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Definition 2024

more power can achieved writing than fighting

Burmese: ဓားသွားထက် ကလောင်သွားထက် ‎(dha:swa:htak ka.laungswa:htak)
Danish: pennen er mægtigere end sværdet
Esperanto: plumo estas pli potenca ol spado
Estonian: sõna vägi on suurem kui sõjavägi (the power of a word is greater than the power of the army)
Finnish: kynä on miekkaa mahtavampi
French: la plume est plus forte que l’épée (fr)
German: die Feder ist mächtiger als die Klinge
Italian: ne uccide più la penna della spada, la penna ferisce più della spada
Japanese: ペンは剣よりも強し (ja) ‎(ペンはけんよりもつよし, pen wa ken yori mo tsuyoshi)

Latin: cedant arma togae
Norwegian:
Bokmål: pennen er mektigere enn sverdet
Portuguese: a pena é mais forte que a espada, a pena é mais forte do que a espada
Russian: что напи́сано перо́м, не вы́рубишь и топоро́м ‎(što napísano peróm, ne výrubišʹ i toporóm) (what's written by pen can't be cut by axe)
Spanish: la pluma es más poderosa que la espada
Swedish: pennan är mäktigare än svärdet
Telugu: కత్తి కన్నా కలం మిన్న ‎(katti kannā kalaṃ minna)
Turkish: kalem kılıçtan keskindir

This phrasing due to Bulwer-Lytton 1839, in his play Richelieu; Or the Conspiracy:

Beneath the rule of men entirely great,

The pen is mightier than the sword.

The sentiment is traditional, and has many antecedents; see Wikipedia. Some examples:

Cicero, De Officiis I.lxxvii: cēdant arma togae ‎(“arms yield to persuasion”).
Antonio de Guevara, 1529, Reloj de príncipes, compares the pen to the lance; translated into English by Thomas North, 1557, as Diall of Princes.
William Shakespeare, 1600, Hamlet, Act 2, scene II, "…many wearing rapiers are afraid of goosequills."