One of the most difficult things is not to change society - but to change yourself.

A real leader uses every issue, no matter how serious and sensitive, to ensure that at the end of the debate we should emerge stronger and more united than ever before.

The brave man is not the one who has no fears, he is the one who triumphs over his fears.

In some ways, it is easier to be a dissident, for then one is without responsibility.

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.

Freedom is meaningless if people cannot put food in their stomachs, if they can have no shelter, if illiteracy and disease continue to dog them.

I do not think that I was brought up in a unique society with unique features about giving.

Other people have qualities that may be better than your own. Let them express them.

There's one place where (Fidel Castro's) Cuba stands out head and shoulders above the rest – that is in its love for human rights and liberty!

Our continent must be allowed to do its own things, charting its course and destiny.

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

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?

The titanic effort that has brought liberation to South Africa, and ensured the total liberation of Africa, constitutes an act of redemption for the black people of the world.

I dream of our vast deserts, of our forests, of all our great wildernesses. We must never forget that it is our duty to protect this environment.

A government which uses force to maintain its rule teaches the oppressed to use force to oppose it.

Thinking too well of people often allows them to be better than they otherwise would.

I have found Jews to be more broad-minded than most whites on issues of race and politics, perhaps because they themselves have historically been victims of prejudice.

I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination.

I've never had a single moment of depression, because I know my cause will triumph.

Once a person is determined to help themselves, there is nothing that can stop them.

Those who conduct themselves with morality, integrity and consistency need not fear the forces of inhumanity and cruelty.

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.

Part of building a new nation means building a spirit of tolerance, love and respect amongst the people of this country.