Nelson Mandela
South African anti-apartheid revolutionary, political leader, and philanthropist who served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999 and is widely regarded as one of the great moral leaders of the twentieth century. Born in 1918 in Mvezo, he led the African National Congress's resistance to apartheid, was imprisoned for twenty-seven years (most of them on Robben Island), and emerged in 1990 to lead negotiations that ended white minority rule. His autobiography Long Walk to Freedom and his speeches — including the Rivonia Trial speech of 1964 ('I am prepared to die') and his 1994 inauguration address — are among the most-cited texts of modern political philosophy. He received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993 and died in Johannesburg in 2013.
quotes in library
Quotes by Nelson Mandela
116 quotes“Do not judge me by my successes; judge me by how many times I fell down and got back up again.”
“To make peace with an enemy, one must work with that enemy, and that enemy becomes your partner.”
“Forget the past. We have to free the future.”
“Forgiveness liberates the soul. It removes fear.”
“Without language, one cannot talk to people and understand them.”
“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 not where you start but how high you aim that matters for success.”
“To deny people their human rights is to challenge their very humanity.”
“There is no nobler cause than that of struggle for justice.”
“Freedom is indivisible.”
“The chains on any of my people were the chains on all of them.”
“The chains on all of my people were the chains on me.”
“Long lasting peace cannot be achieved without massive social change.”
“It cannot be achieved without economic and political justice.”
“In a world driven by violence and strife, in a world ruled by competing ideologies, dialogue and understanding remain our strongest weapons.”
“Poverty is not natural. It is man-made.”
“And it can be overcome and eradicated by the actions of human beings.”
“Overcoming poverty is not a gesture of charity. It is an act of justice.”
“It is the protection of a fundamental human right, the right to dignity.”
Explore More Teachers
Discover wisdom from 500+ spiritual teachers across all traditions.
Browse All Teachers