What might verne be saying about harry if he has been "defeated" by the professor's scientific arguments? harry is not very intellectual harry doesn't respect the proffesor harry doesn't really care whether or not they go on this trip harry is a brilliant man

What  Verne might be saying about Harry if he has been "defeated" by the professor's scientific arguments is that Harry is not very intellectual

Explanation:

The expression defeated it is normally used in terms of fights or matches, any kind of competition as a general rule, the winner is the one that defeats, therefore  The professor who was the winner had more knowledge and more concise arguments that Harry which demonstrates that he doesn't have as much intellectual knowledge as the professor does.

which speech are you talking about?

harry says he would trade a gold mine for a glass of water.