To Florus 2.157
‘For if those who are of the law are heirs, faith is emptied and the promise destroyed’ (Romans 4:14). Unless this statement is understood, it introduces a very great difficulty. Undoubtedly by ‘those who are of the law’ he means those whom he had earlier called ‘of the circumcision.’ He knew they claimed so much for themselves that they thought no one besides themselves could be admitted to the dignity of Abraham’s offspring. Yet his argument had established that not only the circumcised, but also those of the uncircumcised who chose to follow the footsteps of Abraham’s faith, should rightly be reckoned Abraham’s children.
Latin
Si enim qui sunt ex lege, haeredes sunt, evacuata est fides, destructa est repromissio [n220] . Qui sermo nisi intellegatur, ingerit maximam quaestionem; dubio enim procul dicit eos esse ex lege, quos supra dixerat ex circumcisione, quos sibi tantum noverat arrogare, ut putarent praeter se neminem assumi ad Abrahae seminis dignitatem; atque hoc disputatione collegerat, ut quia non solum hi, qui ex circumcisione, sed et illi, qui ex praeputio sectari voluissent vestigia fidei Abrahae, non immerito Abrahae filii censerentur.