Mightier Than The Sword Summary

[Ronald Frison]

The pen is mightier than the sword" is an expression indicating that the written word is more effective than violence as a means of social or political change. This sentiment has been expressed with metaphorical contrasts of writing implements and weapons for thousands of years. The specific wording that "the pen is mightier than the sword" was first used by English author Edward Bulwer-Lytton in 1839.

The exact sentence was coined by English author Edward Bulwer-Lytton in 1839 for his play Richelieu; Or the Conspiracy.[1][2] The play was about Cardinal Richelieu, though in the author's words "license with dates and details ... has been, though not unsparingly, indulged".[1] The Cardinal's line in Act II, scene II, was more fully:[3]

The play opened at London's Covent Garden Theatre on 7 March 1839 with William Charles Macready in the lead role.[5] Macready believed its opening night success was "unequivocal"; Queen Victoria attended a performance on 14 March.[5]

In 1870, literary critic Edward Sherman Gould wrote that Bulwer "had the good fortune to do, what few men can hope to do: he wrote a line that is likely to live for ages".[2] By 1888 another author, Charles Sharp, feared that repeating the phrase "might sound trite and commonplace".[6] The Thomas Jefferson Building of the Library of Congress, which opened in 1897, has the adage decorating an interior wall.[7][8] Although Bulwer's phrasing was novel, the idea of communication surpassing violence in efficacy had numerous predecessors.

Assyrian sage Ahiqar, who reputedly lived during the early 7th century BCE, coined the first known version of this phrase. One copy of the Teachings of Ahiqar, dating to about 500 BCE, states, "The word is mightier than the sword."[10]

According to the website Trivia Library,[12] the book The People's Almanac[11] provides another very early example from Greek playwright Euripides, who died c. 406 BCE. He is supposed to have written: "The tongue is mightier than the blade."[12][a]

The Islamic prophet Muhammad is quoted, in a saying narrated by 'Abdullah ibn Amr: "There will be a tribulation that will wipe out the Arabs in which those killed on both sides are in the Hellfire. In that time the spoken word will be stronger than the sword".[14]

Abu'l-Fazl ibn Mubarak, who died in 1602 and was personal scribe and vizier to Akbar the Great, wrote of a gentleman put in charge of a fiefdom having "been promoted from the pen to the sword and taken his place among those who join the sword to the pen, and are masters both of peace and war."[15][17] Syad Muhammad Latif, in his 1896 history of Agra, quoted King Abdullah of Bokhara (Abdullah-Khan II), who died in 1598, as saying that "He was more afraid of Abu'l-Fazl's pen than of Akbar's sword."[18]

In contrast, Abu Tammam's Ode on the Conquest of Amorium poem intro: "The sword is the truest news [in comparison with] books... In its sharpness, the boundary between seriousness and play".[19]

In 1529, Antonio de Guevara, in Reloj de prncipes, compared a pen to a lance, books to arms, and a life of studying to a life of war.[20][21] Thomas North, in 1557, translated Reloj de prncipes into English as Diall of Princes.[21] The analogy would appear in again in 1582, in George Whetstone's An Heptameron of Civil Discourses: "The dashe of a Pen, is more greeuous than the counterbuse of a Launce."[22][b]

Netizens have suggested that a 1571 edition of Erasmus' Institution of a Christian Prince contains the words "There is no sworde to bee feared more than the Learned pen",[23][24] but this is not evident from modern translations[25] and this could be merely a spurious quotation.

Robert Burton, in 1621, in The Anatomy of Melancholy, stated: "It is an old saying, 'A blow with a word strikes deeper than a blow with a sword': and many men are as much galled with a calumny, a scurrilous and bitter jest, a libel, a pasquil, satire, apologue, epigram, stage-play or the like, as with any misfortune whatsoever."[27] After listing several historical examples he concludes: "Hinc quam sit calamus saevior ense patet",[27] which translates as "From this it is clear how much more cruel the pen may be than the sword."[12]

Thomas Jefferson, on 19 June 1792, ended a letter to Thomas Paine with: "Go on then in doing with your pen what in other times was done with the sword: shew that reformation is more practicable by operating on the mind than on the body of man, and be assured that it has not a more sincere votary nor you a more ardent well-wisher than Y[ou]rs. &c. Thomas Jefferson"[12][28]

Published in 1830, by Joseph Smith, an account in the Book of Mormon related, "The word had a greater tendency to lead the people to do that which was just; yea, it had more powerful effect upon the minds of the people than the sword".[29]

I get so excited every time I find a book (or, even better, a series) that will engage and appeal to the reluctant reader crowd. There is nothing more satisfying to me than matching up a kid who thinks they don't like to read with a book that will have them eagerly turning pages.

