Nelson Mandela Quotes

Nothing is black or white.

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

Living isn't just about doing for yourself,but what you do for others as well.

If you are negotiating you must do so in a spirit of reconciliation, not from the point of view of issuing ultimatums.

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

We have introduced a rule of law. That never existed for centuries in this country [South Africa], especially under the apartheid regime, when the law was reduced into disrepute.

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.

No matter what the past has dealt you, don't let it destroy your future.

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

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.

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.

Sport has the power to overcome old divisions and create the bond of common aspirations

I approach every problem with optimism.

There will be life after Mandela. On my last day I want to know that those who remain behind will say: 'The man who lies here has done his duty for his country and his people.'

Times change, we need to change as well.

If you want to change the world, help the women.

I have often wondered whether a person is justified in neglecting his own family to fight for opportunities for others.

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.

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

Israel should withdraw from all the areas which it won from the Arabs in 1967, and in particular Israel should withdraw completely from the Golan Heights, from south Lebanon and from the West Bank.

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

I am influenced more than ever before by the conviction that social equality is the only basis of human happiness.

The impression that you are a demigod worried me. I wanted to be like an ordinary human being with virtues and vices.

By ancestry, I was born to rule.

We can change the world and make it a better place. It is in your hands to make a difference.

Out of the experience of extraordinary human disaster that lasted too long, must be born a society of which all humanity will be proud.

I should tie myself to no particular system of society other than of socialism.

I dream of an Africa which is in peace with itself.

Freedom is indivisible; the chains on any one of my people were the chains on all of them, the chains on all of my people were the chains on me.

In my younger days, I was arrogant - jail helped me to get rid of it. I did nothing but make enemies because of my arrogance.

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

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

The titanic effort that has brought liberation to South Africa, and ensured the total liberation of Africa, constitutes an act of redemption for the black people of the world.

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.

Thinking too well of people often allows them to be better than they otherwise would.

Those who conduct themselves with morality, integrity and consistency need not fear the forces of inhumanity and cruelty.

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.

Negotiation and discussion are the greatest weapons we have for promoting peace and development.

Education is the great engine to personal development.

The question of education has nothing to do with the question of the vote. On numerous occasions it has been proved in history that people can enjoy the vote even if they have no education.

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

I learned to have the patience to listen when people put forward their views, even if I think those views are wrong. You can't reach a just decision in a dispute unless you listen to both sides.

A fundamental concern for others in our individual and community lives would go a long way in making the world the better place we so passionately dreamt of.

An organisation can only carry out its mandate if there is discipline, and where there is no discipline there can be no real progress

AIDS is our number one enemy. This enemy can be defeated. While the research for a cure continues, four principles -- love, support, acceptance and care for those affected -- can make us winners.

We owe our children – the most vulnerable citizens in any society – a life free from violence and fear.

Forget the past.

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.

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

Our economic approach to food and its distribution reflects our basic moral values.