Whether Adam's Sin Was More Grievous Than Eve's?
Objection 1: It would seem that Adam's sin was more grievous than
Eve's. For it is written (1 Tim. 2:14): "Adam was not seduced, but
the woman being seduced was in the transgression": and so it would
seem that the woman sinned through ignorance, but the man through
assured knowledge. Now the latter is the graver sin, according to
Luke 12:47, 48, "That servant who knew the will of his lord . . . and
did not according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes: but
he that knew not, and did things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten
with few stripes." Therefore Adam's sin was more grievous than Eve's.
Obj. 2: Further, Augustine says (De Decem Chordis 3 [*Serm. ix; xcvi
de Temp.]): "If the man is the head, he should live better, and give
an example of good deeds to his wife, that she may imitate him." Now
he who ought to do better, sins more grievously, if he commit a sin.
Therefore Adam sinned more grievously than Eve.
Obj. 3: Further, the sin against the Holy Ghost would seem to be the
most grievous. Now Adam, apparently, sinned against the Holy Ghost,
because while sinning he relied on God's mercy [*Cf. Q. 21, A. 2,
Obj. 3. St. Thomas is evidently alluding to the words of Peter
Lombard quoted there], and this pertains to the sin of presumption.
Therefore it seems that Adam sinned more grievously than Eve.
_On the contrary,_ Punishment corresponds to guilt. Now the woman was
more grievously punished than the man, as appears from Gen. 3.
Therefore she sinned more grievously than the man.
_I answer that,_ As stated (A. 3), the gravity of a sin depends on
the species rather than on a circumstance of that sin. Accordingly we
must assert that, if we consider the condition attaching to these
persons, the man's sin is the more grievous, because he was more
perfect than the woman.
As regards the genus itself of the sin, the sin of each is considered
to be equal, for each sinned by pride. Hence Augustine says (Gen. ad
lit. xi, 35): "Eve in excusing herself betrays disparity of sex,
though parity of pride."
But as regards the species of pride, the woman sinned more
grievously, for three reasons. First, because she was more puffed up
than the man. For the woman believed in the serpent's persuasive
words, namely that God had forbidden them to eat of the tree, lest
they should become like to Him; so that in wishing to attain to God's
likeness by eating of the forbidden fruit, her pride rose to the
height of desiring to obtain something against God's will. On the
other hand, the man did not believe this to be true; wherefore he did
not wish to attain to God's likeness against God's will: but his
pride consisted in wishing to attain thereto by his own power.
Secondly, the woman not only herself sinned, but suggested sin to the
man; wherefore she sinned against both God and her neighbor. Thirdly,
the man's sin was diminished by the fact that, as Augustine says
(Gen. ad lit. xi, 42), "he consented to the sin out of a certain
friendly good-will, on account of which a man sometimes will offend
God rather than make an enemy of his friend. That he ought not to
have done so is shown by the just issue of the Divine sentence."
It is therefore evident that the woman's sin was more grievous than
the man's.
Reply Obj. 1: The woman was deceived because she was first of all
puffed up with pride. Wherefore her ignorance did not excuse, but
aggravated her sin, in so far as it was the cause of her being puffed
up with still greater pride.
Reply Obj. 2: This argument considers the circumstance of personal
condition, on account of which the man's sin was more grievous than
the woman's.
Reply Obj. 3: The man's reliance on God's mercy did not reach to
contempt of God's justice, wherein consists the sin against the Holy
Ghost, but as Augustine says (Gen. ad lit. xi [*De Civ. Dei xiv,
11]), it was due to the fact that, "having had no experience of God's
severity, he thought the sin to be venial," i.e. easily forgiven
[*Cf. I-II, Q. 89, A. 3, ad 1].
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