--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When the cardinal came to a closed door…" description: "\"“When the cardinal came to a closed door he would flatter it--oh beautiful yielding door! Then he would try tricking it open. And you are just the same..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/48a/hilary-mantel-440_closed-door_when-the-cardinal-came-to-a-closed-door_1995434.jpg" --- # When the cardinal came to a closed door he would flatter… ![“When the cardinal came to a closed door he would flatter it--oh beautiful yielding door! Then he would try tricking it open. And you are just the same, just the same." He pours himself some of the duke's present. "But in the last resort, you just kick it in.” quote by Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/48a/hilary-mantel-440_closed-door_when-the-cardinal-came-to-a-closed-door_1995434.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/48a/hilary-mantel-440_closed-door_when-the-cardinal-came-to-a-closed-door_1995434.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/48a/hilary-mantel-440_closed-door_when-the-cardinal-came-to-a-closed-door_1995434.jpg) > ““When the cardinal came to a closed door he would flatter it--oh beautiful yielding door! Then he would try tricking it open. And you are just the same, just the same." He pours himself some of the duke's present. "But in the last resort, you just kick it in.”” [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. A clever person may use flattery to gain access, but force is sometimes necessary when persuasion fails. **In simple terms:** Flattery can open doors, but sometimes you must break them. Key Takeaway Know when to persuade and when to act decisively. Themes power persuasion force strategy Mood determined critical strategic Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - political negotiations - business deals - personal boundaries - conflict resolution Key Concepts manipulation assertiveness ethical dilemma Questions to Reflect On - When is flattery insufficient? - When is force justified? A Different Perspective Reliance on force can damage relationships and trust. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cardinal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cardinal/) [Cardinal Came](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cardinal-came-3482241/) [Closed door](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/closed-door/) [Door](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/door/) [Door Try](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/door-try-438941/) [Last resort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/last-resort/) [Persuasion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/persuasion/) [Pours Duke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pours-duke-3482243/) [Thomas-cromwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thomas-cromwell-190557/) [Yielding Door](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/yielding-door-3482242/) ## Related quotes > [“So now get up.' Felled, dazed, silent, he has fallen; knocked full length on the cobbles of the yard. His head turns sideways; his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/so-now-get-up-felled-dazed-silent-he-has-fallen-knocked-full-length/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [“Every time you go to see Hamlet you don't expect it to have a happy ending...you're still enthralled. (Interview BBC Radio 4 Today 17 October 2012.)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/every-time-you-go-to-see-hamlet-you-don-t-expect-it-to-have-a-happy/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [“I picked up a snake once. In Italy." "Why did you do that?" "For a bet." "Was it poisonous?" "We didn't know. That was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/i-picked-up-a-snake-once-in-italy-why-did-you-do-that-for-a-bet-was/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [“I think, if you're going to kill a man, do it. Don't write him a letter about it. 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I try to get about without being noticed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freddie-ljungberg/if-there-s-a-back-door-somewhere-i-take-it-i-try-to-get-about-without/) [Freddie Ljungberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freddie-ljungberg/) > [“When one door closes, find another. And what if there isn't another door? Then you try a window. And what if there's not a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-one-door-closes-find-another-and-what-if-there-isn-t-another/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When one door closes, find another." Kylie gazed back up. "And what if there isn't another door?" "Then you try the window." "And if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-c-hunter/when-one-door-closes-find-another-kylie-gazed-back-up-and-what-if/) [C.C. Hunter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-c-hunter/) > [I've made tons of mistakes over the past years, but if there's anything I've done well, if I see an opportunity, or if I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaun-king/i-ve-made-tons-of-mistakes-over-the-past-years-but-if-there-s/) [Shaun King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaun-king/) > [I'll make phone calls. I'll call anybody and knock on any door to try and get a location, or get an actor, or get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierce-brosnan/i-ll-make-phone-calls-i-ll-call-anybody-and-knock-on-any-door-to-try/) [Pierce Brosnan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierce-brosnan/) > [Failure leaves open a door for us to try, and try again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-hensel/failure-leaves-open-a-door-for-us-to-try-and-try-again/) [Robert M. Hensel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-hensel/) ## 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. 