South African Quotes

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.

The pressure gets worse the older you get. The hole starts to look the size of a Bayer aspirin.

When we got Tesla going at the very beginning, if you asked me what I thought the odds of success were, I would have said less than 50%. I would have said that failure is the most likely outcome.

There can be no greater gift than that of giving one’s time and energy to help others without expecting anything in return.

Whose life testifies to the truth that there is no shame in being oppressed: Those who should be ashamed are they who oppress others.

The habit of attending to small things and of appreciating small courtesies is one of the important marks of a good person.

There are leaders who know that however furious the debate, there are good men and women in all population groups - amongst blacks, amongst whites, and amongst Afrikaans and English speaking people.

You know, you can only lead them from behind.

We have introduced a democratic constitution, which put suvery South African on an equal basis.

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.

Love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.

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.

The anchor of all my dreams is the collective wisdom of mankind as a whole.

Physics is really figuring out how to discover new things that are counterintuitive, like quantum mechanics. It's really counterintuitive.

I was able to change my life by knowing that if somebody does something good for you, you have to respond.

I can't help it if the ladies take note of me; I am not going to protest.

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.

I started SpaceX with the expectation of failure.

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.

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.

I think we are at the dawn of a new era in commercial space exploration.

People work better when they know what the goal is and why. It is important that people look forward to coming to work in the morning and enjoy working.

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.

If we are to accomplish anything in this world, it will in equal measure be due to the work and achievements of others.

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.

Does the logic connect? What are the range of probably outcomes? You want to figure out what those probabilities are and ideally be the House. It's fine to gamble, as long as you're the House. Also, listen to critical feedback, particularly from friends. Generally they will be thinking it but they won't tell you.

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.

The ideal build for a golfer would be strong hands, big forearms, thin neck, big thighs and a flat chest. He'd look like Popeye.

I think whenever something is - whenever there's something that affects the public good, then there does need to be some form of public oversight.

No single person can liberate a country. You can only liberate a country if you act as a collective.

Politics can be strengthened by music, but music has a potency that defies politics.

If our expectations, if our fondest prayers and dreams, are not realized then we should all bear in mind that the greatest glory of living lies not in never falling but in rising every time you fall.

I've never had a single moment of depression, because I know my cause will triumph.

I don't create companies for the sake of creating companies, but to get things done.

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.

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.

The United States of America is a threat to world peace. Because what [America] is saying is that if you are afraid of a veto in the Security Council, you can go outside and take action and violate the sovereignty of other countries. That is the message they are sending to the world. That must be condemned in the strongest terms.

The Commonwealth makes the world safe for diversity

An educated, enlightened & informed population is one of the surest ways of promoting the health of a democracy

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.

Money won't create success, the freedom to make it will.

Friends, Comrades and fellow South Africans. I greet you all in the name of peace, democracy and freedom for all. I stand here before you not as a prophet but as a humble servant of you, the people. Your tireless and heroic sacrifices have made it possible for me to be here today. I therefore place the remaining years of my life in your hands.

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.

A government which uses force to maintain its rule teaches the oppressed to use force to oppose it.

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.

After climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb.

Poverty is not natural; it is man-made

Self-driving cars are the natural extension of active safety and obviously something we should do.

The space shuttle was often used as an example of why you shouldn't even attempt to make something reusable. But one failed experiment does not invalidate the greater goal. If that was the case, we'd never have had the light bulb.

Our hope is that the elementary reading of comics will lead to the joy of reading good books.

You have to be pretty driven to make it happen. Otherwise, you will just make yourself miserable.

You must work very hard to become a natural golfer.

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.

Prison itself is a tremendous education in the need for patience and perseverance. It is above all a test of one's commitment.

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.

Tread softly, Brathe peacefully, Laugh hysterically.

I'm not going to sit here and argue with you. Just PUT THE BLOODY METER ON.

Teach the children that Africans are not one iota inferior to Europeans.

Talent is extremely important. It's like a sports team, the team that has the best individual player will often win, but then there’s a multiplier from how those players work together and the strategy they employ.

Especially for those of us who lived in single cells, you had the time to sit down and think, and we discovered that sitting down just to think is one of the best ways of keeping yourself fresh and able, to be able to address the problems facing you, and you had the opportunity, also, of examining your past.