor, illiterate, and ridden with terminal disease. -- Nelson Mandela
I looked into the vast dome of blue emptiness that stretched out above me in all directions and the illusion was still there, the size and speed, and what information they were sending to mother earth. -- Nelson Mandela
Together as a nation, we have the obligation to put sunshine into the hearts of our little ones. They are our precious possessions. They deserve what happiness life can offer. -- Nelson Mandela
We know too well that our freedom is incomplete without the freedom of the Palestinians. -- Nelson Mandela
We recall the joy and excitement of a nation that had found itself, the collective relief that we had stepped out of our restrictive past, and the expectant air of walking into a brighter future. -- Nelson Mandela
If we are to accomplish anything in this world, it will in equal measure be due to the work and achievements of others. -- Nelson Mandela
Only mass education, he used to say, would free my people, arguing that an educated man could not be oppressed because he could think for himself. -- Nelson Mandela
Fools multiply when wise men are silent. -- Nelson Mandela
If you make one gift this year, make it the gift of knowledge. -- Nelson Mandela
Nonviolence is a good policy when the conditions permit. -- Nelson Mandela
The truth is we are not yet free; we have merely achieved the freedom to be free. -- Nelson Mandela
These numbers are staggering, in fact incomprehensible. By all accounts, we are dealing with the greatest health crisis in human history. -- Nelson Mandela
Religion is one of the most important forces in the world. Whether you are a Christian, a Muslim, a Buddhist, a Jew, or a Hindu, religion is a great force, and it can help one have command of one's own morality, one's own behavior, and one's own attitude. -- Nelson Mandela
Money wont create success, the fredom to make it will -- Nelson Mandela
Home is home even for those who aspire to serve wider interests and who have established their home of choice in distant regions. -- Nelson Mandela
We must work together to ensure the equitable distribution of wealth, opportunity and power in our society. -- Nelson Mandela
Let your greatness bloom. -- Nelson Mandela
No power on this earth can destroy the thirst for human dignity -- Nelson Mandela
Before I went to jail, I was active in politics as a member of South Africa's leading organization - and I was generally busy from 7 A.M. until midnight. I never had time to sit and think. -- Nelson Mandela
Individuals get caught up in the policy of their country. In prison, for instance, a warden or officer is not promoted if he doesn't follow the policy of the government - though he himself does not believe in that policy. -- Nelson Mandela
There are times when a leader must move out ahead of the flock, go off in a new direction, confident that he is leading his people the right way. -- Nelson Mandela
Israel should withdraw from all the areas which it won from the Arabs in 1967, and in particular Israel should withdraw completely from the Golan Heights, from south Lebanon and from the West Bank. -- Nelson Mandela
I feel like a young man of 15. -- Nelson Mandela
I was called a terrorist yesterday ... Today I am admired by the very people who said I was one. -- Nelson Mandela
If there is a country that has committed unspeakable atrocities in the world, it is the United States of America. -- Nelson Mandela
If the ANC does to you what the apartheid government did to you, then you must do to the ANC what you did to the apartheid government. -- Nelson Mandela
It is the dictate of history to bring to the fore the kind of leaders who seize the moment, who cohere the wishes and aspirations of the oppressed. Such was Steve Biko, a fitting product of his time; a proud representative of the re-awakening of a people. -- Nelson Mandela
I have taken a moment here to rest, to steal a view of the glorious vista that surrounds me, to look back on the distance I have come. -- Nelson Mandela
The history of struggle is rich with stories of heroes and heroines - some of them leaders, some of them followers, all of them deserve to be remembered. -- Nelson Mandela
Continuously, we have to fight to defeat the primitive tendency towards the glorification of arms, the adulation of force, born of the illusion that injustice can be perpetuated by the capacity to kill, or that disputes are necessarily best resolved by resort to violent means. -- Nelson Mandela
Learn to know yourself ... to search realistically and regularly the processes of your own mind and feelings. -- Nelson Mandela
In many respects, people on the outside suffered more than those of us in jail. In prison, we ate three times a day, we had clothing, we had free medical services, and we could sleep for 12 hours. -- Nelson Mandela
True reconciliation does not consist in merely forgetting the past. -- Nelson Mandela
Political division, based on color, is entirely artificial; and when it disappears, so will the domination of one color group by another. -- Nelson Mandela
