Nelson Mandela Quotes & Sayings

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

As a leader, one must sometimes take actions that are unpopular, or whose results will not be known for years to come. — Nelson Mandela

Let your courage rise with danger. — Nelson Mandela

I pay tribute to the endless heroism of youth. — Nelson Mandela

Che Guevara's life is an inspiration for every human being who loves freedom. We will always honor his memory. — 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

Greece is the mother of democracy and South Africa is its youngest daughter — 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

Our experience has taught us that with goodwill a negotiated solution can be found for even the most profound problems. — 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 realized quickly what Mandela and Tambo meant to ordinary Africans. It was a place where they could come and find a sympathetic ear and a competent ally, a place where they would not be either turned away or cheated, a place where they might actually feel proud to be represented by men of their own skin color. — Nelson Mandela

Any man or institution that tries to rob me of my dignity will lose. — Nelson Mandela

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

Although few people will remember 3 June 1993, it was a landmark in South African history. On that day, after months of negotiations at the World Trade Centre, the multiparty forum voted to set a date for the country's first national, nonracial, one-person-one-vote election: 27 April 1994. For the first time in South African history, the black majority would go to the polls to elect their own leaders. — 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

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

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

By ancestry, I was born to rule. — 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

Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world. — Nelson Mandela

I AM THE MASTER OF MY FATE AND THE CAPTAIN OF MY DESTINY. — Nelson Mandela

Great thinking comes from a great mind — 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

Force is the only language the imperialists can hear, and no country became free without some sort of violence. — 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

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

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

History and the generations to come will judge our leaders by the decisions they make in the coming weeks. — Nelson Mandela

[I] read Anne Frank's diary [while imprisoned] on Robben Island and derived much encouragement from it. — Nelson Mandela

I love playing and chatting with children ... feeding and putting them to bed with a little story, and being away from the family has troubled me throughout my ... life. i like relaxing at the house, reading quietly, taking in the sweet smell that comes from the pots, sitting around a table with the family and taking out my wife and children. when you can no longer enjoy these simple pleasures something valuable is taken away from your life and you feel it in your daily work. — 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

Peace is the greatest weapon for development that any person can have. — Nelson Mandela

Sometimes, I feel like one who is on the sidelines, who has missed life itself. — Nelson Mandela

I never lost hope that this great transformation would occur ( ... ) I always knew that deep down in every human heart, there was mercy and generosity. No one is born hating another person because of the colour 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.
page 749 — 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

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

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

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

The brave man is not the one who has no fears, he is the one who triumphs over his fears. — 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

Let freedom reign. — Nelson Mandela

Be a life long student, read as many books as possible. — Nelson Mandela

Disabled children are equally entitled to an exciting and brilliant future. — 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

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

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

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

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. — 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

If you want to preach a revolutionary message, wear a suit. — 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

I really wanted to retire and rest and spend more time with my children, my grandchildren and of course with my wife. — Nelson Mandela

Appearances matter - and remember to smile. — 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

There are victories whose glory lies only in the fact that they are known to those who win them. — 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

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 never hurts to think too highly of a person; often they become ennobled and act better because of it. — Nelson Mandela

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

Before either of us knew it, we were in the same room and in each other's arms. I kissed and held my wife for the first time in all these many years. It was a moment I had dreamed about a thousand times. It was as if I were still dreaming. I held her to me for what seemed like an eternity. We were still and silent except for the sound of our hearts. I did not want to let go of her at all, but I broke free and embraced my daughter and then took her child into my lap. It had been twenty-one years since I had even touched my wife's hand. — Nelson Mandela

We should never forget those on whose shoulders we stand and those who paid the supreme price for freedom. — Nelson Mandela

I have always regarded myself, in the first place, as an African patriot. — 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

I can't pretend that I'm brave and that I can beat the whole world. — Nelson Mandela

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

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

Let there be work, bread, water and salt for all. — Nelson Mandela

Money wont create success, the fredom to make it will — Nelson Mandela

During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to this struggle of the African people. I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die. — Nelson Mandela

Let us give practical recognition to the injustices of the past,by building a future based on equality&social justice — Nelson Mandela

When the water starts boiling it is foolish to turn off the heat. — 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

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

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

If you are poor, you are not likely to live long. — 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

Remember to celebrate milestones as you prepare for the road ahead. — 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

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

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

Let your greatness bloom. — Nelson Mandela

We forgive but not forgotten — Nelson Mandela

Fools multiply when wise men are silent. — 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

I am fundamentally an optimist. Whether that comes from nature or nurture, I cannot say. Part of being optimistic is keeping one's head pointed toward the sun, one's feet moving forward. There were many dark moments when my faith in humanity was sorely tested, but I would not and could not give myself up to despair. That way lays defeat and death. — Nelson Mandela

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

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

He nodded for us to rise. I tried to catch his eye, but he was not even looking in our direction. His eyes were focused on the middle distance. His face was very pale, and he was breathing heavily. We looked at each other and seemed to know: it would be death, otherwise why was this normally calm man so nervous? And then he began to speak. — Nelson Mandela

In order to build our nation, we must all exceed our own expectations. — 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

I approach every problem with optimism. — 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

In countries where innocent people are dying, the leaders are following their blood rather than their brains. — Nelson Mandela

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

The curious beauty about African music is that it uplifts even as it tells a sad story. — Nelson Mandela

There is nothing like a fixed, steady aim, with an honorable purpose. It dignifies your nature, and insures your success. — 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

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

We have triumphed in the effort to implant hope in the breasts of the millions of our people. We enter into a covenant that we shall build the society in which all South Africans, both black and white, will be able to walk tall, without any fear in their hearts, assured of their inalienable right to human dignity - a rainbow nation at peace with itself and the world. — Nelson Mandela