Authors / Nelson Mandela

Nelson Mandela quotes

1918–2013 · South African president and anti-apartheid leader

Mandela spent 27 years in prison and became South Africa's first democratically elected president. Two of the most shared "Mandela quotes" are not his.

1 real · 2 not theirs

Really theirs

1 quotes traced to Nelson Mandela's own work or a reliable witness.

Sourced
It is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.
Source: Statement from the dock, Rivonia Trial (20 April 1964)

Not theirs

2 famous lines credited to Nelson Mandela that are misquoted, unsourced or belong to someone else.

Not theirs
Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.

Actually: Marianne Williamson, A Return to Love (1992). Mandela never used it in his 1994 inaugural speech, despite the legend.

Not theirs
It always seems impossible until it's done.

Actually: No source has been found in Mandela's speeches, letters or books.