If the Pen is Mightier than the Sword ...
This phrase first appeared in 1839 in a play about Cardinal Richelieu, penned by the nineteenth-century writer Sir Edward Bulwer-Lytton.
The phrase is a metonymic adage, indicating that communication (particularly the written word) [or as some would interpret it - administrative power, or advocacy of an independent press], is a more effective tool than direct violence.
The intimation here is that the "pen" via 'administrative power', or a "free" press can be used for good; for that which is...