We come across the old truth "pen is mightier than sword" in serious discussions. Since the pen is used to espress idesas and the sowrd is used to impose one's will by superior violence, the statement really means that ideas have more influence than violence. Since violence is always used for a purpose, there is a some idea behind violence. What matters is the kind of idea in the service of which violence is used. The sword can only destroy, but the pein-the ideas expressed by the pen-can also build. The pen is the vehicel of thought and ideas have helped man to reise over purely savage conditions. They have built up free institutions and democracy.
Thought enables man to voyage through the infinite the philosophy to unlock the secrets of the universe in science, to contemplate the universe, to create beauty and to commune with God. It is in this sense that the pen is mightier than the sword. It must be emphasized that non-violent is not a method for cowards. If one uses this method because he is afraied or merely because he lacks the intruments of violence, he is not truly non-violent. The Phrase "passive resistance" often gives the false impression that this is a sort of do-nothing method in which the resister quietly and passively acceps evil. But nothing is further from truth. For while the non-violent resister is passive in sense that he is not physically aggresive toward his opponent, his mind and emotions are always active, constantly seeking to persuade his opponent that he is wrong.
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