Nelson Mandela Quotes

As we judge others so are we judged by others. The suspicious will always be tormented by suspicion.

Millions of people in the world's poorest countries remain enslaved by the chains of poverty. It is time to set them free.

The majority of South Africans, black and white, recognize that apartheid has no future. It has to be ended by our own decisive mass action in order to build peace and security. The mass campaign of defiance and other actions of our organization and people can only culminate in the establishment of democracy.

Sometimes it falls upon a generation to be great. You can be that great generation. Let your greatness blossom. Of course the task will not be easy. But not to do this would be a crime against humanity, against which I ask all humanity now to rise up.

In the 21st Century, the capacity to communicate will almost certainly be a key human right.

Sport can create hope, where once there was only despair

Running taught me valuable lessons. In cross-country competition, training counted more than intrinsic ability, and I could compensate for a lack of natural aptitude with diligence and discipline. I applied this in everything I did.

The time has come to accept in our hearts and minds that with freedom comes responsibility.

If I am your leader, you have to listen to me & if you don’t want to listen to me, then drop me as your leader

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

I believe that in the end that it is kindness and accommodation that are all the catalysts for real change.

Where choice is set between cowardice and violence, I would advise violence ... I prefer to use arms in defense of honor rather than remain the vile witness of dishonor.

The virtue and the strength of UWC is that it provides small, but powerful cells of innovation, catalysts for change, breaking barriers of habit and opening broader vistas of experience for both pupils and educationalists.

If we are to accomplish anything in this world, it will in equal measure be due to the work and achievements of others.

Sport has the power to inspire and unite people. In Africa, soccer enjoys great popularity and has a particular place in the hearts of people.

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

I learned that to humiliate another person is to make him suffer an unnecessarily cruel fate. Even as a boy, I defeated my opponents without dishonoring them.

We are extricating ourselves from a system that insulted our common humanity by dividing us from one another on the basis of race and setting us against each other as oppressed and oppressor. That system committed a crime against humanity.

For every woman and girl violently attacked, we reduce our humanity. For every woman forced into unprotected sex because men demand this, we destroy dignity and pride. Every woman who has to sell her life for sex we condemn to a lifetime in prison. For every moment we remain silent, we conspire against our women. For every woman infected by HIV, we destroy a generation.

What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we have made to the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead.

AIDS today in Africa is claiming more lives than the sum total of all wars, famines and floods and the ravages of such deadly diseases as malaria ... We must act now for the sake of the world.

We need to exert ourselves that much more, and break out of the vicious cycle of dependence imposed on us by the financially powerful: those in command of immense market power and those who dare to fashion the world in their own image.

The freedom we enjoy is a richly textured gift handcrafted by ordinary folk

By ancestry, I was born to rule.

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.

We have laid the foundation for a better life. Things that were unimaginable a few years ago have become everyday reality. I belong to the generation of leaders for whom the achievement of democracy was the defining challenge.

I really wanted to retire and rest and spend more time with my children, my grandchildren and of course with my wife. But the problems are such that for anybody with a conscience who can use whatever influence he may have to try to bring about peace, it's difficult to say no.

Freedom cannot be achieved unless women have been emancipated from all forms of oppression... Our endeavors must be about the liberation of the woman, the emancipation of the man and the liberty of the child.

We must work together to ensure the equitable distribution of wealth, opportunity and power in our society.

Forgiveness liberates the soul. It removes fear. That is why it is such a powerful weapon.

If there is one thing in this planet that has the power to bind people it is soccer.

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

Who could doubt that sport is a crucial window for the propagation of fair play and justice? After all, fair play is a value that is essential to sport.

There is nothing like returning to a place that remains unchanged to find the ways in which you yourself have altered.

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

The New World Order that is in the making must focus on the creation of a world of democracy, peace and prosperity for all.

The importance of a high moral code, which is at the foundation of the Scout movement, cannot be stressed too highly.

I am aware of what the position is in the United States of America. If somebody gives to charity, then he gets a tax incentive, provided the charity is registered in terms of the law.

We must look within ourselves, become responsible and provide fresh solutions if we ever want to do more than complain,or make excuses.

If there are dreams about a beautiful South Africa, there are also roads that lead to their goal. Two of these roads could be named Goodness and Forgiveness.

Man's goodness is a flame that can be hidden but never extinguished

The United States of America is a threat to world peace.

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

Let it never be said by future generations that indifference, cynicism or selfishness made us fail to live up to the ideals of humanism which the Nobel Peace Prize encapsulates. Let the strivings of us all, prove Martin Luther King Jr. to have been correct, when he said that humanity can no longer be tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war.

History will surely judge us harshly if we do not respond with all the energy and resources that we can bring to bear in the fight against HIV/AIDS

There can be no greater gift than that of giving one’s time and energy to help others without expecting anything in return.

Each of us is as intimately attached to the soil of this beautiful country as are the famous jacaranda trees of Pretoria and the mimosa trees of the bushveld - a rainbow nation at peace with itself and the world.

I would like it to be said: here lies a man who has done his duty on earth