Whose life testifies to the truth that there is no shame in being oppressed: Those who should be ashamed are they who oppress others. -- Nelson Mandela
Racism is a blight on the human conscience. The idea that any people can be inferior to another, to the point where those who consider themselves superior define and treat the rest as subhuman, denies the humanity even of those who elevate themselves to the status of gods. -- Nelson Mandela
It is better to lead from behind and to put others in front, especially when you celebrate victory when nice things occur. You take the front line when there is danger. Then people will appreciate your leadership. -- Nelson Mandela
Let us remind ourselves that it is ordinary people - men and women, boys and girls - that make the world a special place -- Nelson Mandela
If wealth is a magnet, poverty is a kind of repellent. -- Nelson Mandela
AIDS today in Africa is claiming more lives than the sum total of all wars, famines and floods and the ravages of such deadly diseases as malaria ... We must act now for the sake of the world. -- Nelson Mandela
Be absolute for death; for either death or life shall be the sweeter. -- Nelson Mandela
I like friends who have independent minds because they tend to make you see problems from all angles. -- Nelson Mandela
Let us remind ourselves that our work is far from complete. Where there is poverty and sickness, including AIDS, where human beings are being oppressed, there is more work to be done. Our work is for freedom for all ... -- Nelson Mandela
Leaders in all spheres who are living with HIV should be encouraged, not coerced, to lead by example and disclose their HIV status. -- Nelson Mandela
Those South Africans who berate me for being loyal to our friends, literally they can go and throw themselves into a pool. I am not going to betray the trust of those who helped us. -- Nelson Mandela
Information is a basic human right and the fundamental foundation for the formation of democratic institutions. -- Nelson Mandela
One of the sad realities today is that very few people, especially young people, read books. Unless we can find imaginative ways of addressing this reality, future generations are in danger of losing their history. -- Nelson Mandela
We don't have to be victims of our past, that we can let go of our bitterness, and that all of us can achieve greatness. -- Nelson Mandela
I told my cellmates about the oppression of the whites and apartheid. I helped organize hunger strikes and the like in my prison. -- Nelson Mandela
It is important to not be hostile to what a greater part of society has embraced, whether as Christians, Hindus or Muslims. It is important to respect that because whether you believe or not in the existence of a superior being, humanity does believe in that. -- Nelson Mandela
Losing a sense of time is an easy way to lose one's grip and even one's sanity. -- Nelson Mandela
We are extricating ourselves from a system that insulted our common humanity by dividing us from one another on the basis of race and setting us against each other as oppressed and oppressor. That system committed a crime against humanity. -- Nelson Mandela
I am not a saint, unless you think of a saint as a sinner who keeps on trying. -- Nelson Mandela
When you are young and strong ... you can stay alive on your hatred" ... but realized later "They can take everything from me except my mind and heart"
Nelson Mandela from Long Walk to Freedom -- Nelson Mandela
With freedom comes responsibilities, and I dare not linger, for my long walk has not ended yet. -- Nelson Mandela
When I walked out of prison, that was my mission, to liberate the oppressed and the oppressor both. -- Nelson Mandela
The authorities liked to say that we received a balanced diet; it was indeed balanced - between the unpalatable and the inedible. -- Nelson Mandela
If you are poor, you are not likely to live long. -- Nelson Mandela
I admire young people who are concerned with the affairs of their community and nation perhaps because I also became involved in struggle whist I was still at school. -- Nelson Mandela
In my country we go to prison first and then become President. -- Nelson Mandela
The Good News borne by our risen Messiah who chose not one race, who chose not one country, who chose not one language, who chose not one tribe, who chose all of humankind! -- Nelson Mandela
Our rich and varied cultural heritage has a
profound power to help build our nation -- Nelson Mandela
I am fundamentally an optimist. -- Nelson Mandela
We now undertake that we cannot rest while millions of our people suffer the pain and indignity of poverty in all its forms. -- Nelson Mandela
There is no such thing as part freedom -- Nelson Mandela
Abject poverty is demeaning, is an assault on the dignity of those that suffer it. In the end it demeans us all. It makes the freedom of all of us less meaningful. -- Nelson Mandela
I can't help it if the ladies take note of me; I am not going to protest. -- Nelson Mandela
