Nelson Mandela was sentenced in the Rivonia treason trial of 1964. Facing the death sentence he made this statement to the Court: “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 need be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.”
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Maria Feodorovna, Empress of Russia and wife of Tsar Alexander III, was known for her charitable works. In fact, she once saved a condemned man from exile in Siberia by changing a single comma in the warrant signed by her husband. Instead of reading: “Pardon impossible, to be sent to Siberia,” she changed the document to read: “Pardon, impossible to be sent to Siberia.” The man was thus saved and released.
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When Madam Vijayalakshmi Pandit was about to go abroad to represent India at a Conference, she went to say good-bye to Gandhiji. He asked her if she had said good-bye to her family who vehemently disapproved of her role in world affairs. “No,” she replied, “I will not forgive my family for the harm they have done to me.” Gandhiji answered, “No one but yourself can harm you. I see enough of bitterness in your heart to injure unless you check it.”
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