Paths of Glory1957

Dax:
Let me get this straight, sir. You’re offering me General Mireau’s command?

Broulard:
Come, come, Colonel Dax. Don't overdo the surprise. You've been after the job from the start. We all know that, my boy!

Dax:
I may be many things, sir. But I am not your boy.

Broulard:
Well, I certainly didn’t mean to imply any biological relationship.

Dax:
I’m not your boy in any sense.

Broulard:
Are you trying to provoke me colonel?

Dax:
Why should I want to do that?

Broulard:
Exactly. It would be a pity to lose your promotion before you get it - a promotion you have so very carefully planned for.

Colonel Dax:
Sir, would you like me to suggest what you can do with that promotion?

Broulard:
Colonel Dax, you will apologize at once or you shall be placed under arrest!

Dax:
I apologize for not being entirely honest with you. I apologize for not revealing my true feelings. I apologize, sir, for not telling you sooner that you're a degenerate, sadistic old man. AND YOU CAN GO TO HELL BEFORE I APOLOGIZE TO YOU NOW OR EVER AGAIN!

Broulard:
Colonel Dax, you're a disappointment to me. You've spoiled the keenness of your mind by wallowing in sentimentality. You really did want to save those men, and you were not angling for Mireau's command. You are an idealist - and I pity you as I would the village idiot. We're fighting a war, Dax, a war that we've got to win. Those men didn't fight, so they were shot. You bring charges against General Mireau, so I insist that he answer them. Wherein have I done wrong?

Dax:
Because you don't know the answer to that question, I pity you.