Since the dawn of history, mankind has honoured and respected brave and honest people. -- Nelson Mandela
Force is the only language the imperialists can hear, and no country became free without some sort of violence. -- Nelson Mandela
It is time for the next generations to continue our struggle against social injustice and for the rights of humanity. It is in your hands. -- Nelson Mandela
Intervention only works when the people concerned seem to be keen for peace. -- Nelson Mandela
Our task is not to liberate the oppressed, but to liberate the oppressors -- Nelson Mandela
She married a man who soon left her; that man became a myth; and then that myth returned home and proved to be just a man after all. -- Nelson Mandela
It is not the kings and generals that make history, but the masses of the people. -- Nelson Mandela
It is what we make out of what we have, not what we are given, that separates one person from another. -- Nelson Mandela
As we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. -- Nelson Mandela
It is not where you start but how high you aim that matters for success. -- Nelson Mandela
My son has died of AIDS. -- Nelson Mandela
No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite. -- Nelson Mandela
There are few misfortunes in this world that you cannot turn into a personal trimuph if you have the iron will and the neccessary skill. -- Nelson Mandela
Sometimes it falls upon a generation to be great, you can be that generation -- Nelson Mandela
Tread softly,
Brathe peacefully,
Laugh hysterically. -- Nelson Mandela
Thinking is one of the most important weapons in dealing with problems -- Nelson Mandela
If you talk to a man in a second language , your talking to his brain ,if you talk to him in his mother language you're talking to his heart - -- Nelson Mandela
Only 50 years ago persons with intellectual disabilities were scorned, isolated and neglected. Today, they are able to attend school, become employed and assimilate into their local community. -- Nelson Mandela
The march to freedom is irreversible. -- Nelson Mandela
As I have said, the first thing is to be honest with yourself. You can never have an impact on society if you have not changed yourself ... Great peacemakers are all people of integrity, of honesty, but humility. -- Nelson Mandela
But I had little knowledge of Marxism, and in political discussions with my communist friends I found myself handicapped by my ignorance of their philosophy. I decided to remedy this. -- Nelson Mandela
Let freedom reign. -- Nelson Mandela
It is also the fate of leadership to be misunderstood. It is a grave error for any leader to be oversensitive in the face of criticism, to conduct discussions as if he or she is a schoolmaster talking to less informed and inexperienced learners. -- Nelson Mandela
I cannot overemphasise the value we place on a free, independent and outspoken press -- Nelson Mandela
It is a simple tale, but its message is an enduring one: virtue and generosity will be rewarded in ways that one cannot know. -- Nelson Mandela
We speak here of the challenge of the dichotomies of war and peace, violence and non-violence, racism and human dignity, oppression and repression and liberty and human rights, poverty and freedom from want. -- Nelson Mandela
But the hard facts were that fifty years of non-violence had brought the African people nothing but more and more repressive legislation, and fewer and fewer rights. -- Nelson Mandela
I was not born with a hunger to be free, I was born free. -- Nelson Mandela
A good leader can engage in a debate frankly and thoroughly, knowing that at the end he and the other side must be closer, and thus emerge stronger. You don't have that idea when you are arrogant, superficial, and uninformed. -- Nelson Mandela
Sport has the power to inspire and unite people. In Africa, soccer enjoys great popularity and has a particular place in the hearts of people. -- Nelson Mandela
AIDS is no longer just a disease, it is a human rights issue. -- Nelson Mandela
We raise our voices in holy gladness to celebrate the victory of the risen Christ over the terrible forces of death -- Nelson Mandela
Let there be work, bread, water and salt for all. -- Nelson Mandela
No child in Africa, and in fact anywhere in the world, should be denied education. -- Nelson Mandela
None of us, acting alone, can achieve the success. -- Nelson Mandela
If I am your leader, you have to listen to me & if you don't want to listen to me, then drop me as your leader -- Nelson Mandela
I am not an optimist, but a great believer of hope. -- Nelson Mandela
Peace is the greatest weapon for development that any person can have. -- Nelson Mandela
All that (Mr. Bush) wants is Iraqi oil. -- Nelson Mandela
The youth of today are the leaders of tomorrow. -- Nelson Mandela
Forget the past. -- Nelson Mandela
By ancestry, I was born to rule. -- Nelson Mandela
When I came to Johannesburg from the countryside, I knew nobody, but many strangers were very kind to me. I then was dragged into politics, and then, subsequently, I became a lawyer. -- Nelson Mandela
