(Online Course) Essay Writing Skills Improvement Programme: Essays on Philosophical - The Pen is Mightier Than The Sword

The Pen is Mightier Than The Sword

Early man lived on the strength of his muscle power. In the struggle for existence, it was the survival of the fittest. Gradually, man became civilised and progressed in various fields. The destinies of nations were shaped by wars. Later on, man realised that the use of weapons could not solve all problems. Weapons could kill a man but could not bring about a change of heart.

Ideas have a much larger impact than violence. Force is incapable of changing the ideas and beliefs of the people. When people are influenced by new ideas, changes occur in the society. Ideas are propagated by writing. Brave deeds and valour shown in the battlefield are certainly praiseworthy. But no clash of arms could achieve what great men through their writings have achieved.

The invention of the printing press by Johann Gutenberg has helped man to store and propagate his thoughts, beliefs and ideas. The printed word has become the most powerful medium of propagation of the same. Newspapers have become a mighty weapon. Public opinion is generally built up not by clash of arms but by the writings of great men and by newspapers. The pen has been able to make the people stand up against tyranny and injustice.

Pen stands for expression, for literature, for what comes out of a writer’s pen. And it is true that literature or writing wields far more power than arms can ever wield. Battles are fought over a certain period time and within a particular area. They certainly affect and influence events but in a limited way. The effect of the pen or literature is wide. Sometimes it is universal. The messages of Buddha, Christ, Confucius, Gandhi and Marx are universal in their appeal. They are valid for all times and for all climes. The sword has a physical effect, it hardly affects times and for all climes. The sword has a physical effect, it hardly affects the mind and the spirit, while the pen affects the mind, intellect and spirit. The latter can shape the minds, hearts and spirit of people in a desired way if only the wielder has the mastery of its use in the required measure.

There is a famous saying that the role of pen is mightier than that of the sword. But unfortunately there are people who believe that the use of force is necessary. The pen expresses a personnel or public opinion. It stands for the press, literature, news-papers, books, and other writings. The purpose of all writing is to connect one's mind with another, to persuade the reader to take up the view which the writer holds on a particular subject. The reader has the right to hold his own view; he may not be convinced of the writer's judgement and opinions presented to him. We may, therefore, say that the pen stands for the peaceful means by which a person is persuaded to accept the views which the writer holds. No force is used to persuade the reader. But a good and forceful writer forms opinion. But the sword on the other hand, stands for force. It forces views on others. If they do not accept those views they must be challenged. The sword, therefore, implies force, not reason. The pen is thus preferred of the two. But the sword has its own uses. In the world, there exist not only good, sincere, honest and responsible people but also those who are wicked, dishonest and unreasonable. No argument will convince them and no eloquence can persuade them.

The pen is a source of power and inspiration for all times and for people in all walks of life. The fact of superiorty of the pen over the sword should not lead us to believe that the sword has no value. Arms have changed history. Sometimes only force brings about results. When everything fails, when persuasion negotiations etc., fail, the use force to teach Ravan a lesson. Arms were used to ensure the victory of the forces of good over the forces of evil. If the great war of Mahabharat had not been fought, the forces of evil which the Kauravas represented would have continued to plague the kingdom and the rule of justice and righteousness could never have been established. Lord Krishna, therefore, induced Arjuna to fight a violent war to destroy the forces of evil and rehabilitate the rule of the right. There is might in the sword, nobody can gain say this, but there is more might in the pen. The American Revolution of 1776 was the product of the writings of a host of political philosophers and statesmen. The very slogan of liberty, equality and pursuit of happiness raised in their writings by the American revolutionaries and almost the identical slogan liberty, equality and fraternity raised in the writings of French revolutionaries not only did much to change the history of these two countries, but also revolutionized the very thought and outlook of the people about the role of the state. It is a matter of common knowledge for a student of History that, what Benjamin Franklin, Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson in America and Rousseau, Voltaire and Motesquieu in France, could do by their writings could never have been achieved by was an outburst of the centuries old people’s grievances, but the background for it had been prepared by the writings of a host of creative writers as well as statesmen like Trotsky and Lenin. Erroneous view is held by some people that the sword is mightier than the pen. They actually do not understand the meaning of pen. When comparing with the sword they have in mind only some object six inches long with which one can write. This object of six inches in length and about one inch in thickness compares ridiculously in power with the one or two feet long sword with sharp edges, the very sight of which sends shudders of fear down the spine.

Editors' ideas are expressed through the power of the pen. The printed word makes a permanent impact on several generations. It moulds life according to the times. Violence can only suppress the beliefs of a people. The pen stands for positive and constructive efforts. while the sword signifies negative postures and destruction all around. The sword can force people into submission but cannot propagate an idea. The pen can solve many complex issues. The sword can only destroy. Wars have no significant impact on the development of a nation. Writers, thinkers and artists created the spirit of the modern world by the power of the pen. The French Revolution of 1789 owed inspiration to the writings of Rousseau and Voltaire. Karl Marx's Das Capital inspired Lenin, the leader of the Russian Revolution of 1917. The Communist Manifesto, the combined work of Friedrich Engels and Karl Marx in 1848 formed the basis of modern international communism.

