Fathers

On the Imputation of Adam's First Sin · §425

Man. Post. Cap. VII: GAR rigor/equity & Jer 31; PLAC two parts; tip before Quarto king

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GAR. 3. Since God, in executing his judgments, sometimes acts from the rigor of justice, sometimes tempers justice with equity, I say Abraham, for his charity toward the Sodomites, earnestly desired that God would temper that judgment with some testimony of mercy: and so, setting aside for now God's more rigorous mode, he clung only to the ordinary and more common dispensation of divine justice—especially since that covenant lately struck with him in Gen. 17 sat deep in his mind, namely the covenant of grace, in which God promised he would not impute others' sins, Jer. 31:29–30. And of which covenant he sometimes shows some sweetness even to those who do not belong to it. PLAC. There are two parts of Abraham's speech: one asserts that it does not agree with God's justice that the just perish with the wicked; the other asks of God that for the sake of a few just he spare the city—which, I confess, would not be looked for as due, but rather as a testimony of mercy: so this part does not serve the matter we are treating. From that other part our argument is drawn, which agrees not only with equity but also with the rigor of justice in every respect. So what this reply aims at, and what new thing it brings to my argument, I see none. I will only reply this: If in the covenant of grace God promised he would not impute others' sins, then he does not impute to us Adam's first actual sin: How then does he punish us for that sin, namely by inflicting a judicial penalty—original corruption? For the rest I do not deny that God sometimes involves the pious in the same temporal condemnation with the impious; for no one is so pious and just that he does not sometimes sin, and the pious do not, as they ought, detest, flee, and rebuke the sins of those among whom they are mixed. Meanwhile, however, calamities of this kind become for the pious paternal chastisements by which it is provided that they not perish eternally with the impious. But we in this cause are treating of judicial imputation and damnation to penalties properly so called and satisfactory to justice—such as those the law threatens and justice, that it may be satisfied, exacts—which innocents, least of all as sureties of the guiltless, we contend with Abraham's testimony clash with God's justice and equity when borne for others' sins.

Latin

GAR. 3. Cum Deus in exequendis judiciis suis, aliquando ex justitiae rigore agat, aliquando justitiam aequitate temperet, dico Abrahamum, pro charitate sua in Sodomitas, percupiisse, ut Deus judicium illud aliqua misericordiae testificatione temperaret: Itaque seposito nunc quidem Dei rigorosiori modo, unice haesisse in ordinaria & communiori justitiae divinae dispensatione, cum praesertim alte animo ipsius insideret foedus illud cum ipso nuper initum Gen. 17. nimirum foedus gratiae, in quo Deus promisit se non imputaturum aliena peccata, Ierem. XXXI. 29. 30. Et cujus foederis nonnullam aliquando suavitatem etiam iis exhibet, qui ad illud non pertinent. PLAC. Duae sunt partes orationis Abrahami: altera asserit non convenire justitiae Dei, ut justus pereat cum impio: altera petit a Deo, ut propter paucos justos parcat urbi; id quod, fateor, non exspectaretur esse, sed testificationem potius misericordiae: itaque haec pars ad rem quam agimus non facit. Ab altera illa ductum est argumentum nostrum, quae est non aequitati modo, sed rigori etiam justitiae, omni ex parte congruens. Quare quo spectet ista responsio, & quid argumento meo afferat novi, nullus video. Illud tantum reponam, Si in foedere gratiae Deus promisit se non imputaturum aliena peccata, igitur cum nobis non imputare peccatum actuale primum Adami: Quomodo ergo nos ob illud peccatum punit, inflictâ scilicet poena judiciaria, nempe corruptione originali? Caeterum non eo inficias, quin Deus nonnunquam eadem condemnatione temporali pios cum impiis involvat; quippe, nullus est ita pius & justus, ut non peccet interdum, & pii non, uti par est, eorum, quibus admixti sunt, peccata detestantur fugiunt, redarguunt. Interim tamen huiusmodi calamitates cedunt piis in castigationes paternas, quibus cavetur ne aeternum pereant cum impiis. Nos autem in hac causa de imputatione judiciaria agimus & damnatione ad poenas proprie dictas & justitiae satisfactorias, quales illae sunt quas lex comminatur & justitia, ut sibi satisfiat, exigit, quas ob aliena peccata portare innocentes minime nocentium vades, contendimus cum Abrahae testimonio, cum Dei justitia & aequitate pugnare.

About this text

Josue de la Place (Placeus) — Capita I–XIV partial of De imputatione primi peccati Adami from the 1661 Saumur Latin, through Man. Post. Caput X (GAR.1–3 Rom. 5.13 tip) / before PLAC on reatus-only. Honest partial; Cap. X Rom. 5:14+ / ~494 pp Disputatio remain.

English follows the locked 1661 Saumur Latin of Capita I–XIV partial through Man. Post. Caput IX (eph-ho / eph-ho pantes) before eph-ho / eph-ho pantes, reconstructed from IA PDF page images with Vision OCR and pdftotext as check. No modern English was copied. Cap. IX deepen+ remain.

Catalogue & scope

IA deimputationepri00lapl. Densify: Capita I–XII + Caput XIV + Man. Post. Cap. II–VI through Cap. X Rom. 5:14 tip. Not whole Disputatio; Cap. X Rom. 5:14+ / ~494 pp Disputatio remain.

Witnesses

This is an AI-assisted study translation. Source fidelity and completeness have not been independently certified. Open Latin on each section (or the Latin source witness link) for the source text. This is not a complete critical edition.