We owe our children β the most vulnerable citizens in any society β a life free from violence and fear.
Nelson MandelaRead
I am not a saint, unless you think of a saint as a sinner who keeps on trying.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote suggests that everyone has flaws, but continuous effort to improve is what defines a person positively.
Nelson Mandela's quote reflects the idea that true sainthood does not lie in perfection but in the relentless pursuit of betterment despite our shortcomings. It acknowledges that everyone makes mistakes and has flaws; however, by continuously striving to improve oneself, a person can be seen as virtuous. It underscores the importance of perseverance and growth in defining one's character.
Themes
SaintSinnerTryingEffortImprovement
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be shared during a motivational speech to encourage resilience and perseverance.
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
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Fame is a vapor, popularity is an accident, riches take wings, those who cheer today may curse tomorrow and only one thing endures - character.
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It is a waste of energy to be angry with a man who behaves badly, just as it is to be angry with a car that won't go.
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The intellectual attainments of a man who thinks for himself resemble a fine painting, where the light and shade are correct, the tone sustained, the colour perfectly harmonised; it is true to life. On the other hand, the intellectual attainments of the mere man of learning are like a large palette, full of all sorts of colours, which at most are systematically arranged, but devoid of harmony, connection and meaning.
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A million candles have burned themselves out. Still I read on. (Montresor)
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Nothing ever goes away until it has taught us what we need to know. Even if we run a hundred miles an hour to the other side of the continent, we find the very same problem awaiting us when we arrive.
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Bush has not read enough books to have a developed moral sense. The fewer books you read, the easier it is to become fundamental. In some ways my antiwar stand here is also a stand on anti-literacy. Someone should get G.W. into a reading program, get him to join a book club. Have him read Hamlet, King Lear.
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