15 of Nelson Mandela's Most Inspiring Quotes

1. “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


2. “No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion … if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love.”
― Nelson Mandela

3.  “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


4.  “Overcoming poverty is not a task of charity, it is an act of justice. 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. Sometimes it falls on a generation to be great. YOU can be that great generation. Let your greatness blossom.”
― Nelson Mandela


5.  “It is said that no one truly knows a nation until one has been inside its jails. A nation should not be judged by how it treats its highest citizens, but its lowest ones.”
― Nelson Mandela


6.  “One of the things I learned when I was negotiating was that until I changed myself, I could not change others.”
― Nelson Mandela


7.  “Courage is not the absence of fear — it s inspiring others to move beyond it.”
― Nelson Mandela


8.  “You will achieve more in this world through acts of mercy than you will through acts of retribution.”
― Nelson Mandela


9.  “Live life as though nobody is watching, and express yourself as though everyone is listening.”
― Nelson Mandela


10.  “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.”
― Nelson Mandela


11.  “Peace is the greatest weapon for development that any person can have.”
― Nelson Mandela


12.  “Courageous people do not fear forgiving, for the sake of peace.”
― Nelson Mandela


13. “I realized that they could take everything from me except my mind and my heart. They could not take those things. Those things I still had control over. And I decided not to give them away.”
― Nelson Mandela


14.  “Democracy meant all men were to be heard, and a decision was taken together as a people. Majority rule was a foreign notion. A minority was not to be crushed by a majority.”
― Nelson Mandela


15.  “Fools multiply when wise men are silent.”
― Nelson Mandela