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.

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 have never cared very much for personal prizes. A person does not become a freedom fighter in the hope of winning awards.

If you don’t intend having a compromise, you don’t negotiate at all.

If you sit down and talk to a person, it's easy to convince him that apartheid can never save a country and will lead to the slaughtering of innocent people - including his own people.

If we want any significant development, we must co-opt civil society.

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.