ST I-II, q. 81
Of the Cause of Sin, on the Part of Man
We must now consider the cause of sin, on the part of man. Now, while man, like the devil, is the cause of another's sin, by outward suggestion, he has a certain special manner of causing sin, by way of origin. Wherefore we must speak about original sin, the consideration of which will be three-fold: (1) Of its transmission; (2) of its essence; (3) of its subject.
Under the first head there are five points of inquiry:
(1) Whether man's first sin is transmitted, by way of origin to his descendants?
(2) Whether all the other sins of our first parent, or of any other parents, are transmitted to their descendants, by way of origin?
(3) Whether original sin is contracted by all those who are begotten of Adam by way of seminal generation?
(4) Whether it would be contracted by anyone formed miraculously from some part of the human body?
(5) Whether original sin would have been contracted if the woman, and not the man, had sinned?
Articles
- a. 1Whether the first sin of our first parent is contracted by his descendants, by way of origin?
- a. 2Whether also other sins of the first parent or of nearer ancestors are transmitted to their descendants?
- a. 3Whether the sin of the first parent is transmitted, by the way of origin, to all men?
- a. 4Whether original sin would be contracted by a person formed miraculously from human flesh?
- a. 5Whether if Eve, and not Adam, had sinned, their children would have contracted original sin?