T he word "massacre" (slaughter) means the deliberate and violent killing of a large number of people. During the Nanjing Massacre, Japanese soldiers deliberately and violently killed tens of thousands of Chinese people. A man who uses a gun to commit a crime or kill people is called a gunman. If you are shocked into disbelief, it means you are so shocked by something that has happened that you can't believe it actually happened. The French word "Hebdo" means weekly. Charlie Hebdo is a weekly magazine. The word "mightier" used this way means stronger or more powerful. It comes from the word "might" , which means great power or strength.
The expression "the pen is mightier than the sword" means using words is more effective than using violence in achieving what you want. In other words, talking to your enemies will get more results than fighting with them. The expression was first used 700 years before the birth of Christ by a sage (very wise person) named Ahiqar from an ancient country called Assyria, which is now a part of northern Iraq and Syria. He said "the word is mightier than the sword". Several centuries later, the Greek writer Euripides wrote "the tongue is mightier than the blade". Many centuries later, the English author Edward Bulwer-Lytton wrote the expression "the pen is mightier than the sword" in his 1839 play called Richelieu.
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對於在法國《查理周報》工作的漫畫家與員工的大屠殺（massacre）事件，你是否感到震驚？一月七日，兩名伊斯蘭教槍手（gunmen）闖入《查理周報》的巴黎總部，殺死十二人，包括漫畫家和兩名警員。當我在電視上看到這宗新聞時，簡直震驚得難以置信（shocked into disbelief）。自屠殺（massacre）發生以來，許多漫畫家和新聞從業員都畫漫畫和寫文章，重申筆桿比刀劍更鋒利（the pen is mightier than the sword）。我身為新聞工作者，亦深信筆桿子比槍桿子更厲害（the pen is mightier than the sword）。屠殺（massacre）發生後，法國人、世人與世界領袖都攜手宣揚一個強大的訊息：他們永不向恐怖份子屈服。
Massacre解作大屠殺，於南京大屠殺（Massacre）期間，日本士兵蓄意而殘暴地殺害數以萬計的中國人。Gunman就是槍手。若你 shocked into disbelief，即是說你對事情的發生震驚得不能相信它真的發生了。法文Hebdo就是周刊的意思，Charlie Hebdo 是一本周刊。 Mightier在這裏的意思解作更強大或更有力，源自 might 這個字，即是威力或能力。
習語 the pen is mightier than the sword的意思是，筆誅猶勝於以暴力達到你的目的。換句話說，與敵人打仗還不如跟他們對話有效。這個習語在主前七百年，由一位在亞述國名為亞希卡爾的哲者（sage）首先用上，亞述國就是現今伊拉克與敍利亞的北部。他說：「言語比刀劍更有力」（the word is mightier than the sword）。數個世紀以後，希臘作家歐里庇得斯也寫道：「舌頭比刀鋒更鋒利」（the tongue is mightier than the blade）。再過了許多個世紀，英國作家愛德華．布爾沃李頓便在1839年《黎塞留》一劇中，寫上習語“the pen is mightier than the sword”。mickchug@gmail.com
Michael Chugani褚簡寧 中譯：七刻
Source: http://news.stheadline.com/dailynews/headline_news_detail_columnist.asp?id=316745§ion_name=wtt&kw=126