Nelson Mandela

1. 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.
2. I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.
3. 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.
4. Communists have always played an active role in the fight by colonial countries for their freedom, because the short-term objects of Communism would always correspond with the long-term objects of freedom movements.
5. Africans require, want, the franchise on the basis of one man one vote. They want political independence.
6. There are times when a leader must move out ahead of the flock, go off in a new direction, confident that he is leading his people the right way.
7. My son has died of AIDS.
8. I really wanted to retire and rest and spend more time with my children, my grandchildren and of course with my wife.
9. If you are poor, you are not likely to live long.
10. I have been influenced in my thinking by both west and east.
11. By ancestry, I was born to rule.
12. I should tie myself to no particular system of society other than of socialism.
13. You know, you can only lead them from behind.
14. 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.
15. Only free men can negotiate. A prisoner cannot enter into contracts.
16. I can't pretend that I'm brave and that I can beat the whole world.
17. Africans require, want, the franchise on the basis of one man one vote. They want political independence.
18. Nonviolence is a good policy when the conditions permit.
19. There are times when a leader must move out ahead of the flock, go off in a new direction, confident that he is leading his people the right way.
20. 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.
21. Our single most important challenge is therefore to help establish a social order in which the freedom of the individual will truly mean the freedom of the individual.
22. I do not deny that I planned sabotage. I did not plan it in a spirit of recklessness nor because I have any love of violence. I planned it as a result of a calm and sober assessment of the political situation that had arisen after many years of tyranny, exploitation and oppression of my people by the whites.
23. There are many people in South Africa who are rich and who can share those riches with those not so fortunate who have not been able to conquer poverty.
24. 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 defenseless people.
25. 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.
26. There is no such thing as part freedom.
27. Intervention only works when the people concerned seem to be keen for peace.
28. Give a child love, laughter and peace, not AIDS.
29. Forget the past.
30. There is no easy walk to freedom anywhere, and many of us will have to pass through the valley of the shadow of death again and again before we reach the mountaintop of our desires.
31. We must use time wisely and forever realize that the time is always ripe to do right.
32. I detest racialism, because I regard it as a barbaric thing, whether it comes from a black man or a white man.
33. If the United States of America or Britain is having elections, they don't ask for observers from Africa or from Asia. But when we have elections, they want observers.
34. 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.
35. Does anybody really think that they didn't get what they had because they didn't have the talent or the strength or the endurance or the commitment?
36. I dream of an Africa which is in peace with itself.
37. Let freedom reign. The sun never set on so glorious a human achievement.
38. 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.
39. We can't afford to be killing one another.
40. No country can really develop unless its citizens are educated.
41. I was not a messiah, but an ordinary man who had become a leader because of extraordinary circumstances.
42. Courageous people do not fear forgiving, for the sake of peace.
43. To deny people their human rights is to challenge their very humanity.
44. Any man or institution that tries to rob me of my dignity will lose.
45. In countries where innocent people are dying, the leaders are following their blood rather than their brains.
46. I stand here before you not as a prophet, but as a humble servant of you, the people.
47. Only free men can negotiate; prisoners cannot enter into contracts. Your freedom and mine cannot be separated.
48. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities.
49. I cannot conceive of Israel withdrawing if Arab states do not recognize Israel, within secure borders.
50. Courageous people do not fear forgiving, for the sake of peace.
51. Sometimes, I feel like one who is on the sidelines, who has missed life itself.
52. Leaders in all spheres who are living with HIV should be encouraged, not coerced, to lead by example and disclose their HIV status.
53. I made a mistake by being ejected from the presidency. Next time, I will choose a Cabinet which will allow me to be life President.
54. I dream of the realization of the unity of Africa, whereby its leaders combine in their efforts to solve the problems of this continent. I dream of our vast deserts, of our forests, of all our great wildernesses.
55. Unlike some politicians, I can admit to a mistake.
56. When the water starts boiling it is foolish to turn off the heat.
57. 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.
58. The United States has made serious mistakes in the conduct of its foreign affairs, which have had unfortunate repercussions long after the decisions were taken.