All the powers in the universe are already ours. It is we who have put our hands before our eyes and cry that it is dark.

Government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the Earth.

I came across few whites as a boy at Qunu. The local magistrate, of course, was white, as was the nearest shopkeeper. Occasionally, white travelers or policemen passed through our area. These whites appeared as grand as gods to me, and I was aware that they were to be treated with a mixture of fear and respect.

No one would choose a friendless existence on condition of having all the other things in the world.

The best way to get a bad law repeal is to enforce it strictly.

Music fills the infinite between two souls.

Capital as such is not evil; it is its wrong use that is evil. Capital in some form or other will always be needed.

Purity of personal life is the one indispensable condition for building up a sound education. 

Intuition and urge are two different things. You must learn to differentiate between the two.

Children need to get a high-quality education, avoid violence and the criminal-justice system, and gain jobs. But they deserve more. We want them to learn not only reading and math but fairness, caring, self-respect, family commitment, and civic duty.

Most people spend more time and energy going around problems than in trying to solve them. 

On the first day of school, my teacher, Miss Mdingane, gave each of us an English name and said that from thenceforth that was the name we would answer to in school. This was the custom among Africans in those days and was undoubtedly due to the British bias of our education.