If actions speak louder than words, then why is the pen mightier than the sword?

1. 73

   larcaustin46posted 13 years ago

   If actions speak louder than words, then why is the pen mightier than the sword?
   
   A question posed by my 12-year-old to which I don't have an answer yet...

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2. 69

   Saleeln18posted 13 years ago

   Good question! The world may never know.

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3. 60

   YvetteParkerposted 13 years ago

   My guess would be because words are powerful, but putting those words into action are (in my opiniopn) even more powerful.

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4. 68

   Larry Fieldsposted 13 years ago

   I don't have a definitive answer to your question. Would you settle for a related non sequitur?
   
   Because history is written by the victors.

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5. 63

   mintinfoposted 13 years ago

   People can speak without intelligence or substance but someone who knows what to write can influence millions.

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6. 85

   SeedyKiwiposted 13 years ago

   A pen in the right hands has the power to inspire men to pick up their swords, as well as the power to lead those same men to put down their swords.
   
   While great deeds may be done with the sword, it is the pen that commits those deeds to history, as a source of knowledge and inspiration to future readers.

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7. 72

   onegoodwomanposted 13 years ago

   the pen that we take up, IS the action that we take against............

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8. 0

   wilbury4posted 13 years ago

   Two separate proverbs relating to two different situations! They won't work together!

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9. 81

   ptosisposted 13 years ago

   
   
   The reason is based that an idea can not die no matter what. The person holding a sword can die, the sword is a tool. Why do regimes censor newspapers and the internet? Having the idea goes  on and on and on and can never die.
   
   The Middle East Spring was helped by technology. People were no longer limited to newspapers, TV or radio controlled by the government. The regimes' control over tweeting and cell phones was not as finely controlled as China has with the internet. That's why they shut the entire cell phone system down at one point but it was liking shooting thier own foot because business trade stopped which hurts the government pocketbook.
   
   See Revolution 2.0': How Social Media Toppled A Dictator
   
   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!

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10. 0

    reeltaulkposted 13 years ago

    SeedyKiwi and Mintinfo.... today your pens have  been mighter than any sword

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11. 61

    Robert Pummerposted 13 years ago

    The question turns on "if."  The statement that "...actions speak louder than words..." and that "... the pen is mightier than the sword..." are presumptions.  To frame a discourse upon presumption will not result in a competent conclusion.

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12. 99

    GoodLadyposted 13 years ago

    Actions speak louder than words.  (do what I do, not what i say).
    
    The pen is mightier than the sword (make love not war).
    
    Seems to me the two aren't really connected.   Possibly because the sword means there's battle somewhere. Whereas, there's no battle in the 'actions/words' expression.

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13. 60

    nlclarkposted 13 years ago

    Awesome question! I don't have an answer, offhand, but very thought provoking! Seriously, made me chuckle when I read it. Give your 12-year-old my compliments, please. I'll work on an answer.

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14. 74

    Levertis Steeleposted 13 years ago

    It takes a lot of action to use the pen, and it usually lasts longer than a sword does in a battle. It does not take long to defeat the enemy and win a battle, but a good writer can write a book about the battle. That could take months, or longer. The action of a pen is awesome, and a sword "cannot hold a candle to it."

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