“ True , This !— Beneath the rule of men entirely great The pen is mightier than the sword . Behold The arch-enchanter ’ s wand !— itself is nothing !— But taking sorcery from the master-hand To paralyse the Caesars , and to strike The loud earth breathless !— Take away the sword — States can be saved without it !”
T hese profound lines were written by Edward Bulwer- Lytton in 1839 , just six years after Hannah More died — someone who perhaps Lytton had in mind as he wrote these famous words . Hannah More , a contemporary of William Wilberforce , is known as the most influential British woman of her time — the late 1700s and early 1800s . Her pen catapulted her to prominence and helped bring an empire to its knees .
Hannah was born in 1745 in Gloucestershire , England , one of five daughters of Jacob and Mary More . Exceptionally bright like her sisters , Hannah could read and write by age four , and her most requested birthday gift was paper , which she used to feed her insatiable appetite to write poems and essays . From her earliest days , she was known for her sharp wit and quick tongue but also for having a distinct “ moral bent .” She did not write merely to entertain ; she wrote to persuade .
As a teenager , she began to teach in a school her older sister had founded in Bristol . From early in her teaching career , she became an outspoken advocate for the right of girls to be educated . She also was a firm believer in harnessing the power of the imagination in learning . She considered it a great failure if a teacher brokered in “ mere verbal rituals and dry systems .” 1 Lessons simply had to be communicated in the most lively and inviting ways possible .
While in Bristol , the scope of Hannah ’ s imagination and experience greatly expanded . She became a fan of the theatre and was welcomed into friendship with some of England ’ s 18th-century elites . Through these literary and artistic associations , her writing blossomed .
Hannah continued to hone her unique way with the pen and , at the age of 18 , wrote her first play , The Search After Happiness . Her intention was to provide a morally upright drama for the girls she taught , in contrast to the debased content that was so common in the dramatic works of her time and which reflected the moral excesses of the English culture .
In 1774 at the age of 29 , Hannah moved to London . A family friend forwarded one of her plays , The Inflexible Captive , to David Garrick , the leading actor in London at the time . He immediately took a liking to her , and he and his wife opened the doors of their home and social circle to Hannah . She soon found herself in close association with some of the most notable people in London , including Dr . Samuel Johnson , who produced one of the most important early dictionaries of the English language , a forerunner to the magisterial Oxford English Dictionary .
That same year , The Inflexible Captive was published , and thus began Hannah ’ s successful career . Hannah was a Christian , and her faith and moral bent were important — though still developing — influences on her writing . While in London , she also
explored how to relate with unbelievers and worked out how to do so without compromising her growing understanding of Christianity .
In her mid-30s , Hannah began to withdraw from the London social scene , concentrating more on the development of her faith than her social network . One biographer said , “ More became increasingly disenchanted with the trappings of high society and turned more fully toward the Christian faith she had assumed all her life but not embraced with full intention .” 2 John Newton ’ s book Cardiphonia ( utterance of the heart ) was the catalyst for her development . Here is a brief quotation that demonstrates the kind of influence his work had on Hannah ’ s faith :
“ When I would do good , evil is present with me . But , blessed be God , though we must feel hourly cause for shame and humiliation for what we are in ourselves , we have cause to rejoice continually in Christ Jesus , who , as He is revealed unto us under the various names , characters , relations , and offices , which He bears in the Scripture , holds out to our faith a balm for every wound , a cordial for every discouragement , and a sufficient answer to every objection which sin or Satan can suggest against our peace .”
Of course , we know John Newton as the slave shipmaster turned pastor who wrote the best-loved hymn , Amazing Grace . Hannah began a long correspondence with this giant of the faith , all the while internally struggling with maintaining friendships with the intelligentsia of London . She also began to reflect more deeply on how to cultivate friendships with people who rejected her faith . Consequently , Hannah felt herself being pulled in two different worlds , and she began to consider that perhaps following Christ would mean leaving London and her associations there entirely .
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