President Obama Speaks on the Death of Nelson Mandela - captioned

At his trial in 1964, Nelson Mandela closed
his statement from the dock saying,

"I have fought against white domination, and
I have fought against black domination.

I have cherished the ideal of a democratic
and free society

in which all persons live together in harmony
and with equal opportunities.

It is an ideal which I hope to live for and
to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal

for which I am prepared to die."

And Nelson Mandela lived for that ideal, and
he made it real.

He achieved more than could be expected of
any man.

Today, he has gone home.

And we have lost one of the most influential,
courageous,

and profoundly good human beings

that any of us will share time with on this
Earth.

He no longer belongs to us -- he belongs to
the ages.

Through his fierce dignity and unbending will

to sacrifice his own freedom for the freedom
of others,

Madiba transformed South Africa -- and moved
all of us.

His journey from a prisoner to a President
embodied the promise that

human beings -- and countries -- can change
for the better.

His commitment to transfer power

and reconcile with those who jailed him

set an example that all humanity should aspire
to,

whether in the lives of nations or our own
personal lives.

And the fact that he did it all with grace
and good humor,

and an ability to acknowledge his own imperfections,

only makes the man that much more remarkable.

As he once said,

"I am not a saint, unless you think of a saint
as a sinner who keeps on trying."

I am one of the countless millions

who drew inspiration from Nelson Mandela's
life.

My very first political action,

the first thing I ever did that involved an
issue or a policy or politics,

was a protest against apartheid.

I studied his words and his writings.

The day that he was released from prison

gave me a sense of what human beings can do

when they're guided by their hopes and not
by their fears.

And like so many around the globe, I cannot
fully imagine my own life

without the example that Nelson Mandela set,

and so long as I live I will do what I can
to learn from him.

To Graça Machel and his family,

Michelle and I extend our deepest sympathy
and gratitude

for sharing this extraordinary man with us.

His life's work meant long days away from
those who loved him the most.

And I only hope that the time spent with him
these last few weeks

brought peace and comfort to his family.

To the people of South Africa,

we draw strength from the example of renewal,
and reconciliation, and resilience

that you made real.

A free South Africa at peace with itself -- that's
an example to the world,

and that's Madiba's legacy to the nation he
loved.

We will not likely see the likes of Nelson
Mandela again.

So it falls to us as best we can to forward
the example that he set:

to make decisions guided not by hate, but
by love;

to never discount the difference that one
person can make;

to strive for a future that is worthy of his
sacrifice.

For now, let us pause and give thanks for
the fact that Nelson Mandela lived --

a man who took history in his hands, and bent
the arc of the moral universe toward justice.

May God Bless his memory and keep him in peace.