Inherit the Wind Page #10

for the prosecution.

Your honor, there were some remarks

I made, ah, yesterday, ah,

namely that I wish to withdraw

from the case.

If it please the court,

I shall like to withdraw my withdrawal

and continue as counsel for Bertram Cates.

I see no reason why Col. Drummond

should not continue as counsel

for the defense.

Proceed, Col. Drummond.

Thank you,

Thank you.

Your honor, the court, ah,

has ruled out any evidence

as to scientific knowledge

or the Darwinian theory.

would the court admit evidence...

expert evidence...

on a book known as the holy bible

Ahem.

Any objection, Col. Brady

If counsel can advance the case

for the defendant

through the use of the holy scriptures,

the prosecution will take no exception.

Good. I call to the stand

one of the world's foremost experts

on the bible and its teachings...

Matthew Harrison Brady.

Your honor, this is preposterous!

Brother, let us pray.

Well,

it's highly unorthodox

I've never known an instance

where the defense called the prosecuting

attorney as a witness.

Your honor, this entire trial

is unorthodox...

but if the interests

of right and justice will be served,

I will take the stand.

But, Col. Brady...

the court will support you

if you wish to decline to testify

as a witness against your own case.

Your honor,

I shall not testify against anything.

I shall speak out as I have all my life

on behalf of the living truth

of the holy scriptures.

Col. Brady...

no, no, no.

That won't be necessary to swear him in.

Oh, I can make affirmation.

I have no objection to swearing to God.

No. I take it you will tell the truth.

Now, sir, I-I-I am right

in calling upon you

as an authority on... on the bible, am I not

I believe it is not boastful to say

that I have studied the bible

as much as any layman,

and I have tried to live

according to its precepts.

Bully for you.

Now, I suppose you can quote me

chapter and verse

Right straight through

the King James version.

There are many portions of the holy bible

that I have committed to memory.

I don't suppose there are

many portions of this book

you've committed to memory...

the origin of the species.

I am not the least interested

in the pagan hypotheses of that book.

Never read it

and I never will.

Then how in perdition have you got the gall

to whoop up this holy war

about something you don't know

anything about

How can you be so cocksure

that the body of scientific knowledge

systematized in the writings

of Charles Darwin

is in any way irreconcilable

with the book of genesis

Would you state that question again, please

Well now, let me put it this way.

On page 10 of the origin of the species,

Darwin states...

I object to this, your honor.

Col. Brady has been called

as an authority on the bible.

now the, ah... gentleman from Chicago

is using this opportunity

to read into the record scientific testimony

which you, your honor,

have previously ruled irrelevant.

If he's going to examine

Col. Brady on the bible,

let him stick to the bible,

the holy bible and only the bible.

You will, uh, confine

your questions to the bible.

All right.

Forget it.

We'll play in your ballpark, Colonel.

Now a... a I'd like to get this

part clear first.

Th-this is the book... this is the book

th-that you're an authority on, isn't it

That is correct.

You believe that... that every word

written in this book

should be taken literally

everything in the bible should be accepted

exactly as

it is given there

now, what about this part right here

Where, uh...

Uh, it talks about, uh,

Jonah being swallowed by the whale

you figure that really happened

The bible do es not say "a whale. "

It says "a big fish"

Heh heh heh.

As a Matter of fact, it says a great fish. "

But I guess one's pretty much

the same as the other.

What do you... what do

you think about that business

I believe in a god who can make a whale

and who can make a man

and make both do what he pleases.

God bless you, Matthew Harrison Brady.

Amen.

Hallelujah.

Hallelujah.

I want those Amen's in the record.

Now, I recollect a...

a story about Joshua...

Joshua making the sun stand still.

Uh, as an expert, do you a... tell me

that that's a...

as right as the Jonah business

That's a pretty neat trick.

I do not question or scoff

at the miracles of the lord

as do ye of little faith

Have you ever pondered

what would actually happen to the earth

if the sun stood still

You can testify to that

if I get you on the stand.

If, as they say, "the sun stood still,"

they must have had some kind of an idea

that the... that the sun moved around

the earth.

Do you think that's the way of things

or don't you believe the earth

moves around the sun

I have faith in the bible.

you don't have much faith

in the solar system.

The sun stopped.

Good.

Now, if what you say actually happened...

if Joshua stopped the sun in the sky...

the earth stopped spinning on its axis,

continents toppled over one another,

mountains flew into space,

and the earth shriveled to a cinder,

crashed into the sun.

Now, how come they missed that

little tidbit of news

they missed it because it didn't happen.

But it had to happen,

It must have happened according

to natural law,

or don't you believe in natural law,

Mr. Brady

would you... would you ban copernicus

from the classroom

along with Charles Darwin

would you pass a law

throwing out all scientific

knowledge since Joshua

revelations, period

Natural law was born

in the mind of the heavenly father.

he can change it, cancel it,

use it as he pleases

It constantly amazes me

that you apostles of science,

for all your supposed wisdom,

fail to grasp this simple fact.

Now... ahem.

Now listen to this.

This is genesis, 4 to 16.

"and Cain went out from the presence

of the lord,

and dwelt in" the land of nod,

"on the east of eden.

and Cain knew his wife. "

Now, where the hell did she come from

Who

Mrs. Cain. Cain's wife.

If in the beginning there were just

Cain and Abel

and Adam and Eve,

where... where did this extra woman

come from

d- did you ever stop to think about that

No, sir.

I leave the agnostics to hunt for her.

Ha ha ha!

Never bothered you

Never bothered me.

Never tried to find out

Nope.

You figure somebody else pulled

another creation

over in the next county somewhere

the bible satisfies me. It is enough.

It frightens me

to think of the state of learning

in the world

if everybody had your driving curiosity.

Now this book goes into a lot of "begats. "

"and Arphaxad begat Salah...

and salah begat Eber... "

and so on and so on and so on.

How, are these pretty important people

they are the generations

of the holy men and women

of the bible.

How'd they go about all this begatting

What do you mean

Well, I mean, did they a...

did they begat

in much the same way

as folks get themselves begat today

The process is about the same

Rate this script:5.0 / 1 vote