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Two Nelsons
http://www.nelsonandhisworld.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=1580
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Author:  tycho [ Sat Dec 14, 2013 8:52 am ]
Post subject:  Two Nelsons

As the world marks the passing of Nelson Mandela I have been reflecting on the similarities between him and his great namesake Horatio Nelson.

Mandela was given the name Nelson at the Methodist Mission School where he received his early education. Both men were warriors, fired with passion for their cause, who were able to show magnanimity and generosity to their enemies when the battle was over; both were charismatic leaders who 'walked with kings' but never lost the common touch and had great personal charm that enabled them to communicate with ordinary people . Each was prepared to lay down his life for the cause he believed in and each had the courage that comes from the ability to overcome the fear of death. I was interested to see that Nelson Mandela had obtained a smuggled copy of Shakespeare's works when he was in prison and marked the passage in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar that Nelson himself alluded to :

'Cowards die many times before their deaths;
the valiant never taste of death but once...'

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