Nelson Mandela Quotes

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.

The truth is we are not yet free; we have merely achieved the freedom to be free.

Courageous people do not fear forgiving, for the sake of peace.

It is most unusual to return to a place that has changed in ways you yourself have altered.

A new world will be won not by those who stand at a distance with their arms folded, but by those who are in the arena, whose garments are torn by storms and whose bodies are maimed in the course of the contest.

Adversity cleanses the lethargies of man

There are people here [in South Africa] who, whatever the debate is on a particular issue, their dominating idea is that at the end of the debate we must emerge stronger than we were before and closer to one another.

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

I shall stick to our vow: never, never under any circumstances, to say anything unbecoming of the other...The trouble, of course, is that most successful men are prone to some form of vanity. There comes a stage in their lives when they consider it permissible to be egotistic and to brag to the public at large about their unique achievements.

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.

Both Bush as well, as Tony Blair, are undermining an idea which was sponsored by their predecessors. They do not care. Is it 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.

Forget the past.

I dream of our vast deserts, of our forests, of all our great wildernesses. We must never forget that it is our duty to protect this environment.

A bright future beckons. The onus is on us, through hard work, honesty and integrity, to reach for the stars.

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

The true character of a society is revealed in how it treats its children.

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.

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.

It was during those long and lonely years that my hunger for the freedom of my own people became a hunger for the freedom of all people, white and black. I knew as well as I knew anything that the oppressor must be liberated just as surely as the oppressed. 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. I am not truly free if I am taking away someone else's freedom, just as surely as I am not free when my freedom is taken from me. The oppressed and the oppressor alike are robbed of their humanity.

Know your enemy - and learn about his favorite sport.

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.

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

Each of us is as intimately attached to the soil of this beautiful country as are the famous jacaranda trees of Pretoria and the mimosa trees of the bushveld - a rainbow nation at peace with itself and the world.

There is an absence of democratic accountability and control in every sphere of government and the state. To address this debilitating legacy requires determined action and a deep commitment to transforming our society from a crisis ridden present into something all South Africans can be truly proud of.

To deny people their human rights is to challenge their very humanity.

Some of the mission groups that have been responsible for our education have not been part of the government. In fact, they acted contrary to what the government had planned to do.

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.

It is music and dancing that make me at peace with the world.

Resentment is like drinking poison and then hoping it will kill your enemies.

Only armchair politicians are immune from committing mistakes. Errors are inherent in political action.

I am not truly free if I am taking away someone else's freedom, just as surely as I am not free when my freedom is taken from me. The oppressed and the oppressor alike are robbed of their humanity.

It is not beyond our power to create a world in which all children have access to a good education.

With freedom comes responsibilities, and I dare not linger, for my long walk has not ended yet.

Let your greatness bloom.

It generally appears outlandish until its carried out.

Justice and I became friends, though we were opposites in many ways - he was extroverted, I was introverted; he was lighthearted, I was serious.

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.

If you want to make peace with your enemy, you have to work with your enemy. Then he becomes your partner.

One of the most difficult things is not to change society - but to change yourself.

The world is truly round and seems to start and end with those we love.

One effect of sustained conflict is to narrow our vision of what is possible.

It is what we make out of what we have, not what we are given, that separates one person from another.

It's not our weaknesses that frighten us. It's our strengths.

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.

We know it well that none of us acting alone can achieve success.

Blaming things on the past does not make them better.

Whenever I am with energetic young people, I feel like a recharged battery.

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.

You know, you can only lead them from behind.

There is nothing more dangerous than a humiliated man.

Thinking is one of the most important weapons in dealing with problems

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.

For me, nonviolence was not a moral principle but a strategy; there is no moral goodness in using an ineffective weapon.

Young people are capable, when aroused, of bringing down the towers of oppression and raising the banners of freedom.

Other people have qualities that may be better than your own. Let them express them.

I like friends who have independent minds because they tend to make you see problems from all angles.

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.

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.

The authorities liked to say that we received a balanced diet; it was indeed balanced - between the unpalatable and the inedible.

In the 1940s, traveling for an African was a complicated process. All Africans over the age of sixteen were compelled to carry 'Native passes' issued by the Native Affairs Department and were required to show that pass to any white policeman, civil servant, or employer. Failure to do so could mean arrest, trial, a jail sentence or fine.