How we cite our quotes: (Act.Paragraph)
Quote #7
CROMWELL: [...] Yes, it may be that I am a little intoxicated. [...] With success! And who has a strong head for success? None of us gets enough of it, Except Kings. And they're born drunk. (1.731)
Doesn't sound pleasant, but it's a rather accurate assessment of the situation. When you live in a system in which all power is concentrated in one individual, it becomes inevitable that this individual will do some unpleasant, immoral stuff. The trick, according to Cromwell, is to keep kissing that powerful person's butt and grabbing the scraps they leave behind.
Quote #8
CROMWELL: [...] If the King destroys a man, that's proof to the King that it must have been a bad man, the kind of man a man of conscience ought to destroy. (2.389)
This kind of circular, Catch-22-esque logic tells us everything we need to know about the King's mindset. If he kills someone, then it goes without saying that the person deserved it; if he doesn't, then it goes without saying that they didn't. Yeesh—this is making our heads spin.
Quote #9
MORE: Death...comes for us all, my lords. Yes, even for King he comes, to whom amidst all their Royalty and brute strength he will neither kneel nor make them any reverence (2.701)
Well, he's not wrong. While More is more than willing to "give unto Caesar what is Caesar's" and all that, the dude's got no illusions. Henry might be able to dominate an entire country, he might be able to win a stare-down with the Pope, and he might be able to bend the aristocracy to his will, but his power doesn't mean anything to a guy like More.