Chapter 41 [XXVI.]—The Pelagians Argue that Original Sin Cannot Come Through Marriage If Marriage is Good.

After this he proceeds with the following words: “Certainly if evil is contracted from marriage, it may be blamed, nay, cannot be excused; and you place under the devil’s power its work and fruit, because everything which is the cause of evil is itself without good. The human being, however, who is born of wedlock owes his origin not to the reproaches of wedlock, but to its seminal elements: the cause of these, however, lies in the condition of bodies; and whosoever makes a bad use of these bodies, deals a blow at the good desert thereof, not at their nature. It is therefore clear,” argues he, “that the good is not the cause of the evil. If, therefore,” he continues, “original evil is derived even from marriage, the cause of the evil is the compact of marriage; and that must needs be evil by which and from which the evil fruit has made its appearance; even as the Lord says in the Gospel: ‘A tree is known by its fruits.’ 225    Matt. vii. 16. How then,” he asks, “do you think yourself worthy of attention, when you say that marriage is good, and yet declare that nothing but evil proceeds from it? It is evident, then, that marriages are guilty, since original sin is deduced from them; and they are indefensible, too, unless their fruit be proved innocent. But they are defended, and pronounced good; therefore their fruit is proved to be innocent.”

CAPUT XXVI.

41. Ad haec adjungit, et dicit: «Prorsus autem si malum de nuptiis trahitur, accusari possunt, excusari non possunt; et in diaboli jure opus earum fructumque constituis: quia omnis causa mali, expers boni est. Homo autem,» inquit, «qui de nuptiis nascitur, non criminibus, sed seminibus imputatur. Seminum vero causa in conditione corporum est: quibus corporibus qui male utitur, boni meritum, non genus sauciat. Liquido igitur,» inquit, «claret, bonum non esse causam mali. Si ergo,» inquit, «trahitur et de nuptiis originale malum, causa mali est conventio nuptiarum: et necesse est malum esse, per quod et ex quo malus fructus apparuit, dicente Domino in Evangelio, Ex fructibus suis arbor agnoscitur» (Matth. VII, 16). «Quomodo» inquit, «tu audiendus putaris, qui dicis bonum esse conjugium, de quo nihil aliud quam malum prodire definis? Constat igitur rea esse conjugia, si peccatum inde originale deducitur; nec posse defendi, nisi fructus eorum innocens approbetur. Defenduntur autem, et bona pronuntiantur: fructus ergo approbatur innocuus.»