The pen is mightier than the sword

An illustration of Cardinal Richelieu holding a sword, by H. A. Ogden, 1892, from *The Works of Edward Bulwer Lytton*

"The pen is mightier than the sword" is a metonymic adage 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]

True, This! —
Beneath the rule of men entirely great,
The pen is mightier than the sword. Behold
The arch-enchanters wand! — itself a nothing! —
But taking sorcery from the master-hand
To paralyse the Cæsars, and to strike
The loud earth breathless! — Take away the sword —

States can be saved without it!

The play opened at London's Covent Garden Theatre on 7 March 1839 with William Charles Macready in the lead role.^[4] Macready believed its opening night success was "unequivocal"; Queen Victoria attended a performance on 14 March.^[4]

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".^[5] The Thomas Jefferson Building of the Library of Congress, which opened in 1897, has the adage decorating an interior wall.^[6]^[7] Though Bulwer's phrasing was novel, the idea of communication surpassing violence in efficacy had numerous predecessors.

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As motto and slogan

The phrase appeared as the motto of gold pen manufacturer Levi Willcutt during a Railroad Jubilee in Boston, Massachusetts which ran during the week beginning 17 September 1852.^[8]
Woodrow Wilson's 1916 U.S. presidential re-election campaign used the slogan "He proved the pen mightier than the sword".
It is the motto of the Alpha Xi Delta sorority.
In its Latinized form, Calamus Gladio Fortior, it is the motto of Keio University in Tokyo, Japan.
In another Latinized form, "Cedit Ensis Calamo", it is the motto of the Authors' Club of London, founded by Walter Besant in 1891.
In another Latinized form Doctrina Fortior Armis, it is the motto of Hipperholme Grammar School, England.
British music photographer Kevin Cummins once shot The Smiths vocalist Morrissey in front of a hand written "pen is mightier than the sword" poster in the background. The poster is styled so that it appears to read "penis mightier than the sword"

References

^ ^a ^b Richelieu; Or the Conspiracy: A Play in Five Acts (second ed.). London: Saunders and Otley, Conduit St. 1839.
^ ^a ^b Gould, Edward Sherman (1870). Good English. New York: W.J. Widdleton. p. 63.
^ Lord Lytton (1892). The Dramatic Works of Edward Bulwer Lytton. Vol. IX. New York: Peter Fenelon Collier. p. 136.
^ ^a ^b Macready, William Charles (1875). Sir Frederick Pollock (ed.). Macready's Reminiscences, and Selections from His Diaries and Letters. New York: MacMillan and Co. p. 471.
^ Sharp, Charles (1888). The Sovereignty of Art. London: T. Fisher Unwin. p. 67.
^ Reynolds, Charles B (1897). Library of Congress and the Interior Decorations: A Practical Guide for Visitors. New York, Washington, St. Augustine: Foster & Reynolds. p. 15.
^ Specifically, the west wall of the entrance pavilion's second floor south corridor
^ Boston (Mass.). City Council (1852). The Railroad Jubilee. An Account of the Celebration Commemorative of the Opening of Railroad Communication Between Boston and Canada. J. E. Eastburn, city printer. p. 139.

External links

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[richelieu-1] Richelieu; Or the Conspiracy: A Play in Five Acts (second ed.). London: Saunders and Otley, Conduit St. 1839.

[gould-2] Gould, Edward Sherman (1870). Good English. New York: W.J. Widdleton. p. 63.

[bulwer-3] Lord Lytton (1892). The Dramatic Works of Edward Bulwer Lytton. Vol. IX. New York: Peter Fenelon Collier. p. 136.

[macready-4] Macready, William Charles (1875). Sir Frederick Pollock (ed.). Macready's Reminiscences, and Selections from His Diaries and Letters. New York: MacMillan and Co. p. 471.

[5] Sharp, Charles (1888). The Sovereignty of Art. London: T. Fisher Unwin. p. 67.

[6] Reynolds, Charles B (1897). Library of Congress and the Interior Decorations: A Practical Guide for Visitors. New York, Washington, St. Augustine: Foster & Reynolds. p. 15.

[7] Specifically, the west wall of the entrance pavilion's second floor south corridor

[8] Boston (Mass.). City Council (1852). The Railroad Jubilee. An Account of the Celebration Commemorative of the Opening of Railroad Communication Between Boston and Canada. J. E. Eastburn, city printer. p. 139.

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As motto and slogan

See also

References

External links