nothing

the government itself would mean nothing if they had no police force or military to enforce what their pens dictate

its only because they have swords that their will is enacted

There is no will without the pen. And the qoute is about power and persausion... A gun or bomb or sword is a tool. The pen establishes the vision and can lead to peace or war

as I said

the pen can do nothing on its own

it relies on a man with a sword to enact its dictations

Sigh.

a man with a sword can enact his own dictations

a man with a pen relies on others to do it for him

A man with a pen can rule a nation. A man with a gun only those few within firing range.

that is, if the man with a pen has men with guns to enact his will

the pen on its own is useless

an engine without fuel is useless

a gun without ammunition can not fire

a pen without anyone to enact its will

is just as meaningless

at least the man with a sword can enact what it wants

a man with a sword is his own self contained system

he is his own pen

his actions are his pen

History is not on your side

give examples were someone writing something, but not taking action lead to change

The world changes when people decide it changes based on thd vision created by the pen ( only occasionally do .they use guns )

ok, so lets dive into the metaphysical meanings of the pen and the sword

the pen is thought, the pen represents ideas one might have

the sword represents action

without action, your thoughts mean nothing

No..the sword represents violence

well lets assume it does, all action results in harm to another

No they don't

one cannot do anything to help a group, without harming another

Im eating peanuts is that harming you

no, but it harms the other man who didnt get those peanuts

you inflicted suffering (no matter how minor and irrelevant it is) in order for you to get what you want

Ok... Im gonna to go to the bathroom ...who does that harm

those who work to maintain the system

they suffer for others to gain

There is no clean dichotomy between speech and action.

ok think of it like this

People also gain from action ( as you think of it ). So there's no way to tell the overall impact