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Objection 1: It would seem that pride was not the first man's first
sin. For the Apostle says (Rm. 5:19) that "by the
disobedience of one man many were made sinners." Now the first man's
first sin is the one by which all men were made sinners in the point of
original sin. Therefore disobedience, and not pride, was the first
man's first sin.
Objection 2: Further, Ambrose says, commenting on Lk. 4:3,
"And the devil said to Him," that the devil in tempting Christ
observed the same order as in overcoming the first man. Now Christ
was first tempted to gluttony, as appears from Mt. 4:3, where it
was said to Him: "If thou be the Son of God, command that these
stones be made bread." Therefore the first man's first sin was not
pride but gluttony.
Objection 3: Further, man sinned at the devil's suggestion. Now
the devil in tempting man promised him knowledge (Gn. 3:5).
Therefore inordinateness in man was through the desire of knowledge,
which pertains to curiosity. Therefore curiosity, and not pride, was
the first sin.
Objection 4: Further, a gloss [St. Augustine, Gen. ad lit.
xi] on 1 Tim. 2:14, "The woman being seduced was in the
transgression," says: "The Apostle rightly calls this seduction,
for they were persuaded to accept a falsehood as being true; namely
that God had forbidden them to touch that tree, because He knew that
if they touched it, they would be like gods, as though He who made
them men, begrudged them the godhead . . ." Now it pertains to
unbelief to believe such a thing. Therefore man's first sin was
unbelief and not pride.
On the contrary, It is written (Ecclus. 10:15): "Pride is
the beginning of all sin." Now man's first sin is the beginning of
all sin, according to Rm. 5:12, "By one man sin entered into
this world." Therefore man's first sin was pride.
I answer that, Many movements may concur towards one sin, and the
character of sin attaches to that one in which inordinateness is first
found. And it is evident that inordinateness is in the inward movement
of the soul before being in the outward act of the body; since, as
Augustine says (De Civ. Dei i, 18), the sanctity of the body
is not forfeited so long as the sanctity of the soul remains. Also,
among the inward movements, the appetite is moved towards the end
before being moved towards that which is desired for the sake of the
end; and consequently man's first sin was where it was possible for
his appetite to be directed to an inordinate end. Now man was so
appointed in the state of innocence, that there was no rebellion of the
flesh against the spirit. Wherefore it was not possible for the first
inordinateness in the human appetite to result from his coveting a
sensible good, to which the concupiscence of the flesh tends against
the order of reason. It remains therefore that the first
inordinateness of the human appetite resulted from his coveting
inordinately some spiritual good. Now he would not have coveted it
inordinately, by desiring it according to his measure as established by
the Divine rule. Hence it follows that man's first sin consisted in
his coveting some spiritual good above his measure: and this pertains
to pride. Therefore it is evident that man's first sin was pride.
Reply to Objection 1: Man's disobedience to the Divine command
was not willed by man for his own sake, for this could not happen
unless one presuppose inordinateness in his will. It remains therefore
that he willed it for the sake of something else. Now the first thing
he coveted inordinately was his own excellence; and consequently his
disobedience was the result of his pride. This agrees with the
statement of Augustine, who says (Ad Oros; Dial. Questions.
lxv, qu. 4) that "man puffed up with pride obeyed the serpent's
prompting, and scorned God's commands."
Reply to Objection 2: Gluttony also had a place in the sin of our
first parents. For it is written (Gn. 3:6): "The woman saw
that the tree was good to eat, and fair to the eyes, and delightful to
behold, and she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat." Yet the
very goodness and beauty of the fruit was not their first motive for
sinning, but the persuasive words of the serpent, who said (Gn.
3:5): "Your eyes shall be opened and you shall be as Gods":
and it was by coveting this that the woman fell into pride. Hence the
sin of gluttony resulted from the sin of pride.
Reply to Objection 3: The desire for knowledge resulted in our
first parents from their inordinate desire for excellence. Hence the
serpent began by saying: "You shall be as Gods," and added:
"Knowing good and evil."
Reply to Objection 4: According to Augustine (Gen. ad lit.
xi, 30), "the woman had not believed the serpent's statement that
they were debarred by God from a good and useful thing, were her mind
not already filled with the love of her own power, and a certain proud
self-presumption." This does not mean that pride preceded the
promptings of the serpent, but that as soon as the serpent had spoken
his words of persuasion, her mind was puffed up, the result being that
she believed the demon to have spoken truly.
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