Nelson Mandela writes in his memoirs: After I became President of South Africa, I asked some of my security guards to walk with me through the city. We entered a restaurant, sat down like ordinary customers, and each of us ordered what he wanted. While we were waiting for the food, I noticed a man sitting alone across from me. I said to one of my guards, “Go and ask that man to join us at our table.” The man came and I seated him beside me. As we began to eat, I noticed something unusual. Sweat was pouring down his face, and his hand was trembling so badly that he could barely lift the food to his mouth. After everyone finished eating, the man quickly left. My personal guard then said to me: “Sir, that man seems ill. His hands were shaking, and he could hardly eat.” I replied calmly: “No… he is not ill.” Then I added: “This man was the guard of the solitary prison cell where I was once held. Many times, after severe torture, I would cry out asking for a little water. Instead of water, he would come and urinate on my head.” I paused, then continued: “Today, he was trembling because he thought I would take revenge— that I would humiliate him or imprison him, just as he once did to me.” Then I said my final words: “But that is not my character. A mindset of revenge does not build a nation, while a mindset of forgiveness builds civilizations.”