§22#1Qui ita concedunt, recogitare debent de statu uocabuli ipsius.
Those who grant this must reconsider the status of the word itself.
quid est mulier a primis quidem litteris sanctorum commentariorum? iam inueniunt sexus esse nomen, non gradum sexus;
What is "woman" (mulier) from the very first letters of the sacred records?
siquidem Euam nondum uirum expertam deus mulierem et feminam cognominauit, feminam, qua sexus generaliter, mulierem, qua gradus sexus specialiter.
They will soon find that it is a name of sex, not a grade of sex; since God named Eve, who had not yet known man, both "woman" (mulier) and "female" (femina)—"female," by which the sex is designated generally, and "woman," by which a grade of the sex is designated specifically.
ita quoniam tunc innupta adhuc Eua mulieris uocabulo fuit, commune id uocabulum et uirgini factum est.
Thus, since Eve, still unmarried at that time, was called by the word "woman," that word became common also to the virgin.
nec mirum, si apostolus eodem utique spiritu actus, quo cum omnis scriptura diuina, tum et illa Genesis digesta est,. eadem uoce usus est mulierem ponendo, quae exemplo Euae innuptae et uirgini competat.
And it is no wonder if the apostle, driven by the very same spirit by which not only all divine Scripture but also that Genesis was composed, used the same word in putting "woman," which by the example of the unmarried Eve applies also to the virgin.
cetera denique consonant.
Finally, the other points agree.
nam et hoc ipso, quod uirgines non nominauit, sicut alio in loco, ubi de nubendo docet, satis praedicat de omni muliere et de toto sexu dictum, nec distinctum esse inter mulierem et uirginem, quam omnino non nominat.
For by this very fact, that he did not name virgins, as he does in another place where he teaches about marrying, he sufficiently declares that it was said of every woman and of the whole sex, and that no distinction was made between a woman and a virgin, whom he does not name at all.
qui enim alibi distinguere meminit, ubi scilicet differentia postulat (distinguit autem utramque speciem suis uocabulis designans), ubi non distinguit, dum utramque non nominat, nullam uult differentiam intellegi.
For he who remembers to make a distinction elsewhere, where indeed the difference demands it (and he distinguishes both species by designating them with their own words), where he does not make a distinction, while not naming both, wishes no difference to be understood.
quid? quod Graeco sermone, quo litteras apostolus fecit, usui est mulieres uocare quam feminas, id est γυναῖκας quam θηλεiας.
What of the fact that in the Greek language, in which the apostle wrote his letters, it is customary to call them "women" rather than "females," that is, γυναῖκας rather than θηλεiας?
igitur si pro sexus nomine uocabulum istud frequentatur, quod est in interpretatione pro eo quod est femina, sexum nominauit, dicens γυναῖκα.
Therefore, if this word is commonly used for the name of the sex, which in translation stands for "female," he named the sex when he said γυναῖκα.
in sexu autem et uirgo contingitur.
But in the sex, the virgin also is included.
sed et manifesta pronuntiatio est: omnis, inquit, mulier adorans et prophetans intecto capite dedecorat caput suum. quid est omnis mulier, nisi omnis aetatis, omnis ordinis, omnis condicionis? nihil mulieris excipit dicendo omnis, sicut nec uiri nec uelandi;
And the pronouncement is indeed manifest: "Every woman," he says, "praying and prophesying with her head uncovered, dishonors her head." What is "every woman" but one of every age, of every rank, of every condition?
perinde enim omnis uir inquit. sicut ergo in masculino sexu sub uiri nomine etiam inuestis uelari uetatur, ita et in feminino sub nomine mulieris etiam uirgo uelari iubetur.
He excepts nothing of a woman by saying "every," just as he excepts nothing of a man, nor of what should be veiled; for he says likewise, "every man." Therefore, just as in the male sex, under the name of "man," even the beardless youth (inuestis) is forbidden to be veiled, so also in the female sex, under the name of "woman," even the virgin is commanded to be veiled.
aequaliter in utroque sexu minor aetas maioris sequatur disciplinam, aut uelentur et uirgines masculi, si non uelantur et uirgines feminae, quia nec isti nominatim tenentur; aliud sit uir et inuestis, si aliud est mulier et uirgo.
Equally in both sexes, let the younger age follow the discipline of the older; or let the male "virgins" (youths) also be veiled if the female virgins are not veiled, since the former also are not bound by name; let "man" and "beardless youth" be different things, if "woman" and "virgin" are different things.
nempe propter angelos ait uelari oportere, quod angeli propter filias hominum desciuerunt a deo.
Surely he says it is necessary to be veiled because of the angels, because the angels fell away from God because of the daughters of men.
quis ergo contendat solas mulieres, id est nuptas iam et uirginitate defunctas, concupiscentiae esse, nisi si non licet et uirgines specie praestare et amatores inuenire? immo uideamus, ne uirgines solas concupierint, cum dicat scriptura filias hominum, quia potuit uxores hominum nominasse uel feminas indifferenter.
Who then would contend that only women—that is, those already married and having lost their virginity—were the object of desire, unless indeed virgins are not allowed to excel in beauty and find lovers? Nay, let us see whether they desired virgins alone, since Scripture says "daughters of men," for it could have named "wives of men" or "females" indifferently.
etiam quod ait: et acceperunt sibi in uxores, eo facit, quod accipiuntur in uxores quae uacant scilicet.
Also, what it says: "and they took to themselves wives," points to the fact that those who are vacant, of course, are taken as wives.
de non uacantibus autem aliter enuntiasset.
But concerning those who are not vacant, it would have expressed it otherwise.
itaque uacant tam uiduitate quam et uirginitate.
And so they are vacant, both by widowhood and by virginity.
adeo sexum nominando generaliter filias, et species in genere commiscuit.
Thus, by naming the sex generally as "daughters," he mingled the species in the genus.