Mightier than the sword: the power of Thomas More and Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

摘要

Thomas More and Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, both men of letters who were imprisoned for political motives, are examples of the adage “the pen is mightier than the sword”. Their stories demonstrate the remarkable power of the writer–even when he is silenced; even when his vindication comes only in the eyes of subsequent history. This paper argues that there is a close connection between the metaphorical “pen”—the power of language, of the word—and these higher powers that Solzhenitsyn says must be recognized: in explicitly Christian terms, we could say “God.” The connection is this: we recognize these higher powers with the faculty of reason which is the highest power of our own soul. And these higher or spiritual powers of our soul are driven by ideas, which in turn are expressed in words and images, which are communicated by “the pen.”