in." But he would not have thought this unless he could
have committed a venial sin. Therefore he could commit a venial sin
without sinning mortally.

Obj. 2: Further Augustine says (Gen. ad lit. xi, 5): "We must not
suppose that the tempter would have overcome man, unless first of all
there had arisen in man's soul a movement of vainglory which should
have been checked." Now the vainglory which preceded man's defeat,
which was accomplished through his falling into mortal sin, could be
nothing more than a venial sin. In like manner, Augustine says (Gen.
ad lit. xi, 5) that "man was allured by a certain desire of making
the experiment, when he saw that the woman did not die when she had
taken the forbidden fruit." Again there seems to have been a certain
movement of unbelief in Eve, since she doubted what the Lord had
said, as appears from her saying (Gen. 3:3): "Lest perhaps we die."
Now these apparently were venial sins. Therefore man could commit a
venial sin before he committed a mortal sin.

Obj. 3: Further, mortal sin is more opposed to the integrity of the
original state, than venial sin is. Now man could sin mortally
notwithstanding the integrity of the original state. Therefore he
could also sin venially.

_On the contrary,_ Every sin deserves some punishment. But nothing
penal was possible in the state of innocence, as Augustine declares
(De Civ. Dei xiv, 10). Therefore he could not commit a sin that would
not deprive him of that state of integrity. But venial sin does not
change man's state. Therefore he could not sin venially.

_I answer that,_ It is generally admitted that man could not commit a
venial sin in the state of innocence. This, however, is not to be
understood as though on account of the perfection of his state, the
sin which is venial for us would have been mortal for him, if he had
committed it. Because the dignity of a person is circumstance that
aggravates a sin, but it does not transfer it to another species,
unless there be an additional deformity by reason of disobedience, or
vow or the like, which does not apply to the question in point.
Consequently what is venial in itself could not be changed into
mortal by reason of the excellence of the original state. We must
therefore understand this to mean that he could not sin venially,
because it was impossible for him to commit a sin which was venial in
itself, before losing the integrity of the original state by sinning
mortally.

The r