Long Walk To Freedom Quotes

I knew as well as I knew anything that the oppressor must be liberated just as surely as the oppressed.

Exercise is the key not only to physical health but to peace of mind.

Any man or institution that tries to rob me of my dignity will lose.

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

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

It was during those long and lonely years that my hunger for the freedom of my own people became a hunger for the freedom of all people, white and black. I knew as well as I knew anything that the oppressor must be liberated just as surely as the oppressed.

The victory of democracy in South Africa is the common achievement of all humanity.

It is what we make out of what we have, not what we are given, that separates one person from another.

Video screenshot Facts and figures from Nelson Mandela's life, set to the trailer from 'Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom.' "Man's goodness is a flame that can be hidden but never extinguished."

A freedom fighter learns the hard way that it is the oppressor who defines the nature of the struggle,and the oppressed is often left no recourse but to use methods that mirror those of the oppressor.At a point, one can only fight fire with fire

I always knew that someday I would once again feel the grass under my feet and walk in the sunshine as a free man.

There is no easy walk to freedom anywhere.

It is through education that the daughter of a peasant can become a doctor.

Man's goodness is a flame that can be hidden but never extinguished

Freedom is indivisible; the chains on any one of my people were the chains on all of them, the chains on all of my people were the chains on me.

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.

I learned that to humiliate another person is to make him suffer an unnecessarily cruel fate. Even as a boy, I defeated my opponents without dishonoring them.

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

There were many dark moments when my faith in humanity was sorely tested.

I am fundamentally an optimist. Whether that comes from nature or nurture, I cannot say. Part of being optimistic is keeping one's head pointed toward the sun, one's feet moving forward. There were many dark moments when my faith in humanity was sorely tested, but I would not and could not give myself up to despair. That way lays defeat and death.

Part of being optimistic is keeping one's head pointed toward the sun, one's feet moving forward.

I have never cared very much for personal prizes. A person does not become a freedom fighter in the hope of winning awards.

The authorities liked to say that we received a balanced diet; it was indeed balanced - between the unpalatable and the inedible.

A good head and a good heart are always a formidable combination.

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.

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.

After climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb. I can rest only for a moment, for with freedom come responsibilities, and I dare not linger, for my long walk is not yet ended.

With freedom comes responsibilities, and I dare not linger, for my long walk has not ended yet.

Poverty is not natural; it is man-made

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.

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.

It was during those long and lonely years that my hunger for the freedom of my own people became a hunger for the freedom of all people, white and black. I knew as well as I knew anything that the oppressor must be liberated just as surely as the oppressed. A man who takes away another man's freedom is a prisoner of hatred, he is locked behind the bars of prejudice and narrow-mindedness. I am not truly free if I am taking away someone else's freedom, just as surely as I am not free when my freedom is taken from me. The oppressed and the oppressor alike are robbed of their humanity.

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.

Resentment is like drinking poison and then hoping it will kill your enemies.

There is nothing like returning to a place that remains unchanged to find the ways in which you yourself have altered.

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

No one is born hating another person because of the colour of his skin, or his background, or his religion.

Love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.

No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.

During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to this struggle of the African people. I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. 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.

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.

We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It is not just in some of us; it is in everyone and as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give others permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.

As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.

If you want to make peace with your enemy, you have to work with your enemy. Then he becomes your partner.

I had no epiphany, no singular revelation, no moment of truth, but a steady accumulation of a thousand slights, a thousand indignities and a thousand unremembered moments produced in me an anger, a rebelliousness, a desire to fight the system that imprisoned my people. There was no particular day on which I said, Henceforth I will devote myself to the liberation of my people; instead, I simply found myself doing so, and could not do otherwise.

Nelson Mandela said: 'It always seems impossible until it's done.' Peace is possible.

Education is the great engine of personal development. It is through education that the daughter of a peasant can become a doctor, that the son of a mineworker can become the head of the mine, that a child of farm workers can become the president of a great nation. It is what we make out of what we have, not what we are given, that separates one person from another.

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 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.

Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.