Charles Dickens (1812-70) exposed the evils of capitalism in his works like David Copperfield and Oliver  Twist. Mahatma Gandhi's philosophy of life was based on the teachings of the Gita. David

Disobedience inspired Gandhiji for Satyagraha during the freedom struggle in India. In the Vietnam journalists and photographers played a key role in bringing about an end to the conflict.

India's freedom struggle was based on the supremacy of the pen over the sword. The major national newspapers, The Hindu, The Tribune, Bengalee, Mahratta, Kesari and The Amrita Bazar Patrika waged a campaign against the British rule. The leaders were able to communicate their ideas to the people through the press. They were able to promote among them a feeling of nationalism and unity. Gandhiji himself edited two newspapers, Navyug and Harijan to mobilise the masses. The victory of our freedom movement over the British to some extent was the victory of the pen over the sword.

The victories of the sword are short-lived. Alexander's desire to conquer the world remained unfulfilled. Hitler overran Europe but was defeated in the Second World War. The plays of Shakespeare, the poetry of Keats and Words worth, or the novels of Dickens still appeal to the people. In their writings they present a graphic account of the political situation, the social conditions and the beliefs prevalent in the period they lived in and wrote. The pen is mightier because it gives good counsel, promotes cultural values and graces of life. It thus removes the cobwebs from society. War, on the other hand, cultures and negates the cultural values. It takes decades for nations to re-build what wars destroy and to rehabilitate the countless victims of the war. There are some people who think that resort to the sword and the compulsions of war encourage some virtues like unity. tenacity. heroism, inventiveness and valour. But this is nothing but an illusion. The pen can promote these virtues more effectively and permanently than a war can. The sword implies the use of brute force while the pen relies on reason and thought. The pen stands for positive and constructive efforts, but the sword stands for destruction. The pen can solve many complex problems through peaceful means. It can plead for progress and social reform. It promotes cultural values. Wars, on the other hand, tend to destroy civilisation. A writer who records his noble thoughts is a teacher of humanity. The pen has a stronger influence than the sword.The written word can change a person. It can influence people for many a generation. The pen is indeed mightier than the sword. It is the power of the pen that has through the ages shaped human history.

Thus, where arguments fail, the sword succeeds. But this does not mean that the use of the sword is desirable. More often than not the sword has been misused. History shows how kings and generals owed power and used it to oppress the people. Give a man the sword for good purposes and in most cases he will use it for evil purposes. All thoughtful men, therefore, prefer the pen to the sword. The government of today is carried on through the help of the press. We are soon warned if we are in the wrong. No government of today can stand against a powerful pen. The writer or the debater by his writing or reasoning power rules the day. People have a greater faith in the power of the pen than in that of the sword. Both the pen and the sword have their uses in life. Both reason and force properly mixed are necessary for good government. The time has not yet come when people will care for the good of others more than their own. But it is a sign of good times coming. The force is no longer an argument with us. But we have not yet reached the stage when all swords may be beaten into ploughshares.

The Pen is Mightier than the Swords, the sword mightier than the pen or vice-versa? I think the pen is inevitably mightier than the sword. A pen can do a lot more things than a sword. Unlike a sword, it can be both constructive and destructive. And its destructive power is stronger than the sword’s. The power of a pen is out of people’s imagination. First, the pen is much more influential than the sword. Some may say that a pen cannot hurt anyone, but a sword can actually kill someone. However, what matters the most is not the pen itself, but the words. As history and facts have revealed, the impacts of wars cannot last long. It can last for a few centuries, at most. Yet books can last for thousands of years. For example, the Holy Bible is the most influential book that has ever been published. Many people study and read it every day. Moreover, it changes people’s lives. It is not only that the Holy Bible that influence people, but a lot of classic books are also playing an important role in inspiring and guiding people. Moreover, a pen can hurt others eternally.

As a matter of fact, a sword can cause trauma in someone. Yet that kind of trauma is physical and can be healed. However, for most of the time, the wound, which is caused by words, cannot be healed easily. For example, if you have a fight with your friends, and you quarrel with them, you may talk to each other after a few days. But if you write a letter to revile your friends, you may not be able to be friends with them anymore. It is because the harms that words can bring to others can be huge. Finally, a pen can control people’s minds. People can use a sword to force others to do something, but they are never willing to do. Yet, a pen can actually make people to something with all their might, no matter whether the thing is merciful or felonious. There was a notorious man in history, which knew the fact that a pen can control people’s minds, caused a big war. That man was Adolf Hitler. He used his speeches to control people’s minds, and caused a poignant disaster in history. In conclusion, people can do huge things with a pen, as it can control people’s minds, cause trauma on others eternally, and influence people. The power of a pen can change a person’s mind from inside out, while a sword can only hurt or kill the body. The sword is powerful, but the pen is much more powerful.

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