Nelson Mandela Quotes

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

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.

Learn to know yourself... to search realistically and regularly the processes of your own mind and feelings.

Great anger and violence can never build a nation.

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

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.

We can't win a war, but we can win an election.

Since the dawn of history, mankind has honoured and respected brave and honest people.

The path of those who preach love, and not hatred, is not easy. They often have to wear a crown of thorns.

As long as women are bound by poverty and as long as they are looked down upon, human rights will lack substance.

Our experience has taught us that with goodwill a negotiated solution can be found for even the most profound problems.

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.

Sometimes strident, often tender, never afraid and seldom without humour, Desmond Tutu's voice will always be the voice of the voiceless.

To a freedom fighter hope is what a lifebelt is to a swimmer - a guarantee that one will keep afloat and free from danger.

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

No child in Africa, and in fact anywhere in the world, should be denied education.

The best weapon is to sit down and talk.

Sometimes it falls upon a generation to be great, you can be that generation

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

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.

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

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.

The collapse of good conscience and the absence of accountability and public scrutiny have led to crimes against humanity and violations of international law.

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

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

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.

Does anybody really think that they didn't get what they had because they didn't have the talent or the strength or the endurance or the commitment?

I am not a saint, unless you think of a saint as a sinner who keeps on trying.

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.

We raise our voices in holy gladness to celebrate the victory of the risen Christ over the terrible forces of death.

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.

We signal that good can be achieved amongst human beings who are prepared to trust, prepared to believe in the goodness of people.

I detest racialism, because I regard it as a barbaric thing, whether it comes from a black man or a white man.

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.

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.

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.

Part of building a new nation means building a spirit of tolerance, love and respect amongst the people of this country.

There were many dark moments when my faith in humanity was sorely tested.

In my country we go to prison first and then become President.

Our continent must be allowed to do its own things, charting its course and destiny.

I am the captain of my soul.

Let freedom reign. The sun never set on so glorious a human achievement.

Where you stand depends on where you sit.

Nothing is black or white.

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.

There is nobody more dangerous than one who has been humiliated, even when you humiliate him rightly.

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

The time is always right to do right

I stand here before you not as a prophet, but as a humble servant of you, the people.

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.