Quotes from Nelson Mandela

Violence was the only weapon that would destroy apartheid.

She married a man who soon left her; that man became a myth; and then that myth returned home and proved to be just a man after all.

I never lost hope that this great transformation would occur (...) I always knew that deep down in every human heart, there was mercy and generosity. No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must 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.

Prison is designed to break one's spirit and destroy one's resolve. To do this, the authorities attempt to exploit every weakness, demolish every initiative, negate all signs of individuality--all with the idea of stamping out that spark that makes each of us human and each of us who we are.

Nonviolent passive resistance is effective as long as your opposition adheres to the same rules as you do. But if peaceful protest is met with violence, its efficacy is at an end. For me, nonviolence was not a moral principle but a strategy; there is no moral goodness in using an ineffective weapon.

Overcoming fear, personal scarifies for the cause of freedom of all, and ability to see good in your enemies — No one is born hating another person because of the color of your skin, or his background, or his religion … if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love.

To be free is to not merely cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.

Never forget that a saint is a sinner who keeps on trying.

The purpose of freedom is to create it for others.

Friends, comrades and fellow South Africans. I greet you all in the name of peace, democracy and freedom for all! I stand here before you not as a prophet but as a humble servant of you, the people. Your tireless and heroic sacrifices have made it possible for me to be here today. I therefore place the remaining years of my life in your hands.

I always remember the regent's axiom: a leader, he said, is like a shepherd. He stays behind the flock, letting the most nimble go out ahead, whereupon the others follow, not realizing that all along they are being directed from behind. It

women had not weakened in their resolve to resist.