"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 MandelaTiny Panda Quotes
Quotes by Nelson Mandela
Nelson Mandela, born on July 18, 1918, in the small village of Mvezo, South Africa, emerged as a pivotal figure in the struggle against apartheid, advocating for equality and justice. After spending 27 years in prison, his resilience and commitment to reconciliation helped dismantle institutionalized racism and led to his election as South Africa’s first black president in 1994. Mandela's legacy as a champion of human rights and dignity continues to inspire global movements for freedom and equality, reflecting his belief that "education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world."
Learn more in our Tiny Panda blog post about Nelson Mandela.
30 quotes found
"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."
Nelson Mandela"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."
Nelson Mandela"Never, never and never again shall it be that this beautiful land will again experience the oppression of one by another."
Nelson Mandela
"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"Where globalization means, as it so often does, that the rich and powerful now have new means to further enrich and empower themselves at the cost of the poorer and weaker, we have a responsibility to protest in the name of universal freedom."
Nelson Mandela
"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
"After climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb."
Nelson Mandela
"I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die."
Nelson Mandela"Africans require, want, the franchise on the basis of one man one vote. They want political independence."
Nelson Mandela
"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."
Nelson Mandela"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"If you want to make peace with your enemy, you have to work with your enemy. Then he becomes your partner."
Nelson Mandela
"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."
Nelson Mandela"There can be no keener revelation of a society's soul than the way in which it treats its children."
Nelson Mandela
"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?"
Nelson Mandela"On the first day of school, my teacher, Miss Mdingane, gave each of us an English name and said that from thenceforth that was the name we would answer to in school. This was the custom among Africans in those days and was undoubtedly due to the British bias of our education."
Nelson Mandela
"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
"I would wear the blue overalls of the fieldworker and often wore round, rimless glasses known as Mazzawati teaglasses. I had a car, and I wore a chauffeur's cap with my overalls. The pose of chauffeur was convenient because I could travel under the pretext of driving my master's car."
Nelson Mandela