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Hillsboro’s “religious leader,” Reverend Brown, Rachel’s father, is a fire-and-brimstone Christian who believes that sinners, like Cates, should be damned to hellfire and torment. Rachel, Brady, and others in the town do not necessarily follow the fervor of Brown’s beliefs, however. Brady quotes from Proverbs that those who disturb their own house will find they have no house, no family to turn to—these people will merely “inherit the wind.” Rachel leaves Brown’s house at the end of the play, to take the train away from Hillsboro with Cates.
Reverend Jeremiah Brown Quotes in Inherit the Wind
The Inherit the Wind quotes below are all either spoken by Reverend Jeremiah Brown or refer to Reverend Jeremiah Brown. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Act 2, Scene 1 Quotes
Do we call down hellfire on the man who has sinned against the Word? . . . Strike down this sinner, as Thou didst Thine enemies of old, in the days of the Pharaohs!
No! No, Father. Don’t pray to destroy Bert!
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Jeremiah Brown preaches a fire-and-brimstone sermon against Bert Cates and anyone in the town who dare to elevate science and go against the teachings of the Bible. This sermon draws into high relief the difference between Rachel's views and those of her father. Jeremiah Brown is rigid and close-minded in his beliefs, and believes that sinners must be dealt with harshly and punished with destruction and damnation. But Rachel, for her part, believes more in the Christian concepts of forgiveness and love. She refuses to accept the idea that Cates, a friend of hers for many years, is fundamentally immoral Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut ven
Act 2, Scene 2 Quotes
Tommy Stebbins used to come over to the boarding house and look through Bert’s microscope. Bert said the boy had a quick mind, and he might even be a scientist when he grew up. At the funeral, Pa preached that Tommy didn’t die in a state of grace, because his folks had never had him baptized . . . .
Tell ‘em what your father really said! That Tommy’s soul was damned, writhing in hellfire!
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Rachel's testimony here indicates several facets of Bert Cates's character, and of his relationship to others in the town. Cates believed it was important to encourage scientific speculation on the part of his students. But the case of Tommy Stebbins is an important one, as both Cates and Rachel recognize, because Stebbins's untimely death is viewed, among the religious community of Hillsboro, as a tragic case of a death without the promise of religious salvation, rather than a case of a promising young student and scientific investigator passing away. Furthermore, Reverend Brown's harsh reaction to Tommy's death paints the religious Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus volu
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Reverend Jeremiah Brown Character Timeline in Inherit the Wind
The timeline below shows where the character Reverend Jeremiah Brown appears in Inherit the Wind. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Act 1, Scene 1
Melinda exits and Rachel Brown enters. Rachel is 22 and a teacher at the local school. She notices Howard, still...
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...to see Rachel, but believes she has put herself in a difficult position with her father by coming to visit him. Rachel brings Cates some extra clothes and other items from...
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...Krebs replies that the Lord “gives the heat, and gives us glands to sweat with.” Reverend Brown, Rachel’s father, enters, says hello to Krebs and the Storekeeper, and asks why the...
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...is selling lemonade, and Mrs. Blair, Howard’s mother, tells Howard to “spit down” his hair. Reverend Brown wants the town to appear cheerful, neat, and “Christian” for Brady’s big arrival party....
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...OUR SCHOOLS). As Brady exits the train many of the townspeople, having been coordinated by Reverend Brown, begin singing “Gimme that Old Time Religion.”
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...of Brady’s celebrity. Brady asks to meet the town’s “spiritual leader” and is introduced to Reverend Brown. The Mayor gives a brief, prepared speech, thanking Brady for coming, and names Brady...
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Reverend Brown refers to Drummond as an “agnostic” and a “vicious, godless” man, saying that he...
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As the party ends, Brady thanks the Reverend Brown for the warm conversation he has had with Rachel—Brady implies that Rachel has given...
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Act 1, Scene 2
...orders the court to reconvene at ten the next morning. The Judge also announces that Reverend Brown will be holding a prayer meeting in front of the court that night. After...
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Act 2, Scene 1
Reverend Brown and the Bradys sit on a small stage above the courthouse square, overlooking a...
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Brown then turns into a darker part of his speech—he asks the crowd whether they believe...
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At this point, Brady, who has been made uncomfortable by Brown’s sermon’s darker tinge, takes over the speech, saying that, although religious zeal is good, too...
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Act 2, Scene 2
...aptitude for scientific inquiry. Cates was also angered that, because Tommy was not baptized, Rachel’s father refused to comfort Tommy’s family after his death, saying he did not die in a...
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...religion is supposed to provide comfort—he is still angry for the discomfort and sadness that Brown’s judgment of Tommy, after Tommy’s death, caused Tommy’s family and others in Hillsboro. Brady asks...
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Act 3, Scene 1
Rachel also arrives and speaks to Cates, saying that she is leaving her father’s house, and wishes to go with Cates wherever he’s headed. Rachel tells Cates and Drummond...
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