n her
person, in contradiction to those heretics who disparaged one or the
other.

Reply Obj. 1: We must believe that the Blessed Virgin, Mother of God,
desired, from an intimate inspiration of the Holy Ghost, to be
espoused, being confident that by the help of God she would never
come to have carnal intercourse: yet she left this to God's
discretion. Wherefore she suffered nothing in detriment to her
virginity.

Reply Obj. 2: As Ambrose says on Luke 1:26: "Our Lord preferred that
men should doubt of His origin rather than of His Mother's purity.
For he knew the delicacy of virgin modesty, and how easily the fair
name of chastity is disparaged: nor did He choose that our faith in
His Birth should be strengthened in detriment to His Mother." We must
observe, however, that some miracles wrought by God are the direct
object of faith; such are the miracles of the virginal Birth, the
Resurrection of our Lord, and the Sacrament of the Altar. Wherefore
our Lord wished these to be more hidden, that belief in them might
have greater merit. Whereas other miracles are for the strengthening
of faith: and these it behooves to be manifest.

Reply Obj. 3: As Augustine says (De Trin. iii), the devil can do many
things by his natural power which he is hindered by the Divine power
from doing. Thus it may be that by his natural power the devil could
know that the Mother of God knew not man, but was a virgin; yet was
prevented by God from knowing the manner of the Divine Birth. That
afterwards the devil after a fashion knew that He was the Son of God,
makes no difficulty: because then the time had already come for
Christ to make known His power against the devil, and to suffer
persecution aroused by him. But during His infancy it behooved the
malice of the devil to be withheld, lest he should persecute Him too
severely: for Christ did not wish to suffer such things then, nor to
make His power known, but to show Himself to be in all things like
other infants. Hence Pope Leo (Serm. in Epiph. iv) says that "the
Magi found the Child Jesus small in body, dependent on others, unable
to speak, and in no way differing from the generality of human
infants." Ambrose, however, expounding Luke 1:26, seems to understand
this of the devil's members. For, after giving the above
reason--namely, that the prince of the world might be deceived--he
continues thus: "Yet still more did He deceive the princes of the
world, since the evil disposition of the