Nelson Mandela

I would like to be remembered not as a saint but as a humble and dedicated servant of the people.

A nation should not be judged by how it treats its highest citizens, but its lowest ones.

We must use time wisely and forever realize that the time is always ripe to do right.

There were many dark moments when my faith in humanity was sorely tested, but I would not and could not give myself over to despair. That way lays defeat and death.

As I have said, the first thing is to be honest with yourself. You can never have an impact on society if you have not changed yourself.

Difficulties break some men but make others. No axe is sharp enough to cut the soul of a sinner who keeps on trying, one armed with the hope that he will rise even in the end.

I am not truly free if I am taking away someone else's freedom, just as I am not free when my freedom is taken from me.

Honour belongs to those who never forsake the truth even when things are difficult and bleak.

Lead from the back — and let others believe they are in front.

Everyone can rise above their circumstances and achieve success if they are dedicated to and passionate about what they do.

The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.

I was not a messiah, but an ordinary man who had become a leader because of extraordinary circumstances.

The most difficult thing is not to change society — but to change yourself.

It is not the role of the ANC to make an apology for the past.

I dream of an Africa which is in peace with itself.

Mass incarceration is a system of racial control.

If we want to change the world, we must first change ourselves.

I stand here before you not as a prophet, but as a humble servant of you, the people.

A leader is like a shepherd. He stays behind the flock, letting the most nimble go out ahead, whereupon others follow, not realizing that all along they are being directed from behind.

There can be no keener revelation of a society's soul than the way in which it treats its children.