Whether All the Sins of Men Are Due to the Devil's Suggestion?
Objection 1: It would seem that all the sins of men are due to the
devil's suggestion. For Dionysius says (Div. Nom. iv) that the "crowd
of demons are the cause of all evils, both to themselves and to
others."
Obj. 2: Further, whoever sins mortally, becomes the slave of the
devil, according to John 8:34: "Whosoever committeth sin is the slave
[Douay: 'servant'] of sin." Now "by whom a man is overcome, of the
same also he is the slave" (2 Pet. 2:19). Therefore whoever commits a
sin, has been overcome by the devil.
Obj. 3: Further, Gregory says (Moral. iv, 10) the sin of the devil is
irreparable, because he sinned at no other's suggestion. Therefore,
if any men were to sin of their own free-will and without suggestion
from any other, their sin would be irremediable: which is clearly
false. Therefore all the sins of men are due to the devil's
suggestion.
_On the contrary,_ It is written (De Eccl. Dogm. lxxxii): "Not all
our evil thoughts are incited by the devil; sometimes they are due to
a movement of the free-will."
_I answer that,_ the devil is the occasional and indirect cause of
all our sins, in so far as he induced the first man to sin, by reason
of whose sin human nature is so infected, that we are all prone to
sin: even as the burning of wood might be imputed to the man who
dried the wood so as to make it easily inflammable. He is not,
however, the direct cause of all the sins of men, as though each were
the result of his suggestion. Origen proves this (Peri Archon iii, 2)
from the fact that even if the devil were no more, men would still
have the desire for food, sexual pleasures and the like; which desire
might be inordinate, unless it were subordinate to reason, a matter
that is subject to the free-will.
Reply Obj. 1: The crowd of demons are the cause of all our evils, as
regards their original cause, as stated.
Reply Obj. 2: A man becomes another's slave not only by being
overcome by him, but also by subjecting himself to him spontaneously:
it is thus that one who sins of his own accord, becomes the slave of
the devil.
Reply Obj. 3: The devil's sin was irremediable, not only because he
sinned without another's suggestion; but also because he was not
already prone to sin, on account of any previous sin; which can be
said of no sin of man.
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