A Religious Orgy in Tennessee Page 14

  BRYAN: They might have been.

  DARROW: The creation might have been going on for a very long time?

  BRYAN: It might have continued for millions of years.

  DARROW: Yes, all right. Do you believe in the story of the temptation of Eve by the serpent?

  BRYAN: I do.

  DARROW: Do you believe that after Eve ate the apple, or gave it to Adam, whichever way it was, that God cursed Eve, and at that time decreed that all womankind thenceforth and forever should suffer the pangs of childbirth in the reproduction of the earth?

  BRYAN: I believe what it says, and I believe the fact as fully.

  DARROW: That is what it says, doesn’t it?

  BRYAN: Yes.

  DARROW: And for that reason, every woman born of woman, who has to carry on the race, the reason they have childbirth pains is because Eve tempted Adam in the Garden of Eden?

  BRYAN: I will believe just what the Bible says. I ask to put that in the language of the Bible, for I prefer that to your language. Read the Bible, and I will answer.

  DARROW: All right, I will do that: “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman.” That referring to the serpent?

  BRYAN: The serpent.

  DARROW: “And between thy seed and her seed. It shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. Unto the woman He said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception. In sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.” That is right, is it?

  BRYAN: I accept it as it is.

  DARROW: Did that come about because Eve tempted Adam to eat the fruit?

  BRYAN: I believe it is just as the Bible says.

  DARROW: And you believe that is the reason that God made the serpent to go on his belly after he tempted Eve?

  BRYAN: I believe the Bible as it is. And I do not permit you to put your language in the place of the language of the Almighty. You read that Bible and ask me questions and I will answer them. I will not answer your questions in your language.

  DARROW: I will read it to you from the Bible: “And the Lord God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field. Upon thy belly shalt thou go and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life.” Do you think that is why the serpent is compelled to crawl upon its belly?

  BRYAN: I believe that.

  DARROW: Have you any idea how the snake went before that time?

  BRYAN: No, sir.

  DARROW: Do you know whether he walked on his tail or not?

  BRYAN: No sir, I have no way to know. [Laughter.]

  DARROW: Now, you refer to the cloud that was put in the heavens after the flood, the rainbow. Do you believe in that?

  BRYAN: Read it.

  DARROW: All right, Mr. Bryan, I will read it for you.

  BRYAN: Your Honor, I think I can shorten this testimony. The only purpose Mr. Darrow has is to slur at the Bible, but I will answer his questions. I will answer it all at once, and I have no objection in the world. I want the world to know that this man, who does not believe in a God, is trying to use a court in Tennessee …

  DARROW: I object to that.

  BRYAN: … to slur at it, and, while it requires time, I am willing to take it.

  DARROW: I object to your statement. I am examining you on your fool ideas that no intelligent Christian on earth believes!

  JUDGE RAULSTON: Court is adjourned until nine o’clock tomorrow morning.

  * James Ussher (1581-1656) was an Irish bishop and scholar; his calculations of biblical dates were incorporated into an authorized version of the Bible.

  * A version of the King James Bible, first published in 1909, that included chronological annotations by Cyrus I. Scofield.

  H.L. MENCKEN is perhaps the foremost journalist in American history. Born in Baltimore, he wrote from the turn of the century until the late 1940’s for The Baltimore Sun, and was known for his savage wit, erudite if salty language, and an iconoclastic outlook that saw through politicians and fads with fearless abandon. He was also the founder and editor-in-chief of the legendary news magazine The American Mercury, and the author of nineteen books. He died in Baltimore in 1956.

  ART WINSLOW is a writer and literary journalist whose criticism frequently appears in the Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Tribune, Bookforum, and other publications. He spent many years as literary editor and executive editor of The Nation magazine, and is a past president of the National Book Critics Circle.