Mr. Nelson Mandela turned 90 last week. The former political prisoner turned world leader is a hero and an icon — one of the few people who truly deserves those labels in an age of hyperbole and superficiality. Mr. Mandela has "retired from retirement," settling down to a quiet life with his wife and grandchildren. While we wish him well, we regret his decision to step down from the world stage: We need his courage, perseverance and integrity more than ever.

Mr. Mandela was born July 18, 1918, a descendant of a royal family, in a South African village. The prospect of an arranged marriage spurred him to flee to Johannesburg, where he took an undergraduate degree, began to practice as a lawyer, and commenced his immersion in anti-apartheid politics. He joined the African National Congress (ANC) in 1944. Mr. Mandela was inspired by Mahatma Gandhi's vision of nonviolent protest, but the South African government's heavy-handed response to any opposition forced him to change tactics. In 1961, Mr. Mandela took over as head of the ANC's armed wing. He was convicted of treason in June 1964 and sentenced to life imprisonment.

He served 27 years in prison, 18 of them in the notorious Robben Island, a desolate, isolated island, where he did hard labor and had virtually no human contact: Apart from fellow prisoners and jailers, he was allowed one visitor and one letter every six months. At one point, he was offered his freedom in exchange for denouncing the armed struggle, a bargain he refused, saying only free men can make such deals.