To Florus 3.126
Although we dealt with this more fully in the first book (see this work 1.52, 64), let us briefly state your meaning here too. You fear assigning any substance to the devil’s work, yet you do not fear fastening a great crime—not merely some small fault—on God. Human flesh’s nature commands more reverence from you than God’s justice. You feared attributing human substance to the devil as though that were an important matter, but attached the formation of wickedness to God’s justice and holiness as though they were unimportant. As if, between two opinions that are both false, attributing flesh to the devil’s works would not be more tolerable than attributing iniquity to God’s works!
Latin
Quod licet in primo libro uberius actum sit [n169] , tamen et hic vel breviter, quid sentias, exprimamus. Times operi diaboli aliquam deputare substantiam, verum non times Deo non aliquod, sed magnum crimen impingere. Maiorem apud te habet reverentiam natura carnis humanae quam iustitia Dei; quasi enim magnum aliquid, ita substantiam hominis diabolo deputare metuisti et quasi rei non magnae id est iustitiae et sanctitati Dei informationem sceleris appulisti, quasi non tolerabilius fuerit inter duas opiniones, sed utrasque falsas, diaboli operibus deputare carnem quam Dei operibus iniquitatem.