I have always admired men and women who used their talents to serve the community, and who were highly respected and admired for their efforts and sacrifices, even though they held no office whatsoever in government or society. -- Nelson Mandela
Rhetoric is not important. Actions are. -- Nelson Mandela
Prison is designed to break one's spirit and destroy one's resolve. To do this, the authorities attempt to exploit every weakness, demolish every initiative, negate all signs of individuality
all with the idea of stamping out that spark that makes each of us human and each of us who we are. -- Nelson Mandela
As a leader, one must sometimes take actions that are unpopular, or whose results will not be known for years to come. -- Nelson Mandela
I cannot and will not give any undertaking at a time when I, and you, the people, are not free. Your freedom and mine cannot be separated. -- Nelson Mandela
Unlike some politicians, I can admit to a mistake. -- Nelson Mandela
When you are behind bars with no hope of release, you need to find strength wherever you can. Personally, I found strength in Michael Jackson. -- Nelson Mandela
I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination ... -- Nelson Mandela
I have been influenced in my thinking by both west and east. -- Nelson Mandela
I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. -- Nelson Mandela
While poverty persists, there is no true freedom. -- Nelson Mandela
When I closed THE GRAPES OF WRATH, I was a different man. It enriched my powers of thinking and discipline, and my relationships. I left prison more informed than when I went in. And the more informed you are, the less arrogant and aggressive you are. -- Nelson Mandela
There is a universal respect and even admiration for those who are humble and simple by nature, and who have absolute confidence in all human beings irrespective of their social status. -- Nelson Mandela
It generally appears outlandish until its carried out. -- Nelson Mandela
I like a leader who can, while pointing out a mistake, bring up the good things the other person has done. If you do that, then the person sees that you have a complete picture of him. There is nobody more dangerous than one who has been humiliated, even when you humiliate him rightly. -- Nelson Mandela
The time comes in the life of any nation when there remain only two choices - submit or fight. That time has now come to South Africa. We shall not submit and we have no choice but to hit back by all means in our power in defence of our people, our future, and our freedom -- Nelson Mandela
Millions of people in the world's poorest countries remain enslaved by the chains of poverty. It is time to set them free. -- Nelson Mandela
When I went to jail, I was a trained lawyer. And when the wardens received letters of demands or summonses, they didn't have the resources to go to an attorney to help them. I would help them settle their cases, so they became attached to me and the other prisoners. -- Nelson Mandela
We can change the world and make it a better place. It is in your hands to make a difference. -- Nelson Mandela
A fundamental concern for others in our individual and community lives would go a long way in making the world the better place we so passionately dreamt of. -- Nelson Mandela
Great thinking comes from a great mind -- Nelson Mandela
I've never had a single moment of depression, because I know my cause will triumph. -- Nelson Mandela
Our economic approach to food and its distribution reflects our basic moral values. -- Nelson Mandela
I approach every problem with optimism. -- Nelson Mandela
You sharpen your ideas by reducing yourself to the level of the people you are with and a sense of humour and a complete relaxation, even when you're discussing serious things, does help to mobilise friends around you. And I love that. -- Nelson Mandela
It is always impossible until it is done. -- Nelson Mandela
Our children are the rock on which our future will be built, our greatest asset as a nation. They will be the leaders of our country, the creators of our national wealth, those who care for and protect our people. -- Nelson Mandela
History will surely judge us harshly if we do not respond with all the energy and resources that we can bring to bear in the fight against HIV/AIDS -- Nelson Mandela
For me, survival is the ability to cope with difficulties, with circumstances, and to overcome them. -- Nelson Mandela
I have often wondered whether a person is justified in neglecting his own family to fight for opportunities for others. -- Nelson Mandela
It is wise to persuade people to do things and make them think it was their own idea. -- Nelson Mandela
No single person can liberate a country. You can only liberate a country if you act as a collective. -- Nelson Mandela
I discovered for the first time people of my own age firmly aligned with the liberation struggle, who were prepared, despite their relative privilege, to sacrifice themselves of the cause of the oppressed. -- Nelson Mandela
