--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: At the front, people die for their…" description: "\"“At the front, people die for their mistakes. Why should politicians be more gently treated? They made the war. They deserve a dozen deaths, each of th..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b4/hilary-mantel-440_death_at-the-front-people-die-for-their-mistak_97342.jpg" --- # At the front, people die for their mistakes. Why should… ![“At the front, people die for their mistakes. Why should politicians be more gently treated? They made the war. They deserve a dozen deaths, each of them. What can we try them for, except for treason, and how can you punish treason, except by death?” quote by Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b4/hilary-mantel-440_death_at-the-front-people-die-for-their-mistak_97342.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b4/hilary-mantel-440_death_at-the-front-people-die-for-their-mistak_97342.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b4/hilary-mantel-440_death_at-the-front-people-die-for-their-mistak_97342.jpg) > ““At the front, people die for their mistakes. Why should politicians be more gently treated? They made the war. They deserve a dozen deaths, each of them. What can we try them for, except for treason, and how can you punish treason, except by death?”” [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker argues that war criminals deserve death, equating their punishment with the suffering they caused, and questions any alternative to execution. **In simple terms:** War criminals should be executed, no mercy. Key Takeaway Calls for capital punishment for war crimes. Themes justice war crimes retribution morality Mood anger outrage Type political statement moral argument When to use this quote - post‑war tribunals - international courts - military tribunals Key Concepts ethical justification of death penalty political accountability Practical Applications - legal frameworks for war‑crime prosecution Questions to Reflect On - Is capital punishment the only just response to war crimes? - How can societies balance retribution with reconciliation? A Different Perspective Execution may not deter future atrocities and can conflict with due‑process standards. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Facts of life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts-of-life/) [Mistakes Politicians](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mistakes-politicians-1192034/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Punish Treason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/punish-treason-1192032/) [Treason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/treason/) [Treason Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/treason-death-1192031/) [Try Treason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/try-treason-1192033/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) [War Deserve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war-deserve-1192030/) ## Related quotes > [In battle, combatants engaged in war against America get no due process and may lawfully be killed. But citizens not in a battlefield -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rand-paul/in-battle-combatants-engaged-in-war-against-america-get-no-due/) [Rand Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rand-paul/) > [This book has been a catalogue of mistakes by politicians, moral and practical disasters which led to wars, enslavement and wretchedness on a scale…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-n-wilson/this-book-has-been-a-catalogue-of-mistakes-by-politicians-moral-and/) [A. N. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-n-wilson/) > [“I am a dash man and not a miler, and it is probable that I will never write a novel. So far the novels…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger/i-am-a-dash-man-and-not-a-miler-and-it-is-probable-that-i-will-never/) [J.D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger/) > [Sir! Men who desert their comrades in war deserve to be shot! And Officers who intrude for them deserve to be hung!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stonewall-jackson/sir-men-who-desert-their-comrades-in-war-deserve-to-be-shot-and/) [Stonewall Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stonewall-jackson/) > [No one can guarantee success in war, but only deserve it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/no-one-can-guarantee-success-in-war-but-only-deserve-it/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [“Men get the war they deserve.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/men-get-the-war-they-deserve/) [Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) > [“We may be tainted with pragmatism, but it only needs a clash of personalities to remind us of our principles.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/we-may-be-tainted-with-pragmatism-but-it-only-needs-a-clash-of/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [I made a very good living as a bad writer. I wrote a lot of comedies, 'Diff'rent Strokes,' 'Facts of Life,' while all my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-haggis/i-made-a-very-good-living-as-a-bad-writer-i-wrote-a-lot-of-comedies/) [Paul Haggis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-haggis/) > [When I dated someone, my goal is to marry her, I date to get married one day, I don't date a girl just to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werley-nortreus/when-i-dated-someone-my-goal-is-to-marry-her-i-date-to-get-married/) [Werley Nortreus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werley-nortreus/) > [Morrissey was my Mrs. Garrett, the house mother from the Facts of Life, a soothing adult figure giving me words of wisdom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-sheffield/morrissey-was-my-mrs-garrett-the-house-mother-from-the-facts-of-life/) [Rob Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-sheffield/) > [So soon did we, wayfarers, begin to learn that man's life is rounded with the same few facts, the same simple relations everywhere, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/so-soon-did-we-wayfarers-begin-to-learn-that-man-s-life-is-rounded/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [It is only in the light of the inescapable fact of death that a person can adequately engage and enter upon the mysterious fact…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-only-in-the-light-of-the-inescapable-fact-of-death-that-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“To be in love at my age would mean not to have learnt anything at all.