Our Lord Jesus Christ..., who came to liberate mankind, in which both males and females are destined to salvation, was not adverse to males, for He took the form of a male, nor to females, for of a female He was born. Besides, there is a great mystery here: that just as death comes to us through a woman, Life is born to us through a woman; that the devil - defeated - would be tormented by each nature, feminine and masculine, since he had taken delight in the defection of both.

St. Augustine of Hippo, Ca. A.D. 397, Christian Combat 22, 24 in The Faith of the Early Fathers (Jurgens, Liturgical Press) 3:50, no. 1578