There are victories whose glory lies only in the fact that they are known to those who win them. -- Nelson Mandela
I want to sleep for eternity with a broad smile on my face. I want those who remain behind to say this man has done his duty. -- Nelson Mandela
We understand and promote the notion that while children need to be guided they also have an entrenched right to be whatever they want to be and that they can achieve this only if they are given the space to dream and live out their dreams. -- Nelson Mandela
It is through education that the daughter of a peasant can become a doctor. -- Nelson Mandela
There is nothing like a fixed, steady aim, with an honorable purpose. It dignifies your nature, and insures your success. -- Nelson Mandela
We must use time wisely and forever realize that the time is always ripe to do right. -- Nelson Mandela
In Africa there is a concept known as 'ubuntu' - the profound sense that we are human only through the humanity of others; that if we are to accomplish anything in this world it will in equal measure be due to the work and achievement of others. -- Nelson Mandela
I cannot conceive of Israel withdrawing if Arab states do not recognize Israel, within secure borders. -- Nelson Mandela
It is most unusual to return to a place that has changed in ways you yourself have altered. -- Nelson Mandela
After one has been in prison, it is the small things that one appreciates: being able to take a walk whenever one wants, going into a shop and buying a newspaper, speaking or choosing to remain silent. The simple act of being able to control one's person. -- Nelson Mandela
I was neglected by my family because I had disappointed them - I'd run away from being forced into an arranged marriage, which was a big blow to them. -- Nelson Mandela
We need a fundamental change of mindset with regards to the way we speak and behave about sex and sexuality. Boys and men have a particularly critical role in this regard, changing the chauvinist and demeaning ways sexuality and women were traditionally dealt with in both our actions and speaking. -- Nelson Mandela
Difficulties break some men but make others -- Nelson Mandela
Both Bush as well as Tony Blair are undermining an idea [the United Nations]. Is this because the secretary general of the United Nations [Ghanaian Kofi Annan] is now a black man? They never did that when secretary generals were white. -- Nelson Mandela
I was called a terrorist yesterday, but when I came out of jail, many people embraced me, including my enemies, and that is what I normally tell other people who say those who are struggling for liberation in their country are terrorists. -- Nelson Mandela
The past is a rich resource on which we can draw in order to make decisions for the future, but it does not dictate our choices. We should look back at the past and select what is good, and leave behind what is bad. -- Nelson Mandela
Educating all of our children must be one of our most urgent priorities. We all know that education, more than anything else, improves our chances of
building better lives. -- Nelson Mandela
I learned that to humiliate another person is to make him suffer an unnecessarily cruel fate. Even as a boy, I defeated my opponents without dishonoring them. -- Nelson Mandela
All remained loyal to him, not because they always agreed with him, but because the regent listened to and respected different opinions. -- Nelson Mandela
Men come and men go, I have come and I will go when my time comes -- Nelson Mandela
Our hope is that the elementary reading of comics will lead to the joy of reading good books. -- Nelson Mandela
It is not my ambition to marry a white woman or swim in a white pool. It is political equality that we want. -- Nelson Mandela
I really wanted to retire and rest and spend more time with my children, my grandchildren and of course with my wife. -- Nelson Mandela
I have retired, but if there's anything that would kill me it is to wake up in the morning not knowing what to do. -- Nelson Mandela
People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite ... Man's goodness is a flame that can be hidden but never extinguished. -- Nelson Mandela
It is music and dancing that make me at peace with the world. -- Nelson Mandela
We cannot blame other people for our troubles. We are not victims of the influx of foreign people into South Africa. We must remember that it was mainly due to the aggressive and hostile policies of the apartheid regime that the economic development of our neighbours was undermined. -- Nelson Mandela
The real meaning of the spoken word has to be demonstrated by practical deeds -- Nelson Mandela
I dream of the realization of the unity of Africa, whereby its leaders combine in their efforts to solve the problems of this continent. I dream of our vast deserts, of our forests, of all our great wildernesses. -- Nelson Mandela
For to be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others. -- Nelson Mandela
When we read we are able to travel to many places, meet many people and understand the world. -- Nelson Mandela
