Top 500 Nelson Mandela Quotes (2024 Update)
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201. “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

202. “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.”

— Nelson Mandela

203. “I am not truly free if I am taking away someone else’s freedom, just as surely as I am not free when my freedom is taken from me. The oppressed and the oppressor alike are robbed of their humanity.”

— Nelson Mandela

204. “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

205. “No country can really develop unless its citizens are educated. Any nation that is progressive is led by people who have had the privilege of studying.”

— Nelson Mandela

206. “Ethiopia always has a special place in my imagination and the prospect of visiting Ethiopia attracted me more strongly than a trip to France, England, and America combined. I felt I would be visiting my own genesis, unearthing the roots of what made me an African.”

— Nelson Mandela

207. “To be the father of a nation is a great honor, but to be the father of a family is a greater joy.”

— Nelson Mandela

208. “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

209. “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

210. “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

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

— Nelson Mandela

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

— Nelson Mandela

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

— Nelson Mandela

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

— Nelson Mandela

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

— Nelson Mandela

216. “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

217. “Let your greatness bloom.”

— Nelson Mandela

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

— Nelson Mandela

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

— Nelson Mandela

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

— Nelson Mandela

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

— Nelson Mandela

222. “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

223. “I approach every problem with optimism.”

— Nelson Mandela

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

— Nelson Mandela

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

— Nelson Mandela

226. “The truth is we are not yet free; we have merely achieved the freedom to be free.”

— Nelson Mandela

227. “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

228. “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

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

— Nelson Mandela

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

— Nelson Mandela

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

— Nelson Mandela

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

— Nelson Mandela

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

— Nelson Mandela

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

— Nelson Mandela

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

— Nelson Mandela

236. “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

237. “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.”

— Nelson Mandela

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

— Nelson Mandela

239. “There are many people who feel that it is useless and futile to continue talking about peace and non-violence against a government whose only reply is savage attacks on an unarmed and defenceless people.”

— Nelson Mandela

240. “Whether you change the linen or stitch up wounds, cook the food or dispense the medicines, it is in your hands to help build a public service worthy of all those who gave their lives for the dream of democracy.”

— Nelson Mandela

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

— Nelson Mandela

242. “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.”

— Nelson Mandela

243. “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

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

— Nelson Mandela

245. “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

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

— Nelson Mandela

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

— Nelson Mandela

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

— Nelson Mandela

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

— Nelson Mandela

250. “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