14 Quotes by Jan Smuts

A man is not defeated by his opponents but by himself.

When in doubt, do the courageous thing.

Democracy, with its promise of international peace, has been no better guarantee against war than the old dynastic rule of kings.

Perhaps it is God’s will to lead the people of South Africa through defeat and humiliation to a better future and a brighter day.

If a nation does not want a monarchy, change the nations mind. If a nation does not need a monarchy, change the nations needs.

History writes the word ‘Reconciliation’ over all her quarrels.

The intimate rapport with nature is one of the most precious things in life. Nature is indeed very close to us; sometimes closer than hands and feet, of which in truth she is but the extension. The emotional appeal of nature is tremendous, sometimes almost more than one can bear.

Instead of the animistic, mechanistic, or the mathematical universe, we see the genetic, organic, holistic universe.

Having no human companion I felt a spirit of comradeship for the objects of nature around me. In my childish way I communed with these as with my own soul; they became the sharers of my confidence.