Quotes By Nelson Mandela

I have been influenced in my thinking by both west and east.

I dream of an Africa which is in peace with itself.

Only free men can negotiate. A prisoner cannot enter into contracts.

It is better to lead from behind and to put others in front, especially when you celebrate victory when nice things occur. You take the front line when there is danger. Then people will appreciate your leadership.

You know, you can only lead them from behind.

I have retired, but if there's anything that would kill me it is to wake up in the morning not knowing what to do.

A good leader can engage in a debate frankly and thoroughly, knowing that at the end he and the other side must be closer, and thus emerge stronger. You don't have that idea when you are arrogant, superficial, and uninformed.

Never, never and never again shall it be that this beautiful land will again experience the oppression of one by another.

In my country we go to prison first and then become President.

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

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

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

My son has died of AIDS.

I detest racialism, because I regard it as a barbaric thing, whether it comes from a black man or a white man.

Nonviolence is a good policy when the conditions permit.

Intervention only works when the people concerned seem to be keen for peace.

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.

The titanic effort that has brought liberation to South Africa, and ensured the total liberation of Africa, constitutes an act of redemption for the black people of the world.

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

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

Let us give publicity to H.I.V./AIDS and not hide it, because the only way to make it appear like a normal illness like TB, like cancer, is always to come out and say somebody has died because of H.I.V./AIDS, and people will stop regarding it as something extraordinary.

I started to make a study of the art of war and revolution and, whilst abroad, underwent a course in military training. If there was to be guerrilla warfare, I wanted to be able to stand and fight with my people and to share the hazards of war with them.

In countries where innocent people are dying, the leaders are following their blood rather than their brains.

Before I went to jail, I was active in politics as a member of South Africa's leading organization - and I was generally busy from 7 A.M. until midnight. I never had time to sit and think.

I have always regarded myself, in the first place, as an African patriot.

There is no passion to be found playing small - in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living.

After climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb.

When the water starts boiling it is foolish to turn off the heat.

No country can really develop unless its citizens are educated.

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.