Nelson Mandela Quotes

It's a tragedy what is happening, what Bush is doing. All Bush wants is Iraqi oil. There is no doubt that the U.S. is behaving badly. Why are they not seeking to confiscate weapons of mass destruction from their ally Israel? This is just an excuse to get Iraq's oil.

You negotiate in bad faith if you do not forgive your adversary.

For a revolution is not just a question of pulling a trigger; its purpose is to create a fair just society

It enables me to go to bed with an enriching feeling in my soul and the belief that I am changing myself.

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.

I am fundamentally an optimist.

It is what we make out of what we have, not what we are given, that separates one person from another.

Our society needs to re-establish a culture of caring.

There's one place where (Fidel Castro’s) Cuba stands out head and shoulders above the rest – that is in its love for human rights and liberty!

As I have said, the first thing is to be honest with yourself. You can never have an impact on society if you have not changed yourself... Great peacemakers are all people of integrity, of honesty, but humility.

A good head and good heart are always a formidable combination. But when you add to that a literate tongue or pen, then you have something very special.

I enjoyed the discipline and solitariness of long-distance running, which allowed me to escape from the hurly-burly of school life.

The United States of America is a threat to world peace. Because what [America] is saying is that if you are afraid of a veto in the Security Council, you can go outside and take action and violate the sovereignty of other countries. That is the message they are sending to the world. That must be condemned in the strongest terms.

Friends, Comrades and fellow South Africans. I greet you all in the name of peace, democracy and freedom for all. I stand here before you not as a prophet but as a humble servant of you, the people. Your tireless and heroic sacrifices have made it possible for me to be here today. I therefore place the remaining years of my life in your hands.

We know what needs to be done - all that is missing is the will to do it.

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

Isimangaliso must be the only place on the globe where the oldest land mammal (rhinoceros) and the world biggest terrestrial mammal (elephant) share an ecosystem with the world's oldest fish (coelacanth) and the world's biggest marine mammal (whale)

In prison, illusions can offer comfort.

As long as many of our people still live in utter poverty, as long as children still live under plastic covers, as long as many of our people are still without jobs, no South African should rest and wallow in the joy of freedom.

We cannot proclaim this century the African Century and then ignore the AIDS pandemic, as some political leaders are apt to do. To claim this century the African Century is to declare war on AIDS.

Great anger and violence can never build a nation.

I have been influenced in my thinking by both west and east.

It is wise to persuade people to do things and make them think it was their own idea.

We understand it still that there is no easy road to freedom. We know it well that none of us acting alone can achieve success. We must therefore act together as a united people, for national reconciliation, for nation building, for the birth of a new world. Let there be justice for all. Let there be peace for all. Let there be work, bread, water and salt for all. Never, never and never again shall it be that this beautiful land will again experience the oppression of one by another and suffer the indignity of being the skunk of the world. Let freedom reign.

You mustn't compromise your principles, but you mustn't humiliate the opposition. No one is more dangerous than one who is humiliated.

We should take heart from our own experience and performance. In a cynical world we have become an inspiration to many.

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.

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.

Democracy is based on the majority principle. This is especially true in a country such as ours where the vast majority have been systematically denied their rights. At the same time, democracy also requires that the rights of political and other minorities be safeguarded.

When I went to jail, I was a trained lawyer. And when the wardens received letters of demands or summonses, they didn't have the resources to go to an attorney to help them. I would help them settle their cases, so they became attached to me and the other prisoners.

Resentment is like drinking poison and then hoping it will kill your enemies.

Lead from the front - but don t leave your base behind.

I cannot conceive of Israel withdrawing if Arab states do not recognize Israel, within secure borders.

I am not the only one who did not want revenge. Almost all my colleagues in prison did not want revenge, because there is no time to do anything else except to try and save your people.

Forget the past.

Extremists on all sides thrive, fed by the blood lust of centuries gone by.

There are few misfortunes in this world that you cannot turn into a personal trimuph if you have the iron will and the neccessary skill.

Courageous people do not fear forgiving, for the sake of peace.

It is in your hands to create a better world for all who live in it.

Our task is not to liberate the oppressed, but to liberate the oppressors

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

Everyone can rise above their circumstances and achieve success if they are dedicated to and passionate about what they do.

If our expectations, if our fondest prayers and dreams, are not realized then we should all bear in mind that the greatest glory of living lies not in never falling but in rising every time you fall.

I dream of the realization of the unity of Africa, whereby its leaders combine in their efforts to solve the problems of this continent. I dream of our vast deserts, of our forests, of all our great wildernesses.

It is not a question of patronizing philanthropy towards disabled people. They do not need the patronage of the non-disabled. It is not for them to adapt to the dominant and dominating world of the so-called non-disabled. It is for us to adapt our understanding of a common humanity; to learn of the richness of how human life is diverse; to recognize the presence of disability in our human midst as an enrichment of our diversity.

Intervention only works when the people concerned seem to be keen for peace.

[Giving] is the essence of the great religions of the world - whether you are discussing the Muslim, Hindu, Jewish or Christian religion. It is an essential fundamental principle of all religions, whatever stage of development a society has reached, to sympathize with others and to promote that spirit of equality.