I believe that in the end that it is kindness and accommodation that are all the catalysts for real change. -- Nelson Mandela
The virtue and the strength of UWC is that it provides small, but powerful cells of innovation, catalysts for change, breaking barriers of habit and opening broader vistas of experience for both pupils and educationalists. -- Nelson Mandela
Once a person is determined to help themselves, there is nothing that can stop them. -- Nelson Mandela
Like slavery and apartheid, poverty is not natural. It is man-made and it can be overcome and eradicated by the actions of human beings. -- Nelson Mandela
Success in politics demands that you must take your people into confidence about your views and state them very clearly, very politely, very calmly, but nevertheless, state them openly. -- Nelson Mandela
It's in your hands to make the world a better place. -- Nelson Mandela
I am influenced more than ever before by the conviction that social equality is the only basis of human happiness. -- Nelson Mandela
South Africa is the most beautiful place on earth. Admittedly, I am biased but when you combine the natural beauty ... and the fact that the region is a haven for Africa's most splendid wildlife ... Then I think that we have been blessed with a truly wonderful land. -- Nelson Mandela
Freedom is indivisible; the chains on any one of my people were the chains on all of them, the chains on all of my people were the chains on me. -- Nelson Mandela
Sport can create hope, where once there was only despair -- Nelson Mandela
No country can really develop unless its citizens are educated. -- Nelson Mandela
Prison itself is a tremendous education in the need for patience and perseverance. It is above all a test of one's commitment. -- Nelson Mandela
Other people have qualities that may be better than your own. Let them express them. -- Nelson Mandela
Apart from life, a strong constitution, and an abiding connection to the Thembu royal house, the only thing my father bestowed upon me at birth was a name, Rolihlahla. -- Nelson Mandela
When those in power deny you of freedom the only path to freedom is power -- Nelson Mandela
I have never regarded any man as my superior, either in my life outside or inside prison. -- Nelson Mandela
If there is one thing in this planet that has the power to bind people it is soccer. -- Nelson Mandela
There are so many men and women who hold no distinctive positions but whose contribution towards the development of society has been enormous. -- Nelson Mandela
In countries where innocent people are dying, the leaders are following their blood rather than their brains. -- Nelson Mandela
Out of the experience of extraordinary human disaster that lasted too long, must be born a society of which all humanity will be proud.. -- Nelson Mandela
There are many people who feel that it is useless and futile to continue talking about peace and non-violence against a government whose only reply is savage attacks on an unarmed and defenceless people. -- Nelson Mandela
Life has a way of forcing decisions on those who vacillate. -- Nelson Mandela
If you don't intend having a compromise, you don't negotiate at all. -- Nelson Mandela
Appearances matter - and remember to smile. -- Nelson Mandela
The Children's Hospital will be a credible demonstration of the commitment of African leaders to place the rights of children at the forefront. Nothing less would be enough. -- Nelson Mandela
We succeeded to take our last steps to freedom in conditions of relative peace. We commit ourselves to the construction of a complete, just and lasting peace. We have triumphed in the effort to implant hope in the breasts of the millions of our people. -- Nelson Mandela
Although we had no hope of defeating the enemy in the battlefield, nevertheless, we fought back to keep the idea of liberation alive. From a conversation with Richard Stengel, January 13, 1993 -- Nelson Mandela
Sometimes strident, often tender, never afraid and seldom without humour, Desmond Tutu's voice will always be the voice of the voiceless. -- Nelson Mandela
I could not imagine that the future I was walking toward could compare in any way to the past that I was leaving behind. -- Nelson Mandela
I say to all those leaders: Do not look the other way, do not hesitate ... It is within your power to prevent a genocide. -- Nelson Mandela
The power of imagination created the illusion that my vision went much farther than the naked eye could actually see. -- Nelson Mandela
It is in your hands to create a better world for all who live in it. -- Nelson Mandela
Extremists on all sides thrive, fed by the blood lust of centuries gone by. -- Nelson Mandela
I discovered even before I went to jail that apartheid was not run by people who were monolithic in their approach. Some of them didn't even believe in apartheid. -- Nelson Mandela
I did not enjoy the violence of boxing so much as the science of it. -- Nelson Mandela
A blind pursuit of cheap popularity has nothing to do with revolution.
