{"collection":"chr","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/browse/chr/ecf/105/1050647.htm","path":"chr/ecf/105/1050647.htm","source_url":"https://sacred-texts.com/chr/ecf/105/1050647.htm","text":"Chapter 40 [XXV.]\u2014Augustin Declines the Dilemma Offered Him.\n\u201cOne of these propositions,\u201d says he, \u201cis true, the other false.\u201d My reply is as brief as the allegation: Both are really true, neither is false. \u201cIt is true,\u201d he goes on to say, \u201cthat the sin of adultery cannot be excused by reason of the man who is born of it; inasmuch as the sin which adulterers commit, pertains to corruption of the will; but the offspring which they produce tends to the praise of fecundity. If one were to sow wheat which had been stolen, the crop which springs up is none the worse. Of course,\u201d says he, \u201cI blame the thief, but I praise the corn. So I pronounce him innocent who is born of the generous fruitfulness of the seed; even as the apostle puts it: \u2018God giveth it a body, as it pleases Him; and to every seed its own body;\u2019 2281 but, at the same time, I condemn the flagitious man who has committed his adulterous sin in his perverse use of the divine appointment.\u201d","title":"Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Vol. V: On Marriage and C...","type":"page"}