Thursday, June 04, 2009

Q99 A2: Whether, in the primitive state, women would have been born?

Yes. In the state of innocence, both sexes would have been begotten, because nothing belonging to the completeness of human nature would have been lacking in the state of innocence; and as different grades belong to the perfection of the universe, so also diversity of sex belongs to the perfection of human nature.

In statu innocentiae uterque sexus per generationem productus fuisset, quia nihil eorum quae ad complementum humanae naturae pertinent, in statu innocentiae defuisset; sicut autem ad perfectionem universi pertinent diversi gradus rerum, ita etiam diversitas sexus est ad perfectionem humanae naturae.

Woman is said to be a "fortuitous male," as being a product outside the purpose of nature considered in the individual case: but not against the purpose of universal nature, as above explained (Q92, A1, ad 1).

Femina dicitur mas occasionatus, quia est praeter intentionem naturae particularis, non autem praeter intentionem naturae universalis, ut supra dictum est.