Nelson Mandela Quotes

On this page you can find the TOP of Nelson Mandela's best quotes! We hope you will find some sayings from Former President of South Africa Nelson Mandela's in our collection, which will inspire you to new achievements! There are currently 666 quotes on this page collected since July 18, 1918! Share our collection of quotes with your friends on social media so that they can find something to inspire them!
All quotes by Nelson Mandela: Achievement Affairs Aids Animals Apartheid Attitude Authority Belief Blame Books Boxing Challenges Change Changing The World Character Charity Children Choices Civil Society Commitment Community Compassion Compromise Confidence Conflict Conscience Constitution Country Courage Crime Culture Daughters Debate Decisions Defeat Democracy Desire Destiny Difficulty Dignity Discipline Discrimination Diversity Doubt Dreams Duty Dying Earth Education Effort Elections Enemies Environment Equality Expectations Family Fate Fathers Fear Feelings Fighting Forgiveness Freedom Friendship Generosity Giving Glory Goodness Graduation Greatness Happiness Hard Times Harmony Hate Hatred Heart Hills Home Honesty Honor House Human Dignity Human Rights Humanity Humility Hunger Illness Imagination Independence Inequality Injustice Inspiration Inspirational Inspiring Integrity Joy Judging Justice Language Leadership Learning Legacy Lgbt Liberation Liberty Life Live Life Love Lying Making A Difference Mankind Mistakes Morning Mothers Motivational Moving Forward Negotiation Non Violence Nonviolence Not Giving Up Opinions Opportunity Oppression Optimism Overcoming Parents Parties Past Peace Perseverance Personal Responsibility Pleasure Politicians Politics Positive Poverty Prejudice Prisons Progress Protest Purpose Quality Racism Reading Reality Reconciliation Respect Responsibility Revolution Running Sacrifice School Security Simplicity Skins Slavery Sleep Soccer Society Soul South Africa Sports Strategy Strength Struggle Study Success Suffering Talent Teachers Today Tolerance Tragedy Training Travel Unity Values Victory Violence Virtue Vision War Water Wealth Wife Winning Wisdom Youth more...
  • 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.

    "Nelson Mandela: U.S Is A Threat To World Peace". Interview with Tom Masland, www.newsweek.com. September 9, 2002.
  • I am confident that nobody... will accuse me of selfishness if I ask to spend time, while I am still in good health, with my family, my friends and also with myself.

    "Mandela keeps his opinions to himself as a nation marks its idol's birthday" by Rory Carroll, www.theguardian.com. July 17, 2006.
  • There is nothing like a fixed, steady aim, with an honorable purpose. It dignifies your nature, and insures your success.

  • In Africa there is a concept known as 'ubuntu' - the profound sense that we are human only through the humanity of others; that if we are to accomplish anything in this world it will in equal measure be due to the work and achievement of others.

  • The power of imagination created the illusion that my vision went much farther than the naked eye could actually see.

  • The anchor of all my dreams is the collective wisdom of mankind as a whole.

    Nelson Mandela (2011). “Conversations With Myself”, p.155, Pan Macmillan
  • 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.

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

  • We don't have to be victims of our past, that we can let go of our bitterness, and that all of us can achieve greatness.

  • One of the things I learned when I was negotiating was that until I changed myself, I could not change others.

  • True reconciliation does not consist in merely forgetting the past.

    Nelson Mandela (1996*). “Statement of the National Executive Committee of the ANC on the occasion of the 84th anniversary of the African National Congress: January 8 1996”
  • The Commonwealth makes the world safe for diversity

  • This must be a world of democracy and respect for human rights, a world freed from the horrors of poverty, hunger, deprivation and ignorance, relieved of the threat and the scourge of civil wars and external aggression and unburdened of the great tragedy of millions forced to become refugees.

    Nelson Mandela (2012). “Notes to the Future: Words of Wisdom”, p.170, Simon and Schuster
  • 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.

    Nelson Mandela (2011). “Nelson Mandela By Himself: The Authorised Book of Quotations”, p.158, Pan Macmillan
  • Honesty,sincer ity,simplicity, humility, pure generosity,abse nce of vanity,readines s to serve others -qualities which are within easy reach of every soul -are the foundation of one's spiritual life.

  • Abject poverty is demeaning, is an assault on the dignity of those that suffer it. In the end it demeans us all. It makes the freedom of all of us less meaningful.

    Nelson Mandela (2012). “Notes to the Future: Words of Wisdom”, p.138, Simon and Schuster
  • Nothing is black or white.

