Quotes by Nelson Mandela

” I stand here before you not as a prophet but as a humble servant of you, the people. Your tireless and heroic sacrificies have made it possible for me to be here today. I therefore place the remaining years of my life in your hands.” 

From Nelson Mandela’s speech on the day of his release Cape Town, 11 Feb 1990

” The time for the healing of the wounds has come. The moment to bridge the chasms that divide us has come. The time to build is upon us.”

From Nelson Mandela’s Inaugural Speech 1994

” We have triumphed in the effort to implant hope in the breasts of the millions of our people. We enter into a convenant that we shall build the society in which all South Africans both black and white will be able to walk tall, without any fear in their hearts, assured of their inalienable right to human dignity – a rainbow nation at peace with itself and the world “

” 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. “

” I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear. “

• Nelson Mandela Home
• BIography Nelson Mandela
• Extracts from Long Walk To Freedom by Nelson Mandela