There is only one way in which one can endure man's inhumanity to man and that is to try, in one's own life, to exemplify man's humanity to man.

What broke in a man when he could bring himself to kill another?

All roads lead to Johannesburg.

One day in Johannesburg, and already the tribe was being rebuilt, the house and soul being restored.

When a deep injury is done us, we never recover until we forgive.

To give up the task of reforming society is to give up one's responsibility as a free man.

I envision someday a great, peaceful South Africa in which the world will take pride, a nation in which each of many different groups will be making its own creative contribution.

Let me not be afraid to defend the weak because of the anger of the strong, nor afraid to defend the poor because of the anger of the rich.

It is not permissible to add to one's possesions if these things can only be done at the cost of other men. Such development has only one true name, and that is exploitation.

I have always found that actively loving saves one from a morbid preoccupation with the shortcomings of society.

But the one thing that has power completely is love, because when a man loves, he seeks no power, and therefore he has power.

How do you mourn endless numbers of people in endless numbers of places? Is there a form for it, a requisite time and place for mourning? Is there ever an end to it? Can there ever be an end to it?

She went to the window seat and sat there, sniffling, hating them all, and herself most of all. It was all her fault, everything bad that had happened.

What kind of a society are we going to have if it consists of highly paid people doing high-value-added work - and masses of unemployed?

I'm just trying to rid the world of all these fevered egos that are tainting our collective unconscious.

There's a great temptation to clean everything up and make everything more perfect. You have to know when to stop and stop doing it, or you might end up with something that sounds metronomic.

Madonna, as we know, is very difficult.

The worst tragedy for a poet is to be admired through being misunderstood.

I've done a lot of tough stories over the years. I've done a lot of profiles over the years that have not always been, shall we say, helpful for the person who is being written about.

At the heart of the mystery of corruption lies the desire of one man to impose his will on others to the largest possible extent.

Keep your jacket buttoned. Always. It's just really flattering—it will take pounds off you.