JOHN
Nathaniel, you forfeited your rights in the family councils when you ran away from home seventeen years ago.
NATHANIEL
This boy will run away again and again and I mean to save him from what I have suffered, if I can.
JOHN
Nathaniel, by what right do you attempt to interfere with my decisions?
NATHANIEL
By the right of blood and understanding.
JOHN
Blood and understanding? Where were you when Emily had to leave her husband and brought her boy into my home? Where were you when Emily died? I took Emily in and I took her boy in. As head of the family it was my duty to do so and as head of the family it is my duty to see that the boy is brought up in the best traditions of the family.