The pen is mightier than the sword

In high school I had an English teacher who taught creative writing in a unique way. She would toss blank sheets of paper out to each row and then give us a subject or quote to write on. Normally I moved through high school with ease, but for some reason her method of teaching terrified me. One day she gave us: ” the pen is mightier than the sword.”

While I was trying to come up with who said this; other students began to write. I thought maybe Shakespeare. One of my dear friends was extremely good at this type of writing and he thought I should throw caution to the wind and just write.

Take away the sword:

The BBC writes: the English words “The pen is mightier than the sword” were first written by novelist and playwright Edward Bulwer-Lytton in 1839, in the play Cardinal Richelieu. Richelieu, chief minister to King Louis XIII, discovers a plot to kill him, but as a priest he is unable to take up arms against his enemies. His page, Francois, points out: But now, at your command are other weapons, my good Lord. Richelieu agrees: The pen is mightier than the sword… Take away the sword; States can be saved without it!

Now I didn’t know anything about Bulwer-Lytton, but I did understand the “message of this quote” that writing can be more effective than violence. This quote has a lot to teach us today. We are in the midst of a battle: a battle between very different ways of thinking. It is tempting to fight with swords, but we must put down our swords and open our minds. The pen is the mightier tool for our thinking; while the sword will cut off any possibility of true change.