Chapter 27.—The Pelagians Argue that God Sometimes Closes the Womb in Anger, and Opens It When Appeased.

Carefully consider the rest of his remarks: “This likewise,” says he, “is confirmed by the apostle’s authority. For when the blessed Paul spoke of the resurrection of the dead, he said, “Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened.”197    1 Cor. xv. 36. And afterwards, ‘But God giveth it a body as it pleaseth Him, and to every seed its own body.’ If, therefore, God,” says he, “has assigned to human seed, as to every thing else, its own proper body, which no wise or pious man will deny, how will you prove that any person is born guilty? Do, I beg of you, reflect with what a noose this assertion of natural sin is choked. But come,” he says, “deal more gently with yourself, I pray you. Believe me, God made even you: it must, however, be confessed, that a serious error has infected you. For what profaner opinion can be broached than that either God did not make man, or else that He made him for the devil; or, at any rate, that the devil framed God’s image, that is, man,—which clearly is a statement not more absurd than impious? Is then,” says he, “God so poor in resources, so lacking in all sense of propriety, as not to have had aught which He could confer on holy men as their reward, except what the devil, after making them his dupes, might infuse into them for their vitiation?198    The translation adopts the conjecture of the Benedictine editors: in vitium, instead of in vitio or initio, as the mss. read. Would you like to know, however, that even in the case of those who are no saints, God can be proved to have bestowed this power of procreation of children? When Abraham, struck with fear among a foreign nation, said that Sarah, his wife, was his sister, it is said that Abimelech, the king of the country, abducted her for a night’s enjoyment of her. But God, who had the holy woman’s honour in His keeping, appeared to Abimelech in his sleep, and restrained the royal audacity; threatening him with death if he went to the length of violating the wife. Then Abimelech said: ‘Wilt thou, O Lord, slay an innocent and righteous nation? Did they not tell me that they were brother and sister? Therefore Abimelech arose early in the morning, and took a thousand pieces of silver, and sheep, and oxen, and men-servants, and women-servants, and gave them to Abraham, and sent away his wife untouched. But Abraham prayed unto God for Abimelech; and God healed Abimelech, and his wife, and his maid-servants.’”199    See Gen. xx. 2, 4, 5, 8, 14, 17. Now why he narrated all this at so great a length, you may find in these few words which he added: “God,” he says, “at the prayer of Abraham, restored their potency of generation, which had been taken away from the wombs of even the meanest servants; because God had closed up every womb in the house of Abimelech.200    Gen. xx. 18. Consider now,” says he, “whether that ought to be called a natural evil which sometimes God when angry takes away, and when appeased restores. He,” says he, “makes the children both of the pious and of the ungodly, inasmuch as the circumstance of their being parents appertains to that nature which rejoices in God as its Author, whilst the fact of their impiety belongs to the depravity of their desires, and this comes to every person whatever as the consequence of free will.”

27. Attende caetera «Hoc etiam,» inquit, «Apostoli confirmat auctoritas. Cum enim beatus Paulus de mortuorum resurrectione loqueretur, ait: Insipiens, tu quod seminas non vivificatur. Et infra: Deus autem dat illi corpus prout vult, et unicuique seminum proprium corpus (I Cor. XV, 36-38). Si ergo Deus,» inquit, «humano semini, quod nemo negat vel prudentium vel piorum, proprium sicut omnibus rebus corpus attribuit, unde quemquam reum natum probabis? Tandem oro respicias, quibus laqueis peccati naturalis suffocetur assertio. Verum age,» inquit, «tecum, precor, mitius. Mihi crede, etiam te Deus fecit: sed, quod fatendum est, gravis error infecit. Quid enim potest profanius dici, quam quod Deus hominem aut non fecerit, aut, ut dicis, diabolo fecerit, aut certe diabolus Dei sit imaginem, hoc est, hominem fabricatus; quod non minus stultum dignoscitur esse, quam impium? Ergo tam inops,» inquit, 0452 «tam inverecundus Deus est, ut non habuerit quod in praemium sanctis hominibus daret, nisi quod deceptis diabolus infudit in vitio ? Vis autem scire, quod etiam in his qui sancti non sunt, hanc generationum potentiam Deus tribuisse probetur? Eo igitur tempore cum Abraham metu perculsus gentis barbarae, Saram quae uxor erat, sororem suam dixit, refertur Abimelech rex illius provinciae abduxisse eam in noctis usum. Sed Deus cui curae erat honor sanctae mulieris, in somnis Abimelech veniens regiam frenavit audaciam, comminatus interitum, si pergeret violare conjugium. Tunc Abimelech ait: Numquid, Domine, gentem ignorantem et justam perdes? Nonne ipsi dixerunt se germanitate conjunctos? Surrexit ergo mane Abimelech, et accepit mille didrachmas argenti, et oves, et vitulos, et pueros, et ancillas, et dedit Abrahae, atque a se mulierem remisit intactam. Oravit vero Deum Abraham pro Abimelech: et sanavit Deus Abimelech, et uxorem, et ancillas ejus.» Cur autem haec tanta prolixitate narraverit, accipe breviter in his quae secutus adjunxit: «Deus,» inquit, «orante Abraham curavit potentia dispensationis secreta , quae amota est verendis vilium feminarum; quia clauserat Deus aforis omnem vulvam in domum Abimelech.» (Gen. XX). «Vide ergo,» inquit, «utrum naturaliter malum dici debet, quod interdum aufert exasperatus Deus, redditque placatus. Ipse,» inquit, «facit et piorum filios et impiorum: quoniam quod fiunt parentes, ad naturam pertinet, quae Deo gaudet auctore; quod autem impii sunt, ad studiorum pravitatem, quae unicuique de libera voluntate contingit.»