This two book series is an engaging spin-off from the Choose Your Own Adventure books from my childhood. I used to love being able to decide what would happen next in the story in those old CYO Adventure books, but these new books from Drew Callander and Alana Harrison really take the fun to the next level.

In these unique books, the reader is a main character in the book with the power to create. Throughout the book are prompts to draw and write, and everything the reader creates becomes part of the story. It's wildly imaginative and so much fun!

When the book opens, the reader wakes up in the fictional land of Astorya, where the stories from our human world come to life. In this wacky world, the reader is like a superhero because, armed with a pencil, the reader can make and create the story.

The first book in the series, Mightier Than the Sword, is an adventurous rescue mission to save Prince S. from the evil Queen Rulette. There are giant dung beetles, vicious dust bunnies, sentient trees and killer robots. It gets pretty crazy, but as the reader finds out, their pencil is always mightier than the sword. It's hilarious and fun in all the best ways.

In book two, Mightier Than the Sword: The Edge of the World, the reader has finally rescued Prince S., but now it's time to find their way back home from the land of Astorya. And while the reader may have defeated many foes in the first book, there are all new dangers in the second book and the added challenge of keeping the "Original Document" that the entire kingdom of Astorya is founded on safe from harm. Another delightful adventure ensues!

Almost as soon as these books arrived at our house, my kids were digging in, pencils in hand. They enthusiastically made their way through both books in the series and then promptly asked for more! It was a pretty strong endorsement and I feel confident saying that kids will love these books!

In addition to a great story, they are filled with fun illustrations, crossword puzzles, fill-in-the-blank pages, character design pages, flip book art, and more. These are so much more than just chapter books! I especially love that it's sneakily educational. While kids are having fun reading, they'll also learn about parts of speech, practice handwriting skills, drawing, and problem-solving.

Reading time becomes infinitely more fun when reading also includes drawing and puzzles - it's genius. These are perfect for kids who think they don't like to read, as well as kids who love an action packed quest and adventure story.

Charity: It is true that poetry has a somewhat better reception today, going by the increased publicity shots I run into every now and then. Sadly, this pandemic slowed things down, but it was great to see poets still engaging audiences online. Now that we are back to public gatherings, the numerous calls for performances cannot be missed. People like Nigerian writers Helon Habila and Wole Soyinka write poetry and fiction, and they have won awards for both genres. Very soon it will be our own Manzi Surumani, poet and novelist. This being your first book, I imagine that you have had a series of lessons from writing the drafts, through to the publishing stage, and finally the sales. What advice would you have for a writer working on their first book?

Manzi: There is yet to be a book or document that has changed government in Uganda. Although I hope this will alter soon, the Ugandan sword remains stubbornly triumphant over the quill. What this country needs are a mass of critical readers and non-establishment intellectuals, with the willingness to question cultural dogma, as well as entrenched belief and value systems. When Uganda eventually has more people willing to debate their opponents, than those prepared to slaughter perceived enemies, the pen will have defeated the sword.

Charity: You are right. We still have a long way to go. Stories are often at the centre of resistance and revolution. Tell me about the stories in your collection. Do you think fiction can be used to liberate the minds of people? What are some of the perspectives or beliefs you seek to challenge with this work?

Manzi: I self-edited the entire manuscript. It was a painstaking process, yet some copy errors still escaped my eyes in the end. I cannot overstate the importance of an autonomous editorial entity and workflow. Someone approaching a work of art with fresh eyes and an independent perspective offers resourceful insight and novel dimensionality.

Charity: Self-editing is a tedious yet important part of writing, and I could argue that it helps you to develop your language skills, rather than relying on others to correct your mistakes. Even if you pay a professional editor, you as an author ought to have the eye to spot glaring errors in your manuscript. However, like you said, it is hard to straighten out all the mistakes, so some escape unnoticed. How do you balance the demands of writing with other responsibilities like your construction work?

3a8082e126