'If I had my time over I would do the same again. So would any man who dares call himself a man. '
“如果时光倒流，我还会做同样的事情。每个敢说自己是男人的人也都会这么做。”
-Speech in mitigation of sentence after being convicted of inciting workers to strike and leaving the country illegally; at the apartheid court known as the Old Synagogue, Pretoria, November 1962
――1962年11月比勒陀利亚，因煽动工人罢工和非法出境而被定罪的曼德拉(Nelson Mandela)在被称作“老犹太教堂”(Old Synagogue)的种族隔离法院申请减刑时发表演说
' During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to this struggle of the African people. I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die. '
“我毕生致力于非洲人民的斗争事业。我反抗过白人专制，也反抗过黑人专制。我一直怀抱一个理想，那就是建立一个人人和谐共处、机会平等的民主自由社会。我愿为这一理想活下去，将它变为现实。但如果有必要的话，我愿为之献出生命。”
-Pretoria Supreme Court, April 20, 1964
――1964年4月20日，比勒陀利亚最高法院
' I have never regarded any man as my superior, either in my life outside or inside prison. '
“无论监狱内还是监狱外的岁月中，我都从未视任何人高我一等。”
-Letter to Gen. Du Preez, commissioner of prisons, written on Robben Island, Cape Town, July 12, 1976
――1976年7月12日于开普敦罗本岛，写给监狱总长Du Preez将军的信
' I had no specific belief except that our cause was just, was very strong and it was winning more and more support. '
“我心中只有一个信念――我们的事业正义且强大，并正在赢得越来越多的支持。”
-Robben Island, Feb. 11, 1994
――1994年2月11日于罗本岛
' Never, never and never again shall it be that this beautiful land will again experience the oppression of one by another. '
“这片美丽的土地将永远不会再遭遇一方对另一方的压迫。”
-Inaugural address, May 9, 1994
――1994年5月9日就职演说
' It is never my custom to use words lightly. If 27 years in prison have done anything to us, it was to use the silence of solitude to make us understand how precious words are and how real speech is in its impact on the way people live and die. '
“轻易地使用言语从来不是我的风格。如果说27年的监狱生活对我们有什么意义的话，那就是它用独处的寂静让我们懂得言语的珍贵，以及言语对人们生活和死亡的方式有着多么真实的影响。”
-AIDS conference in Durban, South Africa, July 14, 2000
――2000年7月14日于南非德班的艾滋病会议上
' What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we have made to the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead. '
“人生的意义不在于我们仅仅活过的事实。决定我们人生意义的是我们对他人的生活产生了怎样的影响。”
-Walter Sisulu's 90th birthday celebration, Johannesburg, May 18, 2002
――2002年5月18日于约翰内斯堡的西苏卢(Walter Sisulu)90岁生日庆典上
' We tried in our simple way to lead our life in a manner that may make a difference to those of others. '
“我们尝试以自己的一种简单的方式，让我们的人生影响他人的生活。”
-Upon receiving the Roosevelt Institute's Four Freedom Award in Middleburg, Netherlands, June 8, 2002
――2002年6月8日于荷兰米德尔堡，在领取罗斯福学院(Roosevelt Institue)四大自由奖(Four Freedoms Award)前发表演说
' Everyone can rise above their circumstances and achieve success if they are dedicated to and passionate about what they do. '
“每个人都可以改善他们的境遇并取得成功，只要对所做之事抱有奉献精神和热情。”
-Letter to Makhaya Ntini, prominent black South African cricketer, Dec. 17, 2009
――2009年12月17日，写给南非知名黑人板球运动员Makhaya Ntini的信
' There is nothing like returning to a place that remains unchanged to find the ways in which you yourself have altered. ... The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall. ... Do not judge me by my successes, judge me by how many times I fell down and got back up again. ... After climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb. ... I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. ... Death is something inevitable. When a man has done what he considers to be his duty to his people and his country, he can rest in peace. I believe I have made that effort and that is, therefore, why I will sleep for the eternity. '
“回到没有变化的地方去寻找改变自我的方式是一个独特的经历……生命最伟大的光辉不在于永不跌落，而在于每一次跌落后的再次升起……不要以我的成就评价我，而要看我有多少次跌倒后重新站起……翻越了一座高山，只会发现前方有更多座高峰等待攀越……我意识到勇敢并非恐惧的消弭，而是战胜恐惧……死亡是个不可避免的事情。当一个人完成了他心中对祖国和人民应尽的职责，他便可安详地离去。我相信我已做出了这份努力，也正因此，我将获得永恒的安息。