A little later divine Scripture says again: “Adam knew his wife Eve, and she conceived and bore a son, and…

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A little later divine Scripture says again: “Adam knew his wife Eve, and she conceived and bore a son, and called his name Seth, saying: The Lord has raised up other seed for me in place of Abel, whom Cain killed” (Genesis 4:25).

To demonstrate that intercourse was instituted by God, the deity is said to have raised up the seed itself.

Latin source witness

Latin

"Post aliquanta iterum dicit Scriptura divina: - inquit - cognovit Adam Evam uxorem suam, et concepit et peperit filium, et vocavit nomen eius Seth dicens: Suscitavit mihi Dominus semen aliud pro Abel, quem occidit Cain" 31; deinde addit et dicit: "Ad documentum instituti coitus ipsum semen divinitas dicitur excitasse". Non intellexit homo iste quod scriptum est; putavit enim ad hoc esse dictum: Suscitavit mihi Dominus semen aliud pro Abel, ut crederetur Deus illi excitasse libidinem coeundi, cuius motu excitaretur semen, ut gremio feminae possit infundi. Nescit non esse dictum: "Excitavit mihi semen", nisi "dedit mihi filium". Denique hoc Adam non dixit post coitum suum, quo semen emisit, sed post coniugis partum, quo filium Deo donante suscepit. Nam quae gratulatio est nisi forte libidinosorum et suum vas in morbo concupiscentiae, quod vetat Apostolus, possidentium, si semen extrema coeundi voluptate fundatur nec sequatur conceptus aut partus, ubi nuptiarum verus est fructus 32?

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About this text

Intermediary extracts Augustine answered in Book Two — compiler framing labeled where needed. Latin context is on each section when recovered.

Julian of Eclanum (c. 386–c. 455) was bishop of Eclanum in southern Italy until 418, when he was deposed and exiled for refusing to condemn Pelagius. The most learned Pelagian controversialist, he pursued Augustine across a decade of pamphlet war.

None of Julian's works survives directly; what remains is preserved in the long quotations of Augustine, who answered him book by book. Reconstructed from those hostile pages, Julian emerges as a formidable defender of free will, marriage, and the goodness of creation.

English follows the extracts Augustine answered in On Marriage and Concupiscence II. Compiler framing is labeled where needed.

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Translated from Augustine, On Marriage and Concupiscence II (Latin · Extracts of Julian)

We have not yet re-checked this work against its source. We made this study translation with AI help. No scholar has yet certified it as faithful and complete. Open Latin on any section, or the Latin source link, to see the source text. It is not a critical edition.

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