[Political Report of the National Executive Committee to the forty-ninth A.N.C. National Conference, Bloemfontein, South Africa, 17 December 1994] -- Nelson Mandela
a child is born free -- Nelson Mandela
Only free men can negotiate. A prisoner cannot enter into contracts. -- Nelson Mandela
To a freedom fighter hope is what a lifebelt is to a swimmer - a guarantee that one will keep afloat and free from danger. -- Nelson Mandela
Of course we desire education and we think it is a good thing, but you don't have to have education in order to know that you want certain fundamental rights, you have got aspirations, you have got acclaims. It has nothing to do with education whatsoever. -- Nelson Mandela
The laws that stopped blacks from voting were the worst, because they prevented blacks from voting someone into parliament who could change the other laws. Even though the blacks were the majority of the population, they were still not getting a say. -- Nelson Mandela
Disasters will always come and go, leaving their victims either completely broken or steeled and seasoned and better able to face the next crop of challenges that may occur. -- Nelson Mandela
If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart. -- Nelson Mandela
History will judge us by the difference we make in the everyday lives of children. -- Nelson Mandela
The education I received was a British education, in which British ideas, British culture, British institutions, were automatically assumed to be superior. There was no such thing as African culture. -- Nelson Mandela
The question of education has nothing to do with the question of the vote. On numerous occasions it has been proved in history that people can enjoy the vote even if they have no education. -- Nelson Mandela
Education has become a very powerful weapon in the struggle to produce a well-developed person. -- Nelson Mandela
I have always endeavoured to listen to what each and every person in a discussion had to say before venturing my own opinion. -- Nelson Mandela
What has sustained me even in the most grim moments is the knowledge that I am a member of a tried and tested family which has triumphed over many difficulties. -- Nelson Mandela
You can never have an impact on society if you have not changed yourself. -- Nelson Mandela
I did not have an unlimited library to choose from on Robben Island. We had access to many unremembered mysteries and detective novels and all the works of Daphne du Maurier, but little more. -- Nelson Mandela
It is a grave error for any leader to be oversensitive in the face of criticism -- Nelson Mandela
Artists reach areas far beyond the reach of politicians. Art, especially entertainment and music, is understood by everybody, and it lifts the spirits and the morale of those who hear it. -- Nelson Mandela
The call now is for each of us to ask ourselves: are we doing all we can to help build the country of our dreams? -- Nelson Mandela
We tried in our simple way to lead our life in a manner that may make a difference to those of others. -- Nelson Mandela
It is our duty to give support to the brother leader ... especially in regards to the sanctions which are not hitting just him, they are hitting the ordinary masses of the people ... our African brothers and sisters. -- Nelson Mandela
To deny people their human rights is to challenge their very humanity. -- Nelson Mandela
If the United States of America or Britain is having elections, they don't ask for observers from Africa or from Asia. But when we have elections, they want observers. -- Nelson Mandela
Thinking too well of people often allows them to be better than they otherwise would. -- Nelson Mandela
Your victory has demonstrated that no person anywhere in the world should not dare to dream of wanting to change the world for a better place. -- Nelson Mandela
I learned to have the patience to listen when people put forward their views, even if I think those views are wrong. You can't reach a just decision in a dispute unless you listen to both sides. -- Nelson Mandela
To truly lead one's people, one must also truly know them. -- Nelson Mandela
