We owe our children β the most vulnerable citizens in any society β a life free from violence and fear.
Nelson MandelaRead
Greece is the mother of democracy and South Africa is its youngest daughter
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote emphasizes the historical roots of democracy in Greece and its evolution in South Africa.
Nelson Mandela's quote captures the essence of democracy as a concept that originated in ancient Greece, where it was first practiced. By referring to South Africa as its 'youngest daughter,' Mandela highlights the relatively recent adoption and nurturing of democratic principles in South Africa, celebrating its emergence from apartheid to a democratic society.
Themes
DemocracyGreeceSouth AfricaHistoryPolitics
In practice
Example use cases
Using this quote during a political rally to highlight the significance of democracy in global history.
More from Nelson Mandela
All quotes βWhat freedom am I being offered while the organization of the people remains banned? Only free men can negotiate. A prisoner cannot enter into contracts.
Nelson MandelaRead
The past is a rich resource on which we can draw in order to make decisions for the future, but it does not dictate our choices. We should look back at the past and select what is good, and leave behind what is bad.
Nelson MandelaRead
We signal that good can be achieved amongst human beings who are prepared to trust, prepared to believe in the goodness of people.
Nelson MandelaRead
After one has been in prison, it is the small things that one appreciates: being able to take a walk whenever one wants, going into a shop and buying a newspaper, speaking or choosing to remain silent. The simple act of being able to control one's person.
Nelson MandelaRead
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.
Nelson MandelaRead
Similar quotes
He can give me what you cannot. Death is not a lover. Oh yes, he is.
Cormac MccarthyRead
Centuries hence, when current social and political problems may seem as remote as the problems of the Thirty Years' War are to us, our age may be remembered chiefly for one fact: It was the time when the inhabitants of the earth first made contact with the vast cosmos in which their small planet is embedded.
Carl SaganRead
I was very, very religious. And of course I wrote about it in 'Night.' I questioned God's silence. So I questioned. I don't have an answer for that. Does it mean that I stopped having faith? No. I have faith, but I question it.
Elie WieselRead
Who on earth invented the silly convention that it is boring or impolite to talk shop? Nothing is more interesting to listen to, especially if the shop is not one's own.
W. H. AudenRead
I don't believe in the war god of the Israelites. He's a bogeyman. Jesus preached the golden rule, by and large.
Terry PratchettRead
No revolution is worth anything unless it can defend itself.
Vladimir LeninRead