Nelson Mandela Quotes

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

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

There is no easy walk to freedom anywhere.

We know too well that our freedom is incomplete without the freedom of the Palestinians.

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

Let there be work, bread, water and salt for all.

Tread softly, Brathe peacefully, Laugh hysterically.

No one truly knows a nation until one has been inside its jails. A nation should not be judged by how it treats its highest citizens but its lowest ones.

No one is born hating another person because of the colour of his skin, or his background, or his religion.

I was not born with a hunger to be free, I was born free.

If you look at those matters, you will come to the conclusion that the attitude of the United States of America is a threat to world peace.

It is not the kings and generals that make history, but the masses of the people.

Political division, based on color, is entirely artificial; and when it disappears, so will the domination of one color group by another.

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.

It never hurts to think too highly of a person; often they become ennobled and act better because of it.

I like friends who have independent minds because they tend to make you see problems from all angles.

We slaughter one another in our words and attitudes. We slaughter one another in the stereotypes and mistrust that linger in our heads, and the words of hate we spew from our lips.

If there is a country that has committed unspeakable atrocities in the world, it is the United States of America.

No power on this earth can destroy the thirst for human dignity

It only seems impossible until it's done.

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

Great peacemakers are all people of integrity, of honesty, but humility.

Courage is not the absence of fear — it s inspiring others to move beyond it.

In the end, reconciliation is a spiritual process, which requires more than just a legal framework. It has to happen in the hearts and minds of people.

Honour belongs to those who never forsake the truth even when things seem dark and grim, who try over and over again, who are never discouraged by insults, humiliation and even defeat.

I want to sleep for eternity with a broad smile on my face. I want those who remain behind to say this man has done his duty.

There is nothing more dangerous than a humiliated man.

As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.

No country can really develop unless its citizens are educated.

True reconciliation does not consist in merely forgetting the past.

An educated, enlightened & informed population is one of the surest ways of promoting the health of a democracy

Exercise is the key not only to physical health but to peace of mind.

Rhetoric is not important. Actions are.

Freedom is meaningless if people cannot put food in their stomachs, if they can have no shelter, if illiteracy and disease continue to dog them.

Artists reach areas far beyond the reach of politicians. Art, especially entertainment and music, is understood by everybody, and it lifts the spirits and the morale of those who hear it.

The most difficult matter is not so much to change the world as yourself.

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

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

There is no future without forgiveness

Blaming things on the past does not make them better.

Even behind prison walls I can see the heavy clouds and the blue sky over the horizon

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

I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities.

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

Information is a basic human right and the fundamental foundation for the formation of democratic institutions.

It is not beyond our power to create a world in which all children have access to a good education.

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

A movement without vision would be a movement without moral foundation.

There can be no keener revelation of a society's soul than the way in which it treats its children.

The Good News borne by our risen Messiah who chose not one race, who chose not one country, who chose not one language, who chose not one tribe, who chose all of humankind!