Bertrand Russell, A History of Western Philosophy (1945), Chapter XIII: Saint Thomas Aquinas

[According to St. Thomas] the soul is not transmitted with the semen, but is created afresh with each man. There is, it is true, a difficulty: when a man is born out of wedlock, this seems to make God an accomplice in adultery. This objection, however, is only specious. (There is a grave objection, which troubled Saint Augustine, and that is as to the transmission of original sin. It is the soul that sins, and if the soul is not transmitted, but created afresh, how can it inherit the sin of Adam? This is not discussed.)

— Bertrand Russell on Thomas Aquinas

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "[According to St. Thomas] the soul is not transmitted with the semen, but is created afresh with each man. There is, it is true, a difficulty: when a man is born out of wedlock, this seems to make God an accomplice in adultery. This objection, however, is only specious. (There is a grave objection, which troubled Saint Augustine, and that is as to the transmission of original sin. It is the soul that sins, and if the soul is not transmitted, but created afresh, how can it inherit the sin of Adam? This is not discussed.)" in the context of "Bertrand Russell, A History of Western Philosophy (1945), Chapter XIII: Saint Thomas Aquinas" to mean that wisdom is timeless.

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Source: Wikiquote: "Thomas Aquinas" (Quotes about Aquinas) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed February 08, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
Bertrand Russell

About Bertrand Russell

Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell (May 18, 1872 – February 2, 1970) was a British philosopher, logician, mathematician, historian, and social critic. In 1950, he was awarded a Nobel Prize in Literature.