is not,
however, the direct cause of all the sins of men, as though each were
the result of his suggestion. Origen proves this (Peri Archon iii, 2)
from the fact that even if the devil were no more, men would still
have the desire for food, sexual pleasures and the like; which desire
might be inordinate, unless it were subordinate to reason, a matter
that is subject to the free-will.

Reply Obj. 1: The crowd of demons are the cause of all our evils, as
regards their original cause, as stated.

Reply Obj. 2: A man becomes another's slave not only by being
overcome by him, but also by subjecting himself to him spontaneously:
it is thus that one who sins of his own accord, becomes the slave of
the devil.

Reply Obj. 3: The devil's sin was irremediable, not only because he
sinned without another's suggestion; but also because he was not
already prone to sin, on account of any previous sin; which can be
said of no sin of man.
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QUESTION 81

OF THE CAUSE OF SIN, ON THE PART OF MAN
(In Five Articles)

We must now consider the cause of sin, on the part of man. Now, while
man, like the devil, is the cause of another's sin, by outward
suggestion, he has a certain special manner of causing sin, by way of
origin. Wherefore we must speak about original sin, the consideration
of which will be three-fold: (1) Of its transmission; (2) of its
essence; (3) of its subject.

Under the first head there are five points of inquiry:

(1) Whether man's first sin is transmitted, by way of origin to his
descendants?

(2) Whether all the other sins of our first parent, or of any other
parents, are transmitted to their descendants, by way of origin?

(3) Whether original sin is contracted by all those who are begotten
of Adam by way of seminal generation?

(4) Whether it would be contracted by anyone formed miraculously from
some part of the human body?

(5) Whether original sin would have been contracted if the woman, and
not the man, had sinned?
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FIRST ARTICLE [I-II, Q. 81, Art. 1]

Whether the First Sin of Our First Parent Is Contracted by His
Descendants, by Way of Origin?

Objection 1: It would seem that the first sin of our first parent is
not contracted by others, by way of origin. For it is written (Ezech.
18:20): "The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father." But he
would bear the iniquity if he contracted it from him. Therefore no
one contracts any sin from on