My respect for human beings is based not on the colour of a man’s skin nor authority he may wield, but purely on merit. Nelson Mandela More Quotes by Nelson Mandela More Quotes From Nelson Mandela I regard it as a duty which I owed, not just to my people, but also to my profession, to the practice of law, and to the justice for all mankind, to cry out against this discrimination which is essentially unjust and opposed to the whole basis of the attitude towards justice which is part of the tradition of legal training in this country. I believed that in taking up a stand against this injustice I was upholding the dignity of what should be an honorable profession. Nelson Mandela justice-for-all attitude country Our single most important challenge is therefore to help establish a social order in which the freedom of the individual will truly mean the freedom of the individual. Nelson Mandela inspiring inspirational mean I started to make a study of the art of war and revolution and, whilst abroad, underwent a course in military training. If there was to be guerrilla warfare, I wanted to be able to stand and fight with my people and to share the hazards of war with them. Nelson Mandela military war art I hate racial discrimination most intensely and all its manifestations. I have fought all my life; I fight now, and will do so until the end of my days. Even although I now happen to be tried by one, whose opinion I hold in high esteem, I detest most violently the set-up that surrounds me here. It makes me feel that I am a Black man in a White man's court. This should not be I should feel perfectly at ease and at home with the assurance that I am being tried by a fellow South African, who does not regard me as an inferior, entitled to a special type of justice. Nelson Mandela hate fighting home In my country we go to prison first and then become President. Nelson Mandela president inspiring country In some ways, I saw the garden as a metaphor for certain aspects of my life. A leader must also tend his garden; he, too, plants seeds, and then watches, cultivates, and harvests the results. Like the gardener, a leader must take responsibility for what he cultivates; he must mind his work, try to repel enemies, preserve what can be preserved, and eliminate what cannot succeed. Nelson Mandela garden leader responsibility Our motto should be: let us make peace so that we can concentrate on the really important work that needs to be done. That is, alleviating the plight of the poor and the defenceless, for as long as most of humanity feels the pain of poverty we all remain prisoners. Nelson Mandela pain humanity long No one in my family had ever attended school [...] On the first day of school my teacher, Miss Mdingane, gave each of us an English name. This was the custom among Africans in those days and was undoubtedly due to the British bias of our education. That day, Miss Mdingane told me that my new name was Nelson. Why this particular name I have no idea. Nelson Mandela names teacher school It is music and dancing that make me at peace with the world. Nelson Mandela dancing world One of the things I learned when I was negotiating was that until I changed myself, I could not change others. Nelson Mandela change leadership inspiring Abject poverty is demeaning, is an assault on the dignity of those that suffer it. In the end it demeans us all. It makes the freedom of all of us less meaningful. Nelson Mandela poverty suffering meaningful But the human body has an enormous capacity for adjusting to trying circumstances. I have found that one can bear the unbearable if one can keep one's spirits strong even when one's body is being tested. Strong convictions are the secret of surviving deprivation; your spirit can be full even when your stomach is empty. Nelson Mandela survival strong secret I hate race discrimination most intensely and in all its manifestations. I have fought it all during my life; I fight it now, and will do so until the end of my days. Nelson Mandela hate positive inspirational We slaughter one another in our words and attitudes. We slaughter one another in the stereotypes and mistrust that linger in our heads, and the words of hate we spew from our lips. Nelson Mandela our-words hate attitude For a revolution is not just a question of pulling a trigger; its purpose is to create a fair just society Nelson Mandela triggers revolution purpose Honesty,sincer ity,simplicity, humility, pure generosity,abse nce of vanity,readines s to serve others -qualities which are within easy reach of every soul -are the foundation of one's spiritual life. Nelson Mandela honesty humility spiritual Educating all of our children must be one of our most urgent priorities. We all know that education, more than anything else, improves our chances of Nelson Mandela education life children To deny people of their human rights is to challenge their very humanity. To impose on them a wretched life of huger and deprivation is to dehumanize them. But such has been the terrible fate of all black persons in our country under the system of apartheid. Nelson Mandela fate inspiring country When I walked out of the gate I knew that if I continued to hate these people I was still in prison. Nelson Mandela hate happiness people Prison itself is a tremendous education in the need for patience and perseverance. It is above all a test of one's commitment. Nelson Mandela perseverance commitment needs