LatineEnglish
QUESTION IV. Why Eve was made from the side and rib of Adam rather than from another part of the body.1
QVAESTIO IIII. Cur Eua facta sit ex latere & costa Adae potiùs quàm ex alia corporis parte.
NOLVIT Deus Euam effici ex suprema vel anteriori parte corporis Adae, ne mulier potior haberi vellet, virúmque imperio regere, & primas humanae societatis sibi vendicare. Noluit tamen ex posteriori vel inferiori corporis [parte...]
God did not will Eve to be made from the highest or front part of Adam's body, lest the woman should wish to be held the superior, and to rule the man by command, and to claim for herself the first place of human society. Yet neither did He will her made from the posterior or lower part of the body [...] [continues]2
[...Noluit tamen ex posteriori vel inferiori corporis parte] eam formari, ne vir foeminam multò inferioris & humilioris conditionis quàm ipse est aestimans, contemptui haberet ac velut ancillam duceret. Ex latere igitur, hoc est ex media corporis parte, sumpta est, vt mediocri apud virum dignatione haberetur, eámque vir quodammodo aequalem sibi & sociam atque adiutricem datam à Deo existimaret. Ex sinistro autem latere formata creditur, in quod vergit cor humanum, propter summum amorem qui inter virum & vxorem esse debet, & propter consensionem animorum & concordiam voluntatum. Quoniam autem sinistrum latus infirmius est de-[xtro...]
[...Yet neither did He will her formed from the posterior or lower part of the body], lest the man, esteeming the woman of a much lower and humbler condition than himself, should hold her in contempt and treat her as a maidservant. From the side, therefore — that is, from the middle part of the body — she was taken, that she might be held by the man in a moderate dignity, and that the man might esteem her in a way equal to himself, and given by God as a companion and helper. But she is believed to have been formed from the left side, toward which the human heart inclines, on account of the supreme love which ought to be between man and wife, and on account of the consent of minds and the concord of wills. And since the left side is weaker than the rig[ht...] [continues]3
[...sinistrum latus infirmius est de]xtro, declaratum est infirmiorem esse sexum foemineum quàm virilem. Quo fit vt temperamentú mulieris & frigidius & imbecillius, ratio quoque, animus, sensusque exilior atque infirmior sit. Mares praeterea concipiuntur in dextro latere, foeminae autem in sinistro. Quin etiam, sinistrum latus ignobilius est dextro, nec sine eius auxilio sese potest subrigere ac substentare. Ex costa porro facta est mulier, quòd in costa sit caro & os & neruus & sanguis: quapropter ex ipsa tanquam ex perfecta parte corporis formata est Eua. Non enim costam illam fuisse nudum os, sed carne vestitum, satis indicauit Adam cùm dixit, Os ex ossibus meis, & caro ex carne mea. Quemadmodum autem costae continentur infra brachia & ab ipsis proteguntur, ita mulier protectione ac defensione viri eget, sub cuius vmbra ac tutela securè viuat. Huc etiam facit mysterium perforati lateris Domini, vnde aedificata dicitur Ecclesia. In locum autem costae quae detracta est, [suffecit...]
[...the left side is weaker than the rig]ht, it is declared that the female sex is weaker than the male. Whence it comes that the woman's temperament is both colder and feebler, and her reason too, her mind, and her sense are slighter and weaker. Males, moreover, are conceived on the right side, but females on the left. Nay further, the left side is less noble than the right, nor can it raise and support itself without the right's help. From a rib, furthermore, the woman was made, because in a rib there is flesh and bone and nerve and blood; wherefore from it, as from a perfect part of the body, Eve was formed. For that the rib was not a bare bone, but clothed with flesh, Adam sufficiently indicated when he said, “Bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh.” And just as the ribs are contained beneath the arms and protected by them, so the woman needs the protection and defense of the man, under whose shade and guardianship she may live securely. Hither also pertains the mystery of the pierced side of the Lord, from which the Church is said to be built. But in the place of the rib which was removed, [God supplied...] [continues]4
[...In locum autem costae quae detracta est, suffecit] Deus carnem, ne Adam experrectus dolore afficeretur, aut mutilus appareret; & quò significaretur mulierem ex viro accepisse robur ac firmitudinem, quam significabat costa; virum autem accepisse à muliere teneritudinem & mollitiem animi, quam denotabat caro ei, loco costae data.
[...But in the place of the rib which was removed, God supplied] flesh, lest Adam, awakened, should be afflicted with pain, or appear mutilated; and that it might be signified that the woman received from the man strength and firmness, which the rib signified, but the man received from the woman tenderness and softness of mind, which the flesh given to him in place of the rib denoted.5
Translator’s notes
- Fourth question of the disputation. ↩
- Decorated initial 'N.' Why from the side: not from the top/front (lest the woman claim superiority and rule). Page breaks at catchword 'parte.' ↩
- Not from a low part (lest he despise her as a servant), but from the side/middle — so she be a near-equal companion. From the LEFT side (toward which the heart leans) — for the love and concord of spouses. Marginal gloss: 'Cur ex sinistro latere facta sit Eua.' ↩
- The left side being weaker → the female the weaker sex (colder temperament, feebler mind; males conceived on the right, females the left). Why from a rib: a rib has flesh, bone, nerve, blood (a 'perfect part'); clothed with flesh ('flesh of my flesh'); the rib under the arm signals woman's need of man's protection; and the mystery of Christ's pierced side (the Church). Marginal gloss: 'Cur ex costa.' ↩
- God filled the gap with flesh — lest Adam wake in pain or seem maimed — and to signify the exchange: the woman gets the man's strength (the rib), the man gets the woman's tenderness (the flesh). ↩