We owe our children β the most vulnerable citizens in any society β a life free from violence and fear.
Nelson MandelaRead
To be the father of a nation is a great honor, but to be the father of a family is a greater joy.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Being a father to a family brings more joy than being a leader of a nation.
This quote by Nelson Mandela emphasizes the profound emotional fulfillment that comes from personal relationships, particularly within a family, compared to the honor of leading a nation. It suggests that the intimate bonds and responsibilities of fatherhood provide a unique and deeper sense of joy and satisfaction than public acclaim or power.
Themes
FatherhoodFamilyJoyHonorLeadership
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about the importance of family during a community celebration.
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
If you've never wept and want to, have a child.
David Foster WallaceRead
I'm very at ease, and I like it. I never thought I would be such a family-oriented guy; I didn't think that was part of my makeup. But somebody said that as you get older you become the person you always should have been, and I feel that's happening to me. I'm rather surprised at who I am, because I'm actually like my dad!
David BowieRead
He didn't come out of my belly, but my God, I've made his bones, because I've attended to every meal, and how he sleeps, and the fact that he swims like a fish because I took him to the ocean. I'm so proud of all those things. But he is my biggest pride.
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Iβve always treated my children as beings in their own right. I respect their feelings and aspirations entirely.
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[Motherhood is] the biggest gamble in the world. It is the glorious life force. It's huge and scary-it's an act of infinite optimism.
Gilda RadnerRead
No matter what you read or hear, no matter what the difference of circumstances you observe in the lives of women about you, it is important for you Latter-day Saint women to understand that the Lord holds motherhood and mothers sacred and in the highest esteem. He has entrusted to his daughters the great responsibility of bearing and nurturing children.... There is divinity in each new life.
Spencer W. KimballRead