Remembering Nelson Mandela: Quotes, Poems & Passages

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Nelson Mandela once said, "It is never my custom to use words lightly. If 27 years in prison have done anything to us, it was to use the silence of solitude to make us understand how precious words are and how real speech is in its impact on the way people live and die."

Indeed, Nelson Mandela, the hero of millions, has uttered and written many words of wisdom and inspiration throughout his lifetime. Here are some of his best quotes:

"A good head and a good heart always a formidable combination"

"Never, never and never again shall it be that this beautiful land will again experience the oppression of one by another."

"I learned that courage was 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."

"For to be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects the freedom of others." 

"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."

"It always seems impossible until it's done."

"Do not judge me by my successes, judge me by how many times I fell down and got back up again."

"In my country we go to prison first and then become president."

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

"Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world."

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

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

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

"It is better to lead from behind and to put others in front, especially when you celebrate victory when nice things occur. You take the front line when there is danger. Then people will appreciate your leadership."

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Besides composing his own words of wisdom, Mandela had some good taste in poems and passages. For example, while Nelson Mandela was imprisoned on Robben Island, he discovered the poem "Invictus" by William Ernest Henley and loved its message. As seen in the 2009 film of the same name, Mandela often recited the poem to other prisoners.

Below is Henley's "Invictus" poem in its entirety:

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance 
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds and shall find me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishment the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

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When Mandela became the President of South Africa in 1994, he sent the captain of the South African rugby team a copy of the "Man in the Arena" passage – also quoted by Brené Brown in her TED talk about vulnerability – from President Theordore "Teddy" Roosevelt's "Citizenship in a Republic"speech. Mandela inspired the South African rugby team to defeat my other home country New Zealand in the 1995 Rugby World Cup final in an emotional sweep. As seen in the film Invictus, Mandela walked onto the field after the win wearing the South African team's green rugby jersey as 80,000 fans burst into chants of "Nel-son! Nel-son!"

Teddy Roosevelt's "Man in the Arena" passage goes as follows:

"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat." 

Nelson Mandela 1918 – 2013

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.

– Nelson Mandela

The world lost a great man today. Nelson Mandela, South Africa's first African American president and the man who led South Africa to freedom, died Thursday night. He was 95. 

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Born Rolihlahla Mandela in a South African village in 1918, Nelson Mandela is often hailed as the father of South Africa and a hero to millions around the world. While he was at university, he became involved in the African National Congress (ANC). When apartheid began in 1948, Mandela led the ANC's Defiance Campaign against apartheid. 

In 1948, after World War II, the South African government introduced apartheid, literally "apartness" in Afrikaans, as an official policy. Under apartheid, South Africans were grouped into four groups ("black," "white," "coloured" and "Indian") and segregated. The whites, who were a minority, ruled South Africa, while the blacks, who were the majority, were stripped of many of their rights. By the 1970s, blacks were no longer allowed to hold political office, nor were they allowed South African citizenship. They were instead forced to become citizens of one of bantustans, self-governing homelands and townships. The segregation occurred in residential areas, education, medical care, beaches and other public services. The blacks were provided with inferior services to those of the white people. 

Mandela was often arrested for rebelling against the government. Although he originally believed in non-violent protest (like Gandhi), he eventually led a sabotage campaign against the apartheid government. He was arrested in 1962 and convicted of conspiracy to overthrow the government and sentenced to imprisonment for the rest of his life.

While he was on trial at the Supremer Court of South Africa, Mandela gave a four hour speech from the dock. In it, he said, "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 will live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to see realized. But my lord, if it needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die."

For his ideal, Mandela spent 27 years in prison. He was 44 when he was imprisoned on Robben Island, and he would be 71 when he was released in 1990. During his years in prison, Nelson Mandela became, according to the New York Times, a symbol of the opposition of apartheid. After he was released, Mandela started negotiating with the South African President F.W. de Klerk to abolish apartheid. He became South Africa's first African American president in 1994. 

Today, many people around the world have gathered to mourn the loss of Nelson Mandela. Mandela's death was announced by current South African President Jacob Zuma, who said, "Our nation has lost its greatest son." President Obama called Mandela an inspiration, saying, "He no longer belongs with us. He belongs with the ages." British Prime Minister David Cameron called Mandela, "A great light...in the world," and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh called Mandela, "A giant among men."

"I have had the privilege of spending time with President Mandela and I can say his sense of humor was as great as his optimism," said Harvey Weinstein, the co-chairman of the company that produced the upcoming film Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom, based on Mandela's autobiography. Idris Elba, who portrays Mandela in the film, said, "What an honour it was to step into the shoes of Nelson Mandela and portray a man who defied odds, broke down barriers, and championed human rights before the eyes of the world."

Morgan Freeman, who also portrayed Mandela in the 2009 film Invictus, said, "Today the world lost one of the true giants of the past century. Nelson Mandela was a man of incomparable honour, unconquerable strength, and unyielding resolve – a saint to many, a hero to all who treasure liberty, freedom and the dignity of humankind. As we remember his triumphs, let us, in his memory, not just reflect on how far we've come, but on how far we have to go. Madiba may no longer be with us, but his journey continues on with me and with all of us." Freeman, who watched Invictus with the former South African president, continued, "When you meet Mandela, you know you are in the presence of greatness. It is something that just emanates from him."

"Playing God is not a challenge at all... and playing the president, who's the president? He's just a guy," Freeman, who has also portrayed the President of the United States and God, said, "Mandela's not just a guy."

Rest in peace, Madiba.

Sources: The Guardian, The New York Times, Buzzfeed, The Hollywood Reporter and The Week