“ The Republic is six months old, and it’s flying apart. It has no cohesive force—only a monarchy has that. Surely you can see? We need the monarchy to pull the country together— then we can win the war… Hilary Mantel
“ Some debts should never be tallied, he says. I myself, I know what is owed me, but by God I know what I owe. Hilary Mantel
“ So, Lucile thinks, Gabrielle has the prospect of escape; but in her apartment at the rue des Cordeliers, she sits still and silent, in the conscious postures of pregnant women. Sometimes she cries; th… Hilary Mantel
“ Show me where it says, in the Bible, Purgatory. Show me where it says relics, monks, nuns. Show me where it says Pope. Hilary Mantel
“ People romance about their children long before they are born—long before, and long after. They name them and rename them. They see them as their second chances, a chance to get it right this time, as… Hilary Mantel
“ Men, it is supposed want to pass their wisdom to their sons; he would give a great deal to protect his own son from a quartr of what he knows. Hilary Mantel
“ Life’s going to change. You thought it already had? Not nearly as much as it’s going to change now.Everything you disapprove of you’ll call aristocratic. This term can be applied to food, to books and… Hilary Mantel
“ It is St. Catherine’s Day: in honor of the saint who was threatened with martyrdom on a wheel, we all walk in circles to our destination. At least, that’s the theory. He has never seen anyone over the… Hilary Mantel
“ If your going to be ugly it is well to be whole-hearted about it, put some effort in. Georges turned heads. Hilary Mantel
“ I was bound to step out of line, if only because I did not know where the line was: if only because I did not know anything. Hilary Mantel
“ I know that, if I took your oath, I should be damned. There are those who would envy your insight, he says, into the workings of grace. But then, you and God have always been on familiar terms, not so… Hilary Mantel
“ He looks around at his guests. All are prepared. A Latin grace; English would be his choice, but he will suit his company. Who cross themselves ostentatiously, in papist style. Who look at him, expect… Hilary Mantel
“ He glances up again, and recognizes Gregory’s design. It is a system of holy simplicity: big papers on the bottom, small ones on top. Hilary Mantel
“ He doesn't believe the dead need our prayers, nor can they use them. But anyone who knows the Bible as he does, knows that our God is a capricious God, and there's no harm in hedging your bets. Hilary Mantel
“ He does not even hate Francis Weston, any more than you hate a biting midge; you just wonder why it was created. Hilary Mantel
“ Erasmus says that you should praise a ruler even for qualities he does not have. For the flattery gives him to think. And the qualities he presently lacks, he might go to work on them. Hilary Mantel
“ Death stays when the visitors have gone, and the nurses turn a blind eye; he leans back on his portable throne, he crosses his legs, he says, ‘Entertain me. Hilary Mantel
“ Camille said, Your trouble is, you’re backtracking. I heard you, saying the Estates would save the country. Two years ago you said nothing was possible unless we got rid of the monarchy first. Which i… Hilary Mantel
