Only free men can negotiate; prisoners cannot enter into contracts. Your freedom and mine cannot be separated. - Nelson Mandela
Courageous people do not fear forgiving, for the sake of peace. - Nelson Mandela
A good head and good heart are always a formidable combination. But when you add to that a literate tongue or pen, then you have something very special. - Nelson Mandela
Sometimes it falls upon a generation to be great, you can be that generation - 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
If you want to make peace with your enemy, you have to work with your enemy. Then he becomes your partner. - Nelson Mandela
It was not lack of ability that limited my people, but lack of opportunity. - Nelson Mandela
If I preached unity, I must act like a unifier, even at the risk of perhaps alienating some of my own colleagues. - Nelson Mandela
A winner is a dreamer who never gives up - Nelson Mandela
I am not a saint, unless you think of a saint as a sinner who keeps on trying. - 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 AM THE MASTER OF MY FATE AND THE CAPTAIN OF MY DESTINY. - Nelson Mandela
There is nothing like returing to a place that remains uncganged to find how you yourself have altered. - Nelson Mandela
Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world. - Nelson Mandela
Overcoming poverty is not a gesture of charity. It is an act of justice. It is the protection of a fundamental human right, the right to dignity and a decent life."[ Live 8 Concert, Mary Fitzgerald Square, Johannesburg, South Africa, 2 July 2005] - Nelson Mandela
It is a simple tale, but its message is an enduring one: virtue and generosity will be rewarded in ways that one cannot know. - Nelson Mandela
It always seems impossible until it's done. - Nelson Mandela
Peace is not just the absence of conflict; peace is the creation of an environment where all can flourish regardless of race, color, creed, religion, gender, class, caste or any other social markers of difference. - Nelson Mandela
There is nothing like returning to a place that remains unchanged to find the ways in which you yourself have altered. - Nelson Mandela
Where you stand depends on where you sit. - Nelson Mandela
Some men, under the pressure of incarceration, showed true mettle, while others revealed themselves as less than what they had appeared to be. - Nelson Mandela
There is little to be said in favour of poverty, but it was often an incubator of true friendship. Many people will appear to befriend you when you are wealthy, but precious few will do the same when you are poor - 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
May your choices reflect your hopes, not your fears. - Nelson Mandela
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
After climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb. - Nelson Mandela
Resentment is like drinking poison and then hoping it will kill your enemies. - Nelson Mandela
Sometimes it falls upon a generation to be great. You can be that great generation. - Nelson Mandela
As I walked out the door toward the gate that would lead to my freedom, I knew if I didn't leave my bitterness and hatred behind, I'd still be in prison. - Nelson Mandela
Everyone can rise above their circumstances and achieve success if they are dedicated to and passionate about what they do. - Nelson Mandela
As Chief Luthuli said, 'When the women begin to take an active part in the struggle, no power on earth can stop us from achieving freedom in our lifetime. - Nelson Mandela
A blind pursuit of cheap popularity has nothing to do with revolution."[Political Report of the National Executive Committee to the forty-ninth A.N.C. National Conference, Bloemfontein, South Africa, 17 December 1994] - Nelson Mandela
If you want to make peace with your enemy, you have to work with your enemy. Then he becomes your partner. -, activist, South African president, Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1918) - Nelson Mandela
When a man is denied the right to live the life he believes in, he has no choice but to become an outlaw. - Nelson Mandela
Like slavery and apartheid, poverty is not natural. It is man-made and it can be overcome and eradicated by the actions of human beings. - Nelson Mandela
Courage is not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. - Nelson Mandela
We owe our children – the most vulnerable citizens in any society – a life free from violence and fear. - Nelson Mandela
Live life as though nobody is watching, and express yourself as though everyone is listening. - Nelson Mandela
I am not an optimist, but a great believer of hope. - Nelson Mandela
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. - Nelson Mandela