Nelson Mandela Quotes
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Our human compassion binds us the one to the other - not in pity or patronizingly, but as human beings who have learnt how to turn our common suffering into hope for the future.
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There can be no keener revelation of a society's soul than the way in which it treats its children.
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We admire the achievements of the Cuban revolution in the sphere of social welfare. We note the transformation from a country of imposed backwardness to universal literacy. We acknowledge your advances in the fields of health, education, and science.
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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.
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The majority of South Africans, black and white, recognize that apartheid has no future. It has to be ended by our own decisive mass action in order to build peace and security. The mass campaign of defiance and other actions of our organization and people can only culminate in the establishment of democracy.
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I have been influenced in my thinking by both west and east.
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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.
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We can't afford to be killing one another.
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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.
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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.
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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 defenseless people.
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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.
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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.
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In countries where innocent people are dying, the leaders are following their blood rather than their brains.
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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.
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A good head and a good heart are always a formidable combination.
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By ancestry, I was born to rule.
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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.
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If you are poor, you are not likely to live long.
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I can't pretend that I'm brave and that I can beat the whole world.
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My son has died of AIDS.
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Money won't create success, the freedom to make it will.
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Prison itself is a tremendous education in the need for patience and perseverance. It is above all a test of one's commitment.
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You know, you can only lead them from behind.