Via Patrum

On the Imputation of Adam's First Sin · §280

Man. Post. Cap. VI: reciprocity; peccavimus via propagation

And all Adam's sins ought to have been imputed to us, and all ours in turn to Adam; for the reason is equal: for what belongs to the head and what belongs to the other members suit the whole body. Those words also disturb me—'they are considered as one person in Adamdamdam'; for you seem to distinguish that one man from Adam. Further, whatever that consideration was, since it was outside us and put nothing either in Adam or in us, I cannot grasp in mind what it contributed to this—that we truly committed that actual sin of Adam so long before we existed. Add that if it endured while Adam was committing other sins, why are those also not equally imputed to us? But if it obtained only while he admitted that first one, I shall marvel either that we ceased to be in Adam immediately after that first sin was admitted, or that, although we were in him as before, we were nevertheless no longer considered as one man in him. You subjoin that we sinned in Adam. See how little difficult I am: I grant you that, provided you also grant me that we sinned in Adam in the same way in which we were in him. Now we were in him not because his being is imputed to us, or is a meritorious cause why we exist, but because by natural propagation through our intermediate parents he begot us. In the same way I confess that we sinned in him, because his sin by a long series of propagations begot our sin.

Latin

Et omnia peccata Adami nobis, nostra vicissim omnia Adamo imputari debuerunt; par enim est ratio: conveniunt enim toti corpori & quae capitis, & quae aliorum membrorum sunt. Me etiam perturbant ista verba, considerantur tanquam unus homo in Adamo; videris enim illum unum hominem ab Adamo distinguere. Porro quaecunque illa consideratio fuerit, cum ea extra nos esset, nec quicquam vel in Adamo, vel in nobis poneret, capere animo non possum, quid ad hoc contulerit, ut nos revera commiserimus peccatum illud actuale Adami tanto ante quam essemus. Adde quod si committente alia peccata Adamo perduravit, quid est quamobrem illa quoque nobis pariter non imputentur? Sin dum solum primum illud admitteret, obtinuit, mirabor, aut desiisse nos esse in Adamo confestim post primum illud peccatum admissum, aut, quamvis in eo ut antea essemus, non fuisse tamen amplius consideratos tanquam unum hominem in ipso. Subjicis nos peccasse in Adamo. Vide quam non sim difficilis, tibi id concedo, modo hoc etiam mihi concedas nos eo modo peccasse in Adamo, quo in eo fuimus. In eo autem fuimus, non quia ejus esse nobis imputetur, aut sit causa meritoria cur sumus, sed quia nos propagatione naturali per intermedios nostros parentes genuit: Eodem modo nos in eo peccasse confiteor, quia peccatum ejus nostrum peccatum longa propagationum serie procreavit.

About this text

New English, free to read. Open any section below.

English follows the locked 1661 Saumur Latin of Capita I–XIV partial through Man. Post. No modern English was copied. Cap. IX deepen+ remain.

Catalogue & scope

IA deimputationepri00lapl. Densify: Capita I–XII + Caput XIV + Man. Post. Cap. II–VI through Cap. X Rom. 5:14 tip. Not whole Disputatio; Cap. X Rom. 5:14+ / ~494 pp Disputatio remain.

Witnesses

This is an AI-assisted study translation. Source fidelity and completeness have not been independently certified. Open Latin on each section (or the Latin source witness link) for the source text. This is not a complete critical edition.