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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/) > [“At the front, people die for their mistakes. Why should politicians be more gently treated? They made the war. They deserve a dozen deaths,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/at-the-front-people-die-for-their-mistakes-why-should-politicians-be/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) [Explore all 559 Hilary Mantel quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) ## More Cardinal quotes > [The cardinal rule for any performer is that they should know themselves before they enter the spotlight, and I didn't. I was just Neil…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-diamond/the-cardinal-rule-for-any-performer-is-that-they-should-know/) [Neil Diamond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-diamond/) > [“Don’t even try to stop me from seeing her, Krychek,” he said to the cardinal, who still hadn’t spilled Silver ’s location. “I’m bigger…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nalini-singh/don-t-even-try-to-stop-me-from-seeing-her-krychek-he-said-to-the/) [Nalini Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nalini-singh/) > [I'm not against speaking publicly and having passion for something. One of the cardinal beauties of America is that we have the freedom to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raul-ruiz/i-m-not-against-speaking-publicly-and-having-passion-for-something/) [Raul Ruiz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raul-ruiz/) > [The cardinal points are a direct reference to the astrological colures. The Cardinals surround the Pope as the cardinal points surround the sun. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-tsarion/the-cardinal-points-are-a-direct-reference-to-the-astrological/) [Michael Tsarion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-tsarion/) > [“I reached deep in you and pulled out a cardinal which in bright red flew out the window. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothea-lasky/i-reached-deep-in-you-and-pulled-out-a-cardinal-which-in-bright-red/) [Dorothea Lasky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothea-lasky/) > [The Catholic Church has a tough new policy on child molestors: three strikes and you're a cardinal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-letterman/the-catholic-church-has-a-tough-new-policy-on-child-molestors-three/) [David Letterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-letterman/) > [That cardinal virtue, temperance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/that-cardinal-virtue-temperance/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [“Blind obedience is not the same as loyalty.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reki-kawahara/blind-obedience-is-not-the-same-as-loyalty/) [Reki Kawahara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reki-kawahara/) > [The one and only time I met Pope Benedict XVI was when he was Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-novak/the-one-and-only-time-i-met-pope-benedict-xvi-was-when-he-was-joseph/) [David Novak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-novak/) > [I've met people of great faith. I sat in the home of Billy Graham and in the residence of Cardinal Dolan and prayed with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitt-romney/i-ve-met-people-of-great-faith-i-sat-in-the-home-of-billy-graham-and/) [Mitt Romney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitt-romney/) > [I am who I am, and I think that's why I'm very grateful to be an Arizona Cardinal: because the team that picked me,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-rosen/i-am-who-i-am-and-i-think-that-s-why-i-m-very-grateful-to-be-an/) [Josh Rosen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-rosen/) > [If it ever lay in my power, I will work the Cardinal as much displeasure as he has done to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-boleyn/if-it-ever-lay-in-my-power-i-will-work-the-cardinal-as-much/) [Anne Boleyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-boleyn/) > [“Cardinal: You are a wise man. You will lead us well. Mortati: I am an old man. I would lead you briefly.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-brown/cardinal-you-are-a-wise-man-you-will-lead-us-well-mortati-i-am-an-old/) [Dan Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-brown/) > [Every one suspects himself of at least one of the cardinal virtues.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/every-one-suspects-himself-of-at-least-one-of-the-cardinal-virtues-2/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [Until fairly recently, Amish teachers would reprimand the student who raised his or her hand as being too individualistic. Calling attention to oneself, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-rheingold/until-fairly-recently-amish-teachers-would-reprimand-the-student-who/) [Howard Rheingold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-rheingold/) [Browse all 38 Cardinal quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cardinal/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“When the cardinal came to a closed door he would flatter it--oh beautiful yielding door! Then he would try tricking it open. 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