Philo on ancestry vs. virtue

“Nobility” (ευγένεια) is a matter of the soul, not of ancestry ([Philo] Virt. 187-27). That is why proselytes can share in the patriarchs’ heritage, while Jews must be warned not to place confidence in the virtue of their ancestors (πεποίθησις προγονικῆς αρετῆς, 226).—J. M. G. Barclay, Paul and the Gift, 236