Whether Men Would Have Been Born in a State of Righteousness?
Objection 1: It would seem that in the state of innocence men would
not have been born in a state of righteousness. For Hugh of St.
Victor says (De Sacram. i): "Before sin the first man would have
begotten children sinless; but not heirs to their father's
righteousness."
Obj. 2: Further, righteousness is effected by grace, as the Apostle
says (Rom. 5:16, 21). Now grace is not transfused from one to
another, for thus it would be natural; but is infused by God alone.
Therefore children would not have been born righteous.
Obj. 3: Further, righteousness is in the soul. But the soul is not
transmitted from the parent. Therefore neither would righteousness
have been transmitted from parents, to the children.
_On the contrary,_ Anselm says (De Concep. Virg. x): "As long as man
did not sin, he would have begotten children endowed with
righteousness together with the rational soul."
_I answer that,_ Man naturally begets a specific likeness to himself.
Hence whatever accidental qualities result from the nature of the
species, must be alike in parent and child, unless nature fails in
its operation, which would not have occurred in the state of
innocence. But individual accidents do not necessarily exist alike in
parent and child. Now original righteousness, in which the first man
was created, was an accident pertaining to the nature of the species,
not as caused by the principles of the species, but as a gift
conferred by God on the entire human nature. This is clear from the
fact that opposites are of the same genus; and original sin, which is
opposed to original righteousness, is called the sin of nature,
wherefore it is transmitted from the parent to the offspring; and for
this reason also, the children would have been assimilated to their
parents as regards original righteousness.
Reply Obj. 1: These words of Hugh are to be understood as referring,
not to the habit of righteousness, but to the execution of the act
thereof.
Reply Obj. 2: Some say that children would have been born, not with
the righteousness of grace, which is the principle of merit, but with
original righteousness. But since the root of original righteousness,
which conferred righteousness on the first man when he was made,
consists in the supernatural subjection of the reason to God, which
subjection results from sanctifying grace, as above explained (Q. 95,
A. 1), we must conclude that if children were born in original
righteousness, they would also have been born in grace; thus we have
said above that the first man was created in grace (Q. 95, A. 1).
This grace, however, would not have been natural, for it would not
have been transfused by virtue of the semen; but would have been
conferred on man immediately on his receiving a rational soul. In the
same way the rational soul, which is not transmitted by the parent,
is infused by God as soon as the human body is apt to receive it.
From this the reply to the third objection is clear.
_______________________