Pen v. Sword

Posted by ESC on January 18, 2001

In Reply to: Pen v. Sword posted by Fairy on January 18, 2001

: What is the origin of the cliche "The pen is mightier than sword"?

THE PEN IS MIGHTIER THAN THE SWORD - "The written word is more powerful than any physical weapon. The proverb has been traced back to 'Institution of Christian Prince' and 'Heptameron of Civil Discourses' . 'No more sword to be feared than the learned pen,' was the form of proverb at that time. Robert Burton (1577-1640) said that the 'pen is worse than the sword' , and it was Edward Bulwer-Lytton (1803-73) who was the first to coin the current form . This adage was first used in the United States in 'Clouded Moon' by M. Saltmarsh." From Random House Dictionary of Popular Proverbs and Sayings by Gregory Y. Titelman (Random House, New York, 1996).