Nelson Mandela, the first black president of South Africa, Nobel laureate and anti-apartheid icon died today, December 5, 2013. In honor of his life, his accomplishments and his sacrifices, we pay tribute to him. Here are just a few of his eloquent and thought provoking quotes.
1. “It always seems impossible until it is done. “-Nelson Mandela
2. “A good head and a good heart are always a formidable combination.” -Nelson Mandela
3. “Any man or institution that tries to rob me of my dignity will lose.” -Nelson Mandela
4. “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” -Nelson Mandela
5. “After climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb.” -Nelson Mandela
6. “Only free men can negotiate; prisoners cannot enter into contracts. Your freedom and mind cannot be separated.” -Nelson Mandela
7. “There can be no keener revelation of a society’s soul than the way in which it treats its children.” -Nelson Mandela
8. “In my country we go to prison first and then become President.” -Nelson Mandela
9. “Let freedom reign. The sun never set on so glorious a human achievement.” -Nelson Mandela
10. “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.” -Nelson Mandela
11. “I was not a messiah, but an ordinary man who had become a leader because of extraordinary circumstances.”-Nelson Mandela
12. “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 & Forgiveness.”-Nelson Mandela
13. “Let there be work, bread, water and salt for all.”- Nelson Mandela
14. “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.”-Nelson Mandela
15. “I have retired, but if there’s anything that would kill me is to wake up in the morning not knowing what to do. “-Nelson Mandela
16. “I stand here before you not as a prophet, but as a humble servant of you, the people.”-Nelson Mandela
17. “Never, never and never again shall it be that this beautiful land will again experience the oppression of one by another.”-Nelson Mandela
18. “For to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.”-Nelson Mandela
19. “Give a child love, laughter and peace, not AIDS.”-Nelson Mandela
20. “If you want to make peace with your enemy, you have to work with your enemy. Then he becomes your partner.”-Nelson Mandela
21. “I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities.”-Nelson Mandela
22. “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.”-Nelson Mandela
23. “I dream of an Africa which is in peace with itself.”-Nelson Mandela
24. “We must use time wisely and forever realize that the time is always ripe to do right.”-Nelson Mandela
25. “I detest racialism, because I regard it as a barbaric thing, whether it comes from a black man or a white man.”-Nelson Mandela
26. “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.”-Nelson Mandela
27. “No one is born hating another person because of the colour of his skin or his background or his religion. People learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.”- Nelson Mandela
28. “There is nothing like returning to a place that remains unchanged to find the ways in which you yourself have altered. “-Nelson Mandela
29. “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.”-Nelson Mandela
30. “Courageous people do not fear forgiving, for the sake of peace. “-Nelson Mandela
