 The pen is mightier than the sword

"The pen is mightier than the sword" is a metonymic adage, penned by English author Edward Bulwer-Lytton in 1839, indicating that communication (particularly written language), or in some interpretations, administrative power or advocacy of an independent press, is a more effective tool than direct violence.The sentence (if not the idea, which had been expressed in various earlier forms) was coined by English author Edward Bulwer-Lytton in 1839 for his play "Richelieu; Or the Conspiracy".