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walsh/to-be-in-love-at-my-age-would-mean-not-to-have-learnt-anything-at-all/) [Alice Walsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-walsh/) > [The Bell curve is a fact of life. The blacks on average score 85 per cent on IQ and it is accurate, nothing to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-kuan-yew/the-bell-curve-is-a-fact-of-life-the-blacks-on-average-score-85-per/) [Lee Kuan Yew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-kuan-yew/) > [It's a fact of life. Hearts are always hurting. And yet they still keep pumping.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecil-castellucci/it-s-a-fact-of-life-hearts-are-always-hurting-and-yet-they-still-keep/) [Cecil Castellucci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecil-castellucci/) ## More by Hilary Mantel > [People will identify with a persecuted minority without asking themselves what they are identifying with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/people-will-identify-with-a-persecuted-minority-without-asking/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [“The hunter is among the most innocent of men; living in the moment makes him feel pure. When he returns in the evening, his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/the-hunter-is-among-the-most-innocent-of-men-living-in-the-moment/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [“But what would happen … I mean, what would be so awful … if they did meet up?” “Why, it would be like the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/but-what-would-happen-i-mean-what-would-be-so-awful-if-they-did-meet/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [When you have committed enough words to paper, you feel you have a spine stiff enough to stand up in the wind. But when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/when-you-have-committed-enough-words-to-paper-you-feel-you-have-a/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [At New Year's he had given Anne a present of silver forks with handles of rock crystal. He hopes she will use them to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/at-new-year-s-he-had-given-anne-a-present-of-silver-forks-with/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [“The story of my own childhood is a complicated sentence that I am always trying to finish, to finish and put behind me. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/the-story-of-my-own-childhood-is-a-complicated-sentence-that-i-am/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [“He wants to say, because Anne is not a carnal being, she is a calculating being, with a cold slick brain at work behind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/he-wants-to-say-because-anne-is-not-a-carnal-being-she-is-a/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [“Come to that, don't pay out good money for horoscopes. If things are going to go badly for you, is that what you need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/come-to-that-don-t-pay-out-good-money-for-horoscopes-if-things-are/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [“But my sins are my strength, he thinks; the sins I have done, that others have not even found the opportunity of committing. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/but-my-sins-are-my-strength-he-thinks-the-sins-i-have-done-that/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [Feminism hasn't failed, it's just never been tried.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/feminism-hasn-t-failed-it-s-just-never-been-tried/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [“Mirabeau: “If you have been told to clear us from this hall, you must ask for orders to use force. We shall leave our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/mirabeau-if-you-have-been-told-to-clear-us-from-this-hall-you-must/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [“Cardinal Campeggio has implored Katherine to bow to the king's will, accept that her marriage is invalid and retire to a convent. Certainly, she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/cardinal-campeggio-has-implored-katherine-to-bow-to-the-king-s-will/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [“Sion calls Anne an eel, he calls her a slippery dipper from the slime, and he remembers what the cardinal had called her: my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/sion-calls-anne-an-eel-he-calls-her-a-slippery-dipper-from-the-slime/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [I spend a great deal of time on research, on finding all the available accounts of a scene or incident, finding out all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/i-spend-a-great-deal-of-time-on-research-on-finding-all-the-available/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [My first two novels were very black comedies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/my-first-two-novels-were-very-black-comedies/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) [Explore all 559 Hilary Mantel quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) ## More Death quotes > [“He wondered how it was fair that your dying should depend so much on when you were born.