Chapter 22 [XVII.]—To Infants Personal Sin is Not to Be Attributed.

They, therefore, who say that the reason why infants are baptized, is, that they may have the remission of the sin which they have themselves committed in their life, not what they have derived from Adam, may be refuted without much difficulty. For whenever these persons shall have reflected within themselves a little, uninfluenced by any polemical spirit, on the absurdity of their statement, how unworthy it is, in fact, of serious discussion, they will at once change their opinion. But if they will not do this, we shall not so completely despair of men’s common sense, as to have any fears that they will induce others to adopt their views. They are themselves driven to adopt their opinion, if I am not mistaken, by their prejudice for some other theory; and it is because they feel themselves obliged to allow that sins are remitted to the baptized, and are unwilling to allow that the sin was derived from Adam which they admit to be remitted to infants, that they have been obliged to charge infancy itself with actual sin; as if by bringing this charge against infancy a man could become the more secure himself, when accused and unable to answer his assailant! However, let us, as I suggested, pass by such opponents as these; indeed, we require neither words nor quotations of Scripture to prove the sinlessness of infants, so far as their conduct in life is concerned; this life they spend, such is the recency of their birth, within their very selves, since it escapes the cognizance of human perception, which has no data or support whereon to sustain any controversy on the subject.

CAPUT XVII.

22. Non esse infantibus personale peccatum tribuendum. Quapropter qui dicunt parvulos ideo baptizari, ut hoc eis remittatur quod in hac vita proprium contraxerunt, non quod ex Adam traduxerunt, non magno molimine refellendi sunt. Quando enim secum ipsi paululum sine certandi studio cogitaverint, quam sit absurdum nec dignum disputatione quod dicunt, continuo sententiam commutabunt. Quod si noluerint, non usque adeo de humanis sensibus desperandum est, ut metuamus ne hoc cuipiam persuadeant. Ipsi quippe ut hoc dicerent, alicujus alterius sententiae praejudicio, nisi fallor, impulsi sunt: ac propterea cum remitti baptizato peccata necessario faterentur, nec fateri vellent ex Adam ductum esse peccatum, quod remitti fatebantur infantibus, ipsam infantiam coacti sunt accusare: quasi accusator infantiae hoc securior fieret, quo accusatus ei respondere non posset. Sed istos, ut dixi, omittamus; neque enim sermone vel documentis opus est, quibus innocentia probetur infantum, quantum ad eorum pertinet vitam, quam recenti ortu in se ipsis agunt, si eam non agnoscit sensus humanus, nullis adminiculis cujusquam disputationis adjutus.