D. B. Capelle, “'Adhuc Virgo’ chez Saint Irénée" (October 1930) on Against Heresies 3.21.10

 Commenting on the use of adhuc in the extant Latin of Irenaeus, Against Heresies 3.21.10 (the Greek is, sadly, no longer extant), Capelle admits that a prima facie reading supports the thesis Irenaeus did not believe in Mary’s perpetual virginity:

 

Ce texte est très dur : Adhuc virgine ne laisse place à aucun doute: l'addition «nondum enim» suffirait à marquer le but restrictif de adhuc. Si le terme doit conserver son sens plein en s'appliquant à Marie, il exclut la virginité post partum et non seulement la perte de l'intégrité corporelle in partu. Ainsi le veut le parallélisme avec la terre fécondee par le travail de l'homme. (D. B. Capelle, “'Adhuc Virgo’ chez Saint Irénée,” Recherches de théologie ancienne et médiévale 2 [October 1930]: 389)

 

This text is very strong: Adhuc virgine leaves no room for doubt: the addition “nondum enim” would be enough to mark the restrictive force of adhuc. If the term is to retain its full sense when applied to Mary, it rules out post-partum virginity and not merely the loss of bodily integrity in partu. That is what the parallel with the earth made fertile by the work of man requires.

 

Of course, what follows is Capelle trying to engage in special pleading. For example:

 

On notera en effet que si c'est l'idée de Marie vierge qui a provoqué celle de la terre vierge, il ne s'ensuit pas que le trait marqué par adhuc soit pareillement dû à l'influence de l'antitype sur le type ; il paraît dériver plutôt de Gen. II, 5 (nondum pluerat) et n'avoir donc été appliqué à Marie que par réaction. (D. B. Capelle, “'Adhuc Virgo’ chez Saint Irénée,” Recherches de théologie ancienne et médiévale 2 [October 1930]: 390)

 

Note, indeed, that if the idea of Mary as virgin prompted that of the virgin earth, it does not follow that the feature marked by adhuc is likewise due to the influence of the antitype on the type; it rather appears to derive from Gen. II.5 (nondum pluerat) and therefore to have been applied to Mary only by reaction.

 

The article is largely an attempted response to the work of Hugo Koch, Adhuc Virgo (Beiträge Zur Historischen Theologie 2; Tübingen, 1929) and his treatment of this passage from Against Heresies. See the following blog post for a reproduction of the original German and an English translation of the relevant portions thereof:

Hugo Koch, Adhuc Virgo (1929) on Ireaneus, Against Heresies 3.21.10