Nelson Mandela Quotes

“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”

“I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.”

“No one is born hating another person because of the colour of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.”

“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.”

“It is in your hands to make a better world for all who live in it.”

“I am fundamentally an optimist. Part of being optimistic is keeping one's head pointed toward the sun, one's feet moving forward.”

“After climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb.”

“There is no easy walk to freedom anywhere, and many of us will have to pass through the valley of the shadow of death again and again before we reach the mountaintop of our desires.”

“For to be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.”

“There is no such thing as part freedom.”

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

“Never, never and never again shall it be that this beautiful land will again experience the oppression of one by another.”

“I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.”

“I detest racialism, because I regard it as a barbaric thing, whether it comes from a black man or a white man.”

“To deny people their human rights is to challenge their very humanity.”

“Any man or institution that tries to rob me of my dignity will lose.”

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

“If you want to make peace with your enemy, you have to work with your enemy. Then he becomes your partner.”

“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.”

“Our human compassion binds us the one to the other, not in pity or patronisingly, but as human beings who have learnt how to turn our common suffering into hope for the future.”

“A good head and a good heart are always a formidable combination.”

“If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart.”

“It is better to lead from behind and to put others in front, especially when you celebrate victory when nice things occur. You take the front line when there is danger. Then people will appreciate your leadership.”

“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.”

“A good leader can engage in a debate frankly and thoroughly, knowing that at the end he and the other side must be closer, and thus emerge stronger. You don't have that idea when you are arrogant, superficial, and uninformed.”