Nelson Mandela Quotes
Page 5 of 10

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

— Nelson Mandela

202. “Sport can create hope, where once there was only despair.”

— Nelson Mandela

203. “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.”

— Nelson Mandela

204. “It is a grave error for any leader to be oversensitive in the face of criticism.”

— Nelson Mandela

205. “MY greatest regret in life is that I never became the heavyweight boxing champion ofthe world.”

— Nelson Mandela

206. “Only armchair politicians are immune from committing mistakes. Errors are inherent in political action.”

— Nelson Mandela

207. “Racism is a blight on the human conscience. The idea that any people can be inferior to another, to the point where those who consider themselves superior define and treat the rest as subhuman, denies the humanity even of those who elevate themselves to the status of gods.”

— Nelson Mandela

208. “There is no easy walk to freedom anywhere.”

— Nelson Mandela

209. “Let your greatness bloom.”

— Nelson Mandela

210. “Each of us, as citizens, has a role to play in creating a better world for our children.”

— Nelson Mandela

211. “A garden was one of the few thing in prison that one could control. To plant a seed, watch it grow, to tend it then harvest it, offered a simple but enduring satisfaction. The sense of being the custodian of this small patch of earth offered a taste of freedom.”

— Nelson Mandela

212. “The history of struggle is rich with stories of heroes and heroines – some of them leaders, some of them followers, all of them deserve to be remembered.”

— Nelson Mandela

213. “I approach every problem with optimism.”

— Nelson Mandela

214. “If you are negotiating you must do so in a spirit of reconciliation, not from the point of view of issuing ultimatums.”

— Nelson Mandela

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

— Nelson Mandela

216. “Where people of goodwill get together and transcend their differences for the common good, peaceful and just solutions can be found even for those problems which seem most intractable.”

— Nelson Mandela

217. “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

218. “No form of violence can ever be excused in a society that wishes to call itself decent.”

— Nelson Mandela

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

— Nelson Mandela

220. “Religion is one of the most important forces in the world. Whether you are a Christian, a Muslim, a Buddhist, a Jew, or a Hindu, religion is a great force, and it can help one have command of one’s own morality, one’s own behavior, and one’s own attitude.”

— Nelson Mandela

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

— Nelson Mandela

222. “The Commonwealth makes the world safe for diversity.”

— Nelson Mandela

223. “Our march to freedom is irreversible. We must not allow fear to stand in our way.”

— Nelson Mandela

224. “There is nothing more important in life than giving. Tolerance is forged when people look beyond their own desires.”

— Nelson Mandela

225. “We speak here of the challenge of the dichotomies of war and peace, violence and non-violence, racism and human dignity, oppression and repression and liberty and human rights, poverty and freedom from want.”

— Nelson Mandela

226. “I stand here before you not as a prophet, but as a humble servant of you, the people.”

— Nelson Mandela

227. “Those who can’t imagine change reveal the deficits of their imaginations, not the difficulty of change.”

— Nelson Mandela

228. “I was neglected by my family because I had disappointed them – I’d run away from being forced into an arranged marriage, which was a big blow to them.”

— Nelson Mandela

229. “No problem is so deep that it cannot be overcome, given the will of all parties, through discussion and negotiation rather than force and violence.”

— Nelson Mandela

230. “Teach the children that Africans are not one iota inferior to Europeans.”

— Nelson Mandela

231. “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

232. “The path of those who preach love, and not hatred, is not easy. They often have to wear a crown of thorns.”

— Nelson Mandela

233. “I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination...”

— Nelson Mandela

234. “For me, survival is the ability to cope with difficulties, with circumstances, and to overcome them.”

— Nelson Mandela

235. “Whenever I am with energetic young people, I feel like a recharged battery.”

— Nelson Mandela

236. “It is my deepest conviction that the children should be seen and heard as our most treasured assets.”

— Nelson Mandela

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

— Nelson Mandela

238. “There is a universal respect and even admiration for those who are humble and simple by nature, and who have absolute confidence in all human beings irrespective of their social status.”

— Nelson Mandela

239. “We must nurture tolerance, collective wisdom, and democracy.”

— Nelson Mandela

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

— Nelson Mandela

241. “Disasters will always come and go, leaving their victims either completely broken or steeled and seasoned and better able to face the next crop of challenges that may occur.”

— Nelson Mandela

242. “One effect of sustained conflict is to narrow our vision of what is possible. Time and time again, conflicts are resolved through shifts that were unimaginable at the start.”

— Nelson Mandela

243. “Our economic approach to food and its distribution reflects our basic moral values.”

— Nelson Mandela

244. “Let us join hands and build a truly South African nation.”

— Nelson Mandela

245. “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.”

— Nelson Mandela

246. “We recall our terrible past so that we can deal with it, to forgive where forgiveness is necessary, without forgetting; to ensure that never again will such inhumanity tear us apart; and to move ourselves to eradicate a legacy that lurks dangerously as a threat to our democracy.”

— Nelson Mandela

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

— Nelson Mandela

248. “Freedom alone is not enough without light to read at night, without time or access to water to irrigate your farm, without the ability to catch fish to feed your family.”

— Nelson Mandela

249. “Israel should withdraw from all the areas which it won from the Arabs in 1967, and in particular Israel should withdraw completely from the Golan Heights, from south Lebanon and from the West Bank.”

— Nelson Mandela

250. “Blaming things on the past does not make them better.”

— Nelson Mandela