I AM THE MASTER OF MY FATE AND THE CAPTAIN OF MY DESTINY. -- Nelson Mandela
There is no passion to be found playing small - in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living. -- Nelson Mandela
I was a young man who attempted to make up for his ignorance with militancy. -- Nelson Mandela
Freedom can never be taken for granted. Each generation must safeguard it and extend it. Your parents and elders sacrificed much so that you should have freedom without suffering what they did. Use this precious right to ensure that the darkness of the past never return. -- Nelson Mandela
We should never forget those on whose shoulders we stand and those who paid the supreme price for freedom. -- Nelson Mandela
The anchor of all my dreams is the collective wisdom of mankind as a whole. -- Nelson Mandela
A society that does not value its older people denies its roots and endangers its future. Let us strive to enhance their capacity to support themselves for as long as possible and, when they cannot do so anymore, to care for them. -- Nelson Mandela
In the 21st Century, the capacity to communicate will almost certainly be a key human right. -- Nelson Mandela
Although Verwoerd thought Africans were lower than animals, his death did not yield us any pleasure. Political assassination is not something I or the ANC ever supported. It is a primitive way of contending with an opponent -- Nelson Mandela
If you look at those matters, you will come to the conclusion that the attitude of the United States of America is a threat to world peace. -- Nelson Mandela
We forgive but not forgotten -- Nelson Mandela
It never hurts to think too highly of a person; often they become ennobled and act better because of it. -- Nelson Mandela
No problem is so deep that it cannot be overcome, given the will of all parties, through discussion and negotiation rather than force and violence. -- Nelson Mandela
Our society needs to re-establish a culture of caring. -- Nelson Mandela
Grievance into a succinct and pithy phrase, while mobilizing the people to combat it. Our slogan -- Nelson Mandela
The death sentence is a barbaric act. -- Nelson Mandela
Don't Judge a person by his success stories, but only with how many times the person stood up, after falling down. -- Nelson Mandela
Your playing small does not serve the world. Who are you not to be great? -- Nelson Mandela
You will achieve more in this world through acts of mercy than you will through acts of retribution. -- Nelson Mandela
I am convinced that floods of personal disaster can never drown a determined revolutionary nor can the cumulus of misery that accompanies tragedy suffocate him. -- Nelson Mandela
No form of violence can ever be excused in a society that wishes to call itself decent -- Nelson Mandela
Those who conduct themselves with morality, integrity and consistency need not fear the forces of inhumanity and cruelty. -- Nelson Mandela
Men have different capacities and react differently to stress. But the stronger ones raised up the weaker ones, and both became stronger in the process. -- Nelson Mandela
I believed that I would become a counsellor to the Thembu king, -- Nelson Mandela
We signal that good can be achieved amongst human beings who are prepared to trust, prepared to believe in the goodness of people. -- Nelson Mandela
Everyone can rise above their circumstances and achieve success if they are dedicated to and passionate about what they do. -- Nelson Mandela
When I walked out of the gate I knew that if I continued to hate these people I was still in prison. -- Nelson Mandela
It will forever remain an accusation and a challenge to all men and women of conscience that it took as long as it has, before all of us stood up to say enough is enough. -- Nelson Mandela
I'm not going to sit here and argue with you. Just PUT THE BLOODY METER ON. -- Nelson Mandela
My family is very large. 42 million. -- Nelson Mandela
The habit of attending to small things and of appreciating small courtesies is one of the important marks of a good person, -- Nelson Mandela
Lead from the front - but don t leave your base behind. -- Nelson Mandela