Quotes by 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

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

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.

Without language, one cannot talk to people and understand them; one cannot share their hopes and aspirations, grasp their history, appreciate their poetry, or savor their songs.

Without language, one cannot talk to people and understand them; one cannot share their hopes and apsirations, grasp their history, appreciate their poetry or savour their songs. I again realized that we were not different people with separate languages; we were one people, with different tongues.

In judging our progress as individual we tend to concentrate on external factors such as ones social position, influence and popularity, wealth and standard of education. These are, of course, important in measuring ones success in material matters and it is perfectly understandable if many people exert themselves mainly to achieve all these. But internal factors may be even more crucial in assessing ones development as a human being. Honesty, sincerity, simplicity, humility, pure generosity, absence of vanity, readiness to serve others - qualites which are within reach of every soul - are the foundation of ones spiritual life.

It is a simple tale, but its message is an enduring one: virtue and generosity will be rewarded in ways that one cannot know.

What I took out of them was that character was measured by facing up to difficult situations and that a hero was a man who would not break even under the most trying circumstances.

Some men, under the pressure of incarceration, showed true mettle, while others revealed themselves as less than what they had appeared to be.

I am not a saint, unless you think of a saint as a sinner who keeps on trying.

There is a universal respect and even admiration for those who are humble and simple by nature, and who have absolute confidence in all human beings irrespective of their social status.

When you are young and strong...you can stay alive on your hatred....but realized later They can take everything from me except my mind and heartNelson Mandela from Long Walk to Freedom

It was not lack of ability that limited my people, but lack of opportunity.

Crime must be brought under control... Freedom without civility, freedom without the ability to live in peace, was not true freedom at all.

We owe our children – the most vulnerable citizens in any society – a life free from violence and fear.

It always seems impossible until its done.

I have walked that long road to freedom. I have tried not to falter; I have made missteps along the way. But I have discovered the secret that after climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb. I have taken a moment here to rest, to steal a view of the glorious vista that surrounds me, to look back on the distance I have come. But I can only rest for a moment, for with freedom come responsibilities, and I dare not linger, for my long walk is not ended.

After climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb.

Where you stand depends on where you sit.

A blind pursuit of cheap popularity has nothing to do with revolu