  • But the human body has an enormous capacity for adjusting to trying circumstances. I have found that one can bear the unbearable if one can keep one's spirits strong even when one's body is being tested. Strong convictions are the secret of surviving deprivation; your spirit can be full even when your stomach is empty.

    Nelson Mandela (2013). “Long Walk To Freedom”, p.264, Hachette UK
  • The time comes in the life of any nation when there remain only two choices - submit or fight. That time has now come to South Africa. We shall not submit and we have no choice but to hit back by all means in our power in defence of our people, our future, and our freedom

    Nelson Mandela (1973). “No Easy Walk to Freedom”, p.169, Heinemann
  • I say to all those leaders, do not look the other way. Do not hesitate... It is within your power to avoid a genocide of humanity.

    "Excerpts: Mandela's Live 8 speech". news.bbc.co.uk. July 3, 2005.
  • Our march to freedom is irreversible. We must not allow fear to stand in our way.

    Rally Address Following Release From Pollsmoor Prison, delivered 11 February 1990, Cape Town, South Africa
  • Few things make the life of a parent more rewarding and sweet as successful children.

    Nelson Mandela (2011). “Nelson Mandela By Himself: The Authorised Book of Quotations”, p.77, Pan Macmillan
  • You see, when there is danger, a good leader takes the front line. But when there is celebration, a good leader stays in the back room. If you want the cooperation of human beings around you, make them feel that they are important. And you do that by being humble.

  • Only free men can negotiate; prisoners cannot enter into contracts. Your freedom and mine cannot be separated.

    Statement from prison, 10 Feb. 1985
  • Of course we desire education and we think it is a good thing, but you don't have to have education in order to know that you want certain fundamental rights, you have got aspirations, you have got acclaims. It has nothing to do with education whatsoever.

    Source: www.itv.com
  • Jinnah is a constant source of inspiration for all those who are fighting against racial and group discrimination.

  • We can't fight AIDS unless we do much more to fight TB as well.

    Nelson Mandela (2011). “Nelson Mandela By Himself: The Authorised Book of Quotations”, p.397, Pan Macmillan
  • No one is born hating another person because of the color 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.

    FaceBook post by Nelson Mandela from Nov 04, 2014
  • It is not beyond our power to create a world in which all children have access to a good education.

    Nelson Mandela (2011). “Nelson Mandela By Himself: The Authorised Book of Quotations”, p.128, Pan Macmillan
  • You have a limited time to stay on earth. You must try to use that period for the purpose of transforming your country into what you desire it to be: a democratic, non-racial, non-sexist country. And that is a great task.

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We hope you have found the saying you were looking for in our collection! At the moment, we have collected 666 quotes from the Former President of South Africa Nelson Mandela, starting from July 18, 1918! We periodically replenish our collection so that visitors of our website can always find inspirational quotes by authors from all over the world! Come back to us again!
Nelson Mandela quotes about: Achievement Affairs Aids Animals Apartheid Attitude Authority Belief Blame Books Boxing Challenges Change Changing The World Character Charity Children Choices Civil Society Commitment Community Compassion Compromise Confidence Conflict Conscience Constitution Country Courage Crime Culture Daughters Debate Decisions Defeat Democracy Desire Destiny Difficulty Dignity Discipline Discrimination Diversity Doubt Dreams Duty Dying Earth Education Effort Elections Enemies Environment Equality Expectations Family Fate Fathers Fear Feelings Fighting Forgiveness Freedom Friendship Generosity Giving Glory Goodness Graduation Greatness Happiness Hard Times Harmony Hate Hatred Heart Hills Home Honesty Honor House Human Dignity Human Rights Humanity Humility Hunger Illness Imagination Independence Inequality Injustice Inspiration Inspirational Inspiring Integrity Joy Judging Justice Language Leadership Learning Legacy Lgbt Liberation Liberty Life Live Life Love Lying Making A Difference Mankind Mistakes Morning Mothers Motivational Moving Forward Negotiation Non Violence Nonviolence Not Giving Up Opinions Opportunity Oppression Optimism Overcoming Parents Parties Past Peace Perseverance Personal Responsibility Pleasure Politicians Politics Positive Poverty Prejudice Prisons Progress Protest Purpose Quality Racism Reading Reality Reconciliation Respect Responsibility Revolution Running Sacrifice School Security Simplicity Skins Slavery Sleep Soccer Society Soul South Africa Sports Strategy Strength Struggle Study Success Suffering Talent Teachers Today Tolerance Tragedy Training Travel Unity Values Victory Violence Virtue Vision War Water Wealth Wife Winning Wisdom Youth

Nelson Mandela

  • Born: July 18, 1918
  • Died: December 5, 2013
  • Occupation: Former President of South Africa