Chapter 59.—Whether the Soul is Propagated; On Obscure Points, Concerning Which the Scriptures Give Us No Assistance, We Must Be on Our Guard Against Forming Hasty Judgments and Opinions; The Scriptures are Clear Enough on Those Subjects Which are Necessary to Salvation.

Concerning the soul, indeed, the question arises, whether it, too, is propagated in the same way [as the flesh,] and bound by the same guilt, which is forgiven to it—for we cannot say that it is only the flesh of the infant, and not his soul also, which requires the help of a Saviour and Redeemer, or that the latter must not be included in that thanksgiving in the Psalms, where we read and repeat, “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits; who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; who redeemeth thy life from destruction.”440    Ps. ciii. 2–4. Or if it be not likewise propagated, we may ask, whether, by the very fact of its being mingled with and weighed down by the sinful flesh, it still has need of the remission of its own sin, and of a redemption of its own, God being judge, in the height of His foreknowledge,441    We follow the reading, per summam præscientiam. what infants do not deserve442    Non mereantur. to be absolved from that guilt, even before they are born, or have in any instance ever done anything good or evil. The question also arises, how God (even if He does not create souls by natural propagation) can yet not be the Author of that very guilt, on account of which redemption by the sacrament is necessary to the infant’s soul. The subject is a wide and important one,443    He treats it in his Epistle, 166; in his work, De Animâ et ejus Origine; and in his De Libero Arbitrio, 42.and requires another treatise. The discussion, however, so far as I can judge, ought to be conducted with temper and moderation, so as to deserve the praise of cautious inquiry, rather than the censure of headstrong assertion. For whenever a question arises on an unusually obscure subject, on which no assistance can be rendered by clear and certain proofs of the Holy Scriptures, the presumption of man ought to restrain itself; nor should it attempt anything definite by leaning to either side. But if I must indeed be ignorant concerning any points of this sort, as to how they can be explained and proved, this much I should still believe, that from this very circumstance the Holy Scriptures would possess a most clear authority, whenever a point arose which no man could be ignorant of, without imperilling the salvation which has been promised him. You have now before you, [my dear Marcellinus,] this treatise, worked out to the best of my ability. I only wish that its value equalled its length; for its length I might probably be able to justify, only I should fear that, by adding the justification, I should stretch the prolixity beyond your endurance.

59. De anima vero, utrum et ipsa eodem modo propagata, reatu qui ei dimittatur obstricta sit (neque enim possumus dicere, solam carnem parvuli, non etiam animam indigere Salvatoris et Redemptoris auxilio, alienamque ab ea esse gratiarum actione quae in Psalmis est, ubi legimus et dicimus, Benedic, anima mea, Dominum; et noli oblivisci omnes retributiones ejus: qui propitius fit omnibus iniquitatibus tuis, qui sanat omnes languores tuos, qui redimit de corruptione 0186 vitam tuam [Psal. CII, 2-4]): an etiam non propagata, eo ipso quo carni peccati aggravanda miscetur, jam ipsius peccati remissione et sua redemptione opus habeat, Deo per summam praescientiam judicante, qui parvuli ab isto reatu non mereantur absolvi, etiam qui nondum nati nihil alicubi propria sua vita egerunt vel boni vel mali: et quomodo Deus etiamsi non de traduce animas creat, non sit tamen auctor reatus ejusdem, propter quem redemptio Sacramenti necessaria est et animae parvuli : magna quaestio est, aliamque disputationem desiderat, eo tamen, quantum arbitror, moderamine temperatam, ut magis inquisitio cauta laudetur, quam praecipitata reprehendatur assertio. Ubi enim de re obscurissima disputatur, non adjuvantibus divinarum Scripturarum certis clarisque documentis, cohibere se debet humana praesumptio, nihil faciens in partem alteram declinando. Et si enim quodlibet horum, quemadmodum demonstrari et explicari possit, ignorem; illud tamen credo, quod etiam hinc divinorum eloquiorum clarissima auctoritas esset, si homo id sine dispendio promissae salutis ignorare non posset. Habes elaboratum, utinam tam commodum quam prolixum, pro meis viribus opus, cujus prolixitatem fortasse defenderem, nisi id vererer facere defendendo prolixius.