Invictus Quotes

Nelson Mandela: [reciting] Out of the night that covers me, black as the pit from pole to pole / I thanks whatever gods may be, for my unconquerable soul. / In the fell clutch of circumstance, I have not winced nor cried aloud / Under the bludgeonings of fate, my head is bloody, but unbowed. / Beyond this place of wrath and tears, looms but the horror of the shade / and yet, the

menace of the years finds, and shall find me, unafraid. / It matters not how strait the gate, how charged with punishment the scroll / I am the master of my fate - I am the captain of my soul.

[appearing at the South African Sports Committee, after they had elected to disband the Springbok rugby team]
Nelson Mandela: Brothers, sisters, comrades: I am here because I believe you have made a decision with insufficient information and foresight. I am aware of your earlier vote. I am aware that it was unanimous. Nonetheless, I believe we should restore the Springboks;

restore their name, their emblem and their colors, immediately. Let me tell you why. On Robben Island, in Pollsmoor Prison, all of my jailers were Afrikaners. For 27 years, I studied them. I learned their language, read their books, their poetry. I had to know my enemy before I could prevail against him. And we DID prevail, did we not? All of us here... we prevailed. Our enemy is no longer the

Afrikaner. They are our fellow South Africans, our partners in democracy. And they treasure Springbok rugby. If we take that away, we lose them. We prove that we are what they feared we would be. We have to be better than that. We have to surprise them with compassion, with restraint and generosity; I know, all of the things they denied us. But this is no time to celebrate petty revenge. This is

the time to build our nation using every single brick available to us, even if that brick comes wrapped in green and gold. You elected me your leader. Let me lead you now.

Linga Moonsamy: Morning, Madiba
Nelson Mandela: [jogging with bodyguards] How are you?
Linga Moonsamy: Fine, thanks.
Hendrick Booyens: Morning, sir.
Nelson Mandela: How is your family, Hendrick?
Hendrick Booyens: Top shape, sir. How about yours?
[Madiba

stops running, and looks at Hendrick]
Nelson Mandela: [weary] I have a very large family, 42 million. I don't think I'll walk today.
[goes back inside]
Linga Moonsamy: We never, never ask him about his family.
Hendrick Booyens: But he asks us about ours all the time!
Linga Moonsamy: Hey, think

about it, man. He's separated from his wife, his children. How often do you see them here, huh? He's not a saint, okay? He's a man, with a man's problems. He doesn't need us reminding him about them.

Nelson Mandela: How do you inspire your team to do their best?
Francois Pienaar: By example. I've always thought to lead by example, sir.
Nelson Mandela: Well, that is right. That is exactly right. But how do we get them to be better then they think they CAN be? That is very difficult, I find. Inspiration, perhaps. How do we inspire

ourselves to greatness when nothing less will do? How do we inspire everyone around us? I sometimes think it is by using the work of others.

[observing an Afrikaans newspaper headline]
Jason Tshabalala: I wonder what it says...
Nelson Mandela: [reads the headline] "He may win an election, but can he run a country?"
Jason Tshabalala: Not even your first day on the job, and they're already after you.
Nelson Mandela: It's a legitimate

question...