You know, you can only lead them from behind.
— Nelson Mandela
No country can really develop unless its citizens are educated.
If there is a country that has committed unspeakable atrocities in the world, it is the United States of America.
My son has died of AIDS.
Leaders in all spheres who are living with HIV should be encouraged, not coerced, to lead by example and disclose their HIV status.
Unlike some politicians, I can admit to a mistake.
I stand here before you not as a prophet, but as a humble servant of you, the people.
I have been influenced in my thinking by both west and east.
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?
I detest racialism, because I regard it as a barbaric thing, whether it comes from a black man or a white man.
Never, never and never again shall it be that this beautiful land will again experience the oppression of one by another.
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.
After climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb.
Let there be work, bread, water and salt for all.
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.
I dream of an Africa which is in peace with itself.
There is nothing like returning to a place that remains unchanged to find the ways in which you yourself have altered.
It is wise to persuade people to do things and make them think it was their own idea.
There is nothing I fear more than waking up without a program that will help me bring a little happiness to those with no resources, those who are poor, illiterate, and ridden with terminal disease.
There are many people in South Africa who are rich and who can share those riches with those not so fortunate who have not been able to conquer poverty.
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.
Give a child love, laughter and peace, not AIDS.
I have retired, but if there's anything that would kill me it is to wake up in the morning not knowing what to do.
Courageous people do not fear forgiving, for the sake of peace.
I have always regarded myself, in the first place, as an African patriot.
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.
There is no such thing as part freedom.
Money won't create success, the freedom to make it will.
I cannot conceive of Israel withdrawing if Arab states do not recognize Israel, within secure borders.
Let freedom reign. The sun never set on so glorious a human achievement.
When the water starts boiling it is foolish to turn off the heat.
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.
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.
A good head and a good heart are always a formidable combination.
I can't pretend that I'm brave and that I can beat the whole world.
Before I went to jail, I was active in politics as a member of South Africa's leading organization - and I was generally busy from 7 A.M. until midnight. I never had time to sit and think.
I am confident that nobody... will accuse me of selfishness if I ask to spend time, while I am still in good health, with my family, my friends and also with myself.
Let us give publicity to H.I.V./AIDS and not hide it, because the only way to make it appear like a normal illness like TB, like cancer, is always to come out and say somebody has died because of H.I.V./AIDS, and people will stop regarding it as something extraordinary.
By ancestry, I was born to rule.
I made a mistake by being ejected from the presidency. Next time, I will choose a Cabinet which will allow me to be life President.
I should tie myself to no particular system of society other than of socialism.
I started to make a study of the art of war and revolution and, whilst abroad, underwent a course in military training. If there was to be guerrilla warfare, I wanted to be able to stand and fight with my people and to share the hazards of war with them.
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.
There can be no keener revelation of a society's soul than the way in which it treats its children.
In my country we go to prison first and then become President.
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.
Communists have always played an active role in the fight by colonial countries for their freedom, because the short-term objects of Communism would always correspond with the long-term objects of freedom movements.
If you want to make peace with your enemy, you have to work with your enemy. Then he becomes your partner.
I dream of the realization of the unity of Africa, whereby its leaders combine in their efforts to solve the problems of this continent. I dream of our vast deserts, of our forests, of all our great wildernesses.
Only free men can negotiate. A prisoner cannot enter into contracts.
