South African Proverbs and Sayings
73 South African sayings collected from South Africa — 6 proverbs, 66 quotes, 1 short story.
- When the missionaries came to Africa they had the Bible and we had the land. They said 'Let us pray.' We closed our eyes. When we opened them we had the Bible and they had the land.Quote · South Africa
- If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality.Quote · South Africa
- No country can really develop unless its citizens are educated.Quote · South Africa
- No one is born hating another person because of the color 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.Quote · South Africa
- It’s not where you start but how high you aim that matters for success.Quote · South Africa
- We have a vision of South Africa in which black and white shall live and work together as equals in conditions of peace and prosperity.Quote · South Africa
- Our maturity will be judged by how well we are able to agree to disagree and yet continue to love one another, to care for one another, and cherish one another and seek the greater good of the other.Quote · South Africa
- There are so many men and women who hold no distinctive positions but whose contribution towards the development of society has been enormous.Quote · South Africa
- People respond in accordance to how you relate to them. If you approach them on the basis of violence, that's how they'll react. But if you say, 'We want peace, we want stability,' we can then do a lot of things that will contribute towards the progress of our society.Quote · South Africa
- You are damned and praised, or encouraged or discouraged by those who listen to you, and those who come to applaud you. And to me, those people are very important.Quote · South Africa
- We pledge ourselves to liberate all our people from the continuing bondage of poverty, deprivation, suffering, gender and other discrimination.Quote · South Africa
- Resentment is like drinking poison and then hoping it will kill your enemies.Quote · South Africa
- There comes a point where we need to stop just pulling people out of the river. We need to go upstream and find out why they’re falling in.Quote · South Africa
- 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.Quote · South Africa
- There are many people who feel that it is useless and futile to continue talking about peace and non-violence against a government whose only reply is savage attacks on an unarmed and defenceless people.Quote · South Africa
- The more feathers a chicken has, the bigger it looks.Proverb · South Africa
- The worlds of the elders do not lock all the doors; they leave the right door open.Proverb · South Africa
- I was called a terrorist yesterday, but when I came out of jail, many people embraced me, including my enemies, and that is what I normally tell other people who say those who are struggling for liberation in their country are terrorists.Quote · South Africa
- Everybody now admits that apartheid was wrong, and all I did was tell the people who wanted to know where I come from how we lived in South Africa. I just told the world the truth. And if my truth then becomes political, I can't do anything about that.Quote · South Africa
- We must use time wisely and forever realize that the time is always ripe to do right.Quote · South Africa
- In my country we go to prison first and then become President.Quote · South Africa
- Why the Cheetah's Cheeks Are StainedA South African short story. Long ago a wicked and lazy hunter was sitting under a tree. He was thinking that it was too hot to be bothered with the…Short story · South Africa
- If you want to make peace with your enemy, you have to work with your enemy. Then he becomes your partner.Quote · South Africa
- If you are looking for a fly in your food it means that you are full.Proverb · South Africa