To Florus 3.1

Respect for every virtue ought to flourish among the human race. People ought always to resist wrongdoing with a wise mind and win their Creator’s favor by good pursuits. Or at least, since this first and happier level of constant devotion seems both rare and exceedingly difficult, they ought to reject even long-cherished vices and return to the shelter of reform and repentance. Surely reverence for God ought at least to have remained untouched in this respect: we should not have to defend the divine law in so great a struggle. But the frenzy of sinners has reached the point where we must labor strenuously to teach that God is just. So, trusting in the help of the very justice whose cause we plead, let us now fulfill what we promised in the preceding book.