The pen is mightier than the sword

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!

-  Edward Bulwer-Lytton (from the play Cardinal Richelieu) 1839

~

One would probably have to read the entire play to gain access to the context & possibly the truth behind these words.