Quotes from Nelson Mandela

Man's goodness is a flame that can be hidden but never extinguished.

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.

I always knew that deep down in every human heart, there was mercy and generosity.

I immediately regretted that last point because I have discovered that in discussions it never helps to take a morally superior tone to one's opponent.

No matter what I suffered in my pursuit of freedom, I always took strength from the fact that I was fighting with and for my own people. Bram was a free man who fought against his own people to ensure the freedom of others

A new world will be won not by those who stand at a distance with their arms folded.

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

I am your servant…. It is not the individuals that matter, but the collective….

Running taught me valuable lessons. In cross-country competition, training counted more than intrinsic ability, and I could compensate for a lack of natural aptitude with diligence and discipline. I applied this in everything I did. Even as a student, I saw many young men who had great natural ability, but who did not have the self-discipline and patience to build on their endowment.

It never hurts to see the good in someone, they often act the better because of it.

Of course you cannot know a man completely, his character, his principles, sense of judgement, not till he's shown his colors, run the people, making laws. Experience, there's the test.

I was the symbol of justice in the court of the oppressor, the representative of the great ideals of freedom.