True, — this! [Richelieu holding a pen]
Edward Bulwer-Lytton, Richelieu; or, The Conspiracy: A Play in Five Acts (1839), Act II, Scene II.
Beneath the rule of men entirely great
The pen is mightier than the sword. Behold
The arch-enchanter’s wand! — itself a nothing!
But taking sorcery from the master-hand
To paralyse the Caesars — and to strike
The loud earth breathless! — Take away the sword
States can be saved without it!
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Bulwer-Lytton
