Nelson Mandela's Most Powerful Quotes
Words of wisdom from the late civil rights icon.
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Remembering Nelson Mandela - The world lost a civil rights icon when Nelson Mandela passed away on Thursday, December 5, after battling a long illness. Known as Madiba to his loved ones, history will remember him as the "father of a nation" for his role in breaking Apartheid in South Africa. We pay tribute to the former leader by recalling some of his most powerful quotes. (Photo: Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images)
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On Education: - "Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world." (Photo: REUTERS/Mike Hutchings)
Photo By Photo: REUTERS/Mike Hutchings
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On Leadership: - "Lead from the back, and let others believe they are in front."(Photo: Mike Marsland/WireImage)
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On Perseverence: - "After climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb.""It always seems impossible until it's done." (Photo: AP Photo, File)
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On Racism: - "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." (Photo: AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, Pool, File)
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On Dealing With Failure: - "The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall." (Photo: REUTERS/Alexander Joe/Pool)
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On Bravery: - "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." (Photo: WALTER DHLADHLA/AFP/Getty Images)
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On Political Radicalism: - "When a man is denied the right to live the life he believes in, he has no choice but to become an outlaw." (Photo: AP Photo/Peter Dejong, file)
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On Freedom: - "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."(Photo: Chris Jackson/Getty Images)
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On Justice: - "It is said that no one truly knows a nation until one has been inside its jails. A nation should not be judged by how it treats its highest citizens, but its lowest ones." (Photo: REUTERS/Michael Kooren)
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On Forgiveness: - "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." (Photo: PIERRE VERDY/AFP/Getty Images)
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On Enemies: - "if you want to make peace with your enemy, you have to work with your enemy. He then becomes your partner." (Photo: DON EMMERT/AFP/Getty Images)
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On Optimism: - "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 feer moving forward. There were many dark moments where my faith in humanity was surely tested, but I would not and could not give myself up to despair. That way lays defeat and death."(Photo: WALTER DHLADHLA/AFP/Getty Images)