He has lived by the laws he has made and must be content to die by them. But the law is not an instrument to find out truth. It is there to create a fiction that will help us move past atrocious acts and face our future. It seems there is no mercy in this world, but a kind of haphazard justice: men pay for crimes, but not necessarily their own.
In the concluding part of Mantel's biography of Thomas Cromwell, the statesman learns that he can go only so far and that he too is subject to the caprice of a changeable prince. He also tastes betrayal although even though he had, long before, said of friendship in another context: "Friendship swears it will stand and never alter, but when the weather changes men change their coat. Not every man has a price in money: some will betray you for a kind word from a great man, others will forswear your company because they see you limp, or lose your footing, or hesitate once in a while."
Cromwell trilogy:
1. Wolf Hall
2. Bring Up the Bodies
3. The Mirror and the Light
Cromwell trilogy:
1. Wolf Hall
2. Bring Up the Bodies
3. The Mirror and the Light