Quotes About Empathy

I never lost hope that this great transformation would occur (...) I always knew that deep down in every human heart, there was mercy and generosity. No one is born hating another person because of the colour of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite. page 749

Men have different capacities and react differently to stress. But the stronger ones raised up the weaker ones, and both became stronger in the process.

A man who takes away another man's freedom is a prisoner of hatred,

I cherish my own freedom dearly, but I care even more for your freedom. From a response to an offer of conditional freedom, read by Zindzi Mandela at a rally, Jabulani Stadium, Soweto, South Africa,

overcoming fear, personal scarifies for the cause of freedom of all, and ability to see good in your enemies – No one is born hating another person because of the color of your skin, or his background, or his religion … if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love.

To be free is to not merely cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.

The purpose of freedom is to create it for others. Prison desk calendar, written on Robben Island, June 2, 1979

To deny people of their human rights is to challenge their very humanity.

For to be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.

I always knew that deep down in every human heart, there was mercy and generosity.

There is little to be said in favour of poverty, but it was often an incubator of true friendship. Many people will appear to befriend you when you are wealthy, but precious few will do the same when you are poor

People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite

It never hurts to see the good in someone, they often act the better because of it.

If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart

Niemand wordt geboren met haat jegens iemand vanwege zijn huidskleur, zijn afkomst of zijn godsdienst. Als mensen het haten kunnen leren, kunnen ze ook leren liefhebben, want liefde bereikt het hart van de mens veel vanzelfsprekender dan haat.

Se dice que nadie conoce realmente un país hasta haber pasado por sus cárceles. No se debe juzgar a una nación por cómo trata a sus miembros más encumbrados, sino por cómo trata a los más humildes.

to truly lead one's people one must also truly know them.

O mais importante da vida é a marca que deixamos na vida dos outros.

Character is how you treat people when they can do nothing for you.

It is said that no one truly knows a nation until one has been inside its jails. A nation should not be judged by how it treats its highest citizens, but its lowest ones – and South Africa treated its imprisoned African citizens like animals.

In that moment, something stirred deep inside all of us, something strong and intimate, that bound us to one another. In that moment we felt the hand of the great past that made us what we were and the power of the great cause that linked us all together.

He hated white oppression and white domination, not white people themselves.

There is little favorable to be said about poverty, but it was often an incubator of true friendship. Many people will appear to befriend you when you are wealthy, but precious few will do the same when you are poor. If wealth is a magnet, poverty is a kind of repellent. Yet, poverty often brings out the true generosity in others.

A nation should not be judged by how it treats its highest citizens, but its lowest ones - and South Africa treated its imprisoned African citizens like animals.