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/he-wondered-how-it-was-fair-that-your-dying-should-depend-so-much-on/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [Most of us are convinced that we are our egos, which is who we think we are. The ego is part of our incarnation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-dass/most-of-us-are-convinced-that-we-are-our-egos-which-is-who-we-think/) [Ram Dass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-dass/) > [I do not want to live at the cost of the life even of a snake. I should let him bite me to death…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-do-not-want-to-live-at-the-cost-of-the-life-even-of-a-snake-i/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [“It was beautiful. He thought he had never seen anything so beautiful in all his life; that, having seen it, he could die content,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mira-grant/it-was-beautiful-he-thought-he-had-never-seen-anything-so-beautiful/) [Mira Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mira-grant/) > [Retirement? You're talking about death, right?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-altman/retirement-you-re-talking-about-death-right/) [Robert Altman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-altman/) > [With multiplayer, permanent death, and an ever-changing world to explore and conquer, 'A Valley Without Wind' might be the place you're looking for if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-manuel/with-multiplayer-permanent-death-and-an-ever-changing-world-to/) [Rob Manuel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-manuel/) > [“What did you see?” she asked gently. His brow furrowed, as if he could not understand the question. Then his eyes turned to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-anthony-torino/what-did-you-see-she-asked-gently-his-brow-furrowed-as-if-he-could/) [J. Anthony Torino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-anthony-torino/) > [Those whose life is long still strive for gain, and for all mortals all things take second place to money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/those-whose-life-is-long-still-strive-for-gain-and-for-all-mortals/) [Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/) > [“I practice Dying--every night-- But have not learned to, still-- Though Talented--by Mortal bones-- For such a common Skill.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-w-powers/i-practice-dying-every-night-but-have-not-learned-to-still-though/) [Alan W. Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-w-powers/) > [“You must understand the pain and grief of losing someone is nothing more than a function of survival.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-cooper/you-must-understand-the-pain-and-grief-of-losing-someone-is-nothing/) [Steven Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-cooper/) > [I am not a depressive person at all, but I reflect a lot on my life, and life in general, from the perspective of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/i-am-not-a-depressive-person-at-all-but-i-reflect-a-lot-on-my-life/) [Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/) > [“Death is a reality that calls the rest of life and all of our assorted strivings into sharp relief.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/death-is-a-reality-that-calls-the-rest-of-life-and-all-of-our/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [I love life. I love life to death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmanuelle-riva/i-love-life-i-love-life-to-death/) [Emmanuelle Riva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emmanuelle-riva/) > [I think when you’re dying you start looking for important things in the corners. You can’t let anything that seems even semi-important pass, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-crutcher/i-think-when-you-re-dying-you-start-looking-for-important-things-in/) [Chris Crutcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-crutcher/) [Browse all 39,127 Death quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“At the front, people die for their mistakes. Why should politicians be more gently treated? They made the war. They deserve a dozen deaths, each of them. What can we try them for, except for treason, and how can you punish treason, except by death?”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Hilary Mantel" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/at-the-front-people-die-for-their-mistakes-why-should-politicians-be/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Death" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/at-the-front-people-die-for-their-mistakes-why-should-politicians-be/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b4/hilary-mantel-440_death_at-the-front-people-die-for-their-mistak_97342.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b4/hilary-mantel-440_death_at-the-front-people-die-for-their-mistak_97342.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b4/hilary-mantel-440_death_at-the-front-people-die-for-their-mistak_97342.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“At the front, people die for their mistakes. Why should politicians be more gently treated? They made the…” — Hilary Mantel", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Hilary Mantel", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“At the front, people die for...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/at-the-front-people-die-for-their-mistakes-why-should-politicians-be/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/at-the-front-people-die-for-their-mistakes-why-should-politicians-be/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```