Inherit the Wind Page #11

I don't think your scientists

have improved it any.

Ha! Ha ha

In other words,

all of these folks were conceived

and brought forth

by the normal biological function

known as sex.

What do you think of sex, Col. Brady

in what spirit is this question asked

I'm not asking you

what you think of sex

as a father, as a husband,

or even as a presidential candidate.

you're up here as an expert on the bible.

What is the biblical evaluation of sex

It is considered original sin.

and all these holy people got

themselves begat

through original sin

Well...

all that sinning make them any less holy

Your honor, where is this leading us

What has it got to do with

the State v. Bertram Cates

Col. Drummond, the court must be satisfied

that this line of questioning

has some bearing on the case.

You've ruled out all of my witnesses.

you must allow me to examine

the one witness you've left

to me in my own way.

Your honor

I am willing to sit here

and endure Mr. Drummond's sneering

and his disrespect

for he is pleading

the case of the prosecution

by his contempt for all that is holy.

I object! I object! I object!

On what grounds

Is it possible that something is holy

to the celebrated agnostic

Yes...

The individual human mind.

in a child's power

to master the multiplication table,

there is more sanctity

than in all your shouted "Amens"

and "Holy holies"

and "Hosannas"!

An idea is a greater monument

than a cathedral,

and the advance of man's knowledge

is a greater miracle than all the sticks

turned to snakes

or the parting of the waters.

But now,

are we to forgo all this progress

because Mr. Brady now frightens us

with a fable

Gentlemen,

Progress has never been a bargain.

you have to pay for it.

sometimes I think there's a man

who sits behind a counter

and says, "all right,

you can have a telephone,

"but you lose privacy and the

charm of distance. "

Madam, you may vote, but at a price.

"you lose the right to retreat behind

the powder puff"

or your petticoat

"Mister, you may conquer the air," will lose

their wonder...

but the birds

"and the clouds will smell of gasoline. "

Darwin took us forward to a hilltop

from where we could look back

and see the way from which we came.

But for this insight and for this knowledge,

we must abandon our faith

in the pleasant poetry of Genesis.

We must not abandon faith!

Faith is the most important thing!

Then why did God plague us

with the power to think

Mr. Brady, why do you deny

the one faculty of man

that raises him above the other

creatures of the earth...

the power of his brain to reason

what other merit have we

the elephant is larger,

the horse is swifter and stronger,

the butterfly is far more beautiful,

the mosquito is more prolific,

even the simple sponge is more durable.

Or does a sponge think

I don't know.

I'm a man, not a sponge.

Well, do you think a sponge thinks

If the lord wishes a sponge to think,

it thinks.

Do you think a man should have

the same privilege as a sponge

Of course.

This man wishes to be accorded

the same privilege as a sponge.

He wishes to think!

But your client is wrong!

He is deluded! he has lost his way!

It's sad that we don't all have

your positive knowledge of

what is right and wrong,

Mr. Brady.

How old do you think this rock is

I am more interested in the rock of ages

than I am in the age of rocks.

Ha!

Ha ha

Dr. Page of Oberlin College

tells me this rock is at least

10 million years old.

Well, well...

Col. Drummond,

you managed to sneak in

some of that scientific testimony after all.

Look, Mr. Brady...

these are the fossil remains

of a marine prehistoric creature

found in this very county

and which lived here millions of years ago

when these very mountain ranges

were submerged in water.

I know.

The bible gives a fine account of the flood.

But your professor's a little mixed-up

on his dates.

That rock is not more than 6,000 years old.

How do you know

A fine biblical scholar, Bishop Usher,

has determined for us

the exact date and hour of the creation

it occurred in the year 4004 B.C.

Ah, well,

uh, that...

That's... that's, uh,

Bishop Usher's opinion.

It's not an opinion.

It's a literal fact,

which the good Bishop arrived at

through careful computation

of the ages of the prophets

as set down in the old testament.

In fact,

he determined that the Lord

began the creation

on the 23rd of october, 4004 B.C.

at, uh, 9 a. m.

At eastern standard time

or rocky mountain time

it wasn't daylight saving time, was it

because the lord didn't make the sun

until the 4th day.

That is correct.

That first day, uh...

Wha-what do you think it was,

24 hours long

Bible says it was a day.

Well, there was no sun

h- how do you know how long it was

The bible says it was a day.

Well, was it a normal day,

a literal day, a 24-hour day

I don't know.

what do you think

I do not think about things

that I do not think about.

Do you ever think about things

that you do think about

Isn't it possible

that it could have been 25 hours

there was no way to measure it.

No way to tell.

Could it have been 25 hours

It is possible.

then you interpret that the first day

as recorded in the book of Genesis

could have been a day of

indeterminate length

I mean to state

that it is not necessarily a 24-hour day.

It could have been 30 hours,

It could have been a week.

It could have been a month,

it could have been a year,

it could have been a hundred years,

or it could have been 10 million years!

I protest!

This is not only irrelevant, immaterial,

it is illegal!

I demand to know the purpose

of Mr. Drummond's examination.

What's he trying to do

I'll tell you what he's trying to do.

He wants to destroy everybody's belief

in the bible

and in God.

That's not true, and you know it.

The bible is a book.

It's a good book,

but it is not the only book.

It is the revealed word of the almighty God

spake to the men who wrote the bible.

How do you know that god didn't

spake to Charles Darwin

I know, because God tells me to oppose

the evil teachings of that man.

Oh, God speaks to you

Yes!

He tells you what is right and wrong,

Yes

and you act accordingly

Yes.

So you, Matthew Harrison Brady,

through oratory or legislature or whatever,

you pass on god's orders

to the rest of the world!

Well, meet the prophet from Nebraska!

Is that the way of things

is that the way of things

God tells Brady what is good.

to be against Brady is to be against God.

No! each man is a free agent!

Then what is Bertram Cates doing

in a Hillsboro jail

supposing Mr. Cates had the influence

and the lung power

to railroad through the state legislature

a law saying that only Darwin

could be taught in the schools

Ridiculous! Ridiculous!

There is only one great truth in the world.

The gospel...

the gospel according to Brady.

God speaks to Brady,

and Brady tells the world!

Brady, Brady, Brady almighty!

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