Scores of world leaders and South African locals alike are gathered in Johannesburg today for Nelson Mandela's memorial service. The sheer amount of tributes paid to Mandela since his death last week is an indicator of how much of an inspiration he was for people both at home in South Africa and abroad.

Mandela often made his ideas and beliefs known through articulate, passionate and ultimately extremely powerful speeches, interviews and addresses. Here are some of his most powerful quotes: 

"I have walked that long road to freedom. I have tried not to falter; I have made missteps along the way. But I have discovered the secret that after climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb. I have taken a moment." - Long Walk to Freedom autobiography

“If you want to make peace with your enemy, you have to work with your enemy. Then he becomes your partner." - Long Walk to Freedom

"I hate race discrimination most intensely and in all its manifestations. I have fought it all during my life; I fight it now, and will do so until the end of my days. Even although I now happen to be tried by one whose opinion I hold in high esteem, I detest most violently the set-up that surrounds me here. It makes me feel that I am a black man in a white man's court. This should not be. I should feel perfectly at ease and at home with the assurance that I am being tried by a fellow South African who does not regard me as an inferior, entitled to a special type of justice." - court statement, 1962

"I greet you all in the name of peace, democracy and freedom for all. I stand here before you not as a prophet but as a humble servant of you, the people. Your tireless and heroic sacrifices have made it possible for me to be here today. I therefore place the remaining years of my life in your hands." - on his release in 1990

"These countless human beings, both inside and outside our country, had the nobility of spirit to stand in the path of tyranny and injustice, without seeking selfish gain. They recognised that an injury to one is an injury to all and therefore acted together in defense of justice and a common human decency. Because of their courage and persistence for many years, we can, today, even set the dates when all humanity will join together to celebrate one of the outstanding human victories of our century. When that moment comes, we shall, together, rejoice in a common victory over racism, apartheid and white minority rule." - on receiving the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993

"The calm and tolerant atmosphere that prevailed during the elections depicts the type of South Africa we can build. It set the tone for the future. We might have our differences, but we are one people with a common destiny in our rich variety of culture, race and tradition. People have voted for the party of their choice and we respect that. This is democracy." - election victory speech, 1994

"Today we are entering a new era for our country and its people. Today we celebrate not the victory of a party, but a victory for all the people of South Africa." - Cape Town inauguration speech, 1994

"We must therefore act together as a united people, for national reconciliation, for nation building, for the birth of a new world. Let there be justice for all. Let there be peace for all." - Pretoria inauguration speech, 1994

"I am fundamentally an optimist. Whether that comes from nature or nurture, I cannot say. Part of being optimistic is keeping one's head pointed toward the sun, one's feet moving forward. There were many dark moments when my faith in humanity was sorely tested, but I would not and could not give myself up to despair. That way lays defeat and death." - Long Walk to Freedom

"If there is a country that has committed unspeakable atrocities in the world, it is the United States of America. They don't care for human beings." - 2003 speech at International Women's Forum in Johannesburg.

"I really wanted to retire and rest and spend more time with my children, my grandchildren and of course with my wife. But the problems are such that for anybody with a conscience who can use whatever influence he may have to try to bring about peace, it's difficult to say no." - Newsweek interview, 2002