2Tim 2:17

“Moreover, those also will be thus confuted who belong to Simon and Carpocrates, and if there be any others who are said to perform miracles—who do not perform what they do either through the power of God, or in connection with the truth, nor for the well-being of men, but for the sake of destroying and misleading mankind, by means of magical deceptions, and with universal deceit, thus entailing greater harm than good on those who believe them, with respect to the point on which they lead them astray. For they can neither confer sight on the blind, nor hearing on the deaf, nor chase away all sorts of demons—none, indeed, except those that are sent into others by themselves, if they can even do so much as this. Nor can they cure the weak, or the lame, or the paralytic, or those who are distressed in any other part of the body, as has often been done in regard to bodily infirmity. Nor can they furnish effective remedies for those external accidents which may occur. And so far are they from being able to raise the dead, as the Lord raised them, and the apostles did by means of prayer, and as has been frequently done in the brotherhood on account of some necessity—the entire Church in that particular locality entreating the boon with much fasting and prayer, the spirit of the dead man has returned, and he has been bestowed in answer to the prayers of the saints—that they do not even believe this can possibly be done, and hold that the resurrection from the dead is simply an acquaintance with that truth which they proclaim.”

“It is a comparatively small thing, that certain men, like Phygellus, and Hermogenes, and Philetus, and Hymenµus, deserted His apostle: the betrayer of Christ was himself one of the apostles.”

“Unhappy Aristotle! who invented for these men dialectics, the art of building up and pulling down; an art so evasive in its propositions, so far-fetched in its conjectures, so harsh, in its arguments, so productive of contentions-embarrassing even to itself, retracting everything, and really treating of nothing! Whence spring those "fables and endless genealogies," and "unprofitable questions," and "words which spread like a cancer? " From all these, when the apostle would restrain us, he expressly names philosophy as that which he would have us be on our guard against.”

“But if we consider what the apostles thought about heretics, we shall find that they, in all their epistles, execrated and detested the sacrilegious wickedness of heretics. For when they say that "their word creeps as a canker". Flee from such men as much as you can; avoid with a wholesome caution those who adhere to their mischievous contact. Their word doth eat as doth a cancer;. Also in the second to Timothy: "Their word doth creep as a canker."”

“From such men come those who, without divine appointment, set themselves over their rash associates, make themselves prelates without any lawful ordination and call themselves bishops though no one gives them a bishopric. The Holy Spirit portrays them in the Psalms "sitting in the seat of pestilence," plagues and blights to faith, snake-mouthed traitors, scheming to pervert truth, spewing deadly poisons from their pestiferous tongues. Their words "spread like a canker." Their teaching pours fatal venom into men's hearts and breasts.”

“But these by all their words have attempted to do away with the Godhead of Christ, have made those seem righteous, since they have come nearer to Antichrist. Wherefore they have been excommunicated and anathematized by the Church. And indeed, although we grieve at the destruction of these men, especially that after having once learned the doctrine of the Church, they have now gone back; yet we do not wonder at it; for this very thing Hymenaeus and Philetus suffered, and before them Judas, who, though he followed the Saviour, afterwards became a traitor and an apostate.”

“And what they now write proceeds not from any regard for the truth, as I said before, but rather they do it as in mockery and by a subterfuge, for the purpose of deceiving others. They hope that by sending about their letters they may engage the ears of the people to listen to these notions and so put off the time when they will be brought to trial. By concealing their impiety from observation, they try to make room to extend their heresy, which, "like a gangrene," eats its way everywhere.”

“"Let the wickedness of sinners be brought to nought." He who says this prayer is obviously a disciple of the evangelical precepts. He prays for those who treat him maliciously, asking that the wickedness of the sinners be circumscribed by a definite limit and boundary. Just as if someone, when praying for those who are suffering in body, would say, "Let the disease of those who are suffering come to an end." In order that the sin slowly creeping farther may not spread like cancer, since he loves his enemy and wishes to do good to those who hate him, and for this reason prays for those who treat him maliciously, he begs of God that the further outpouring of sin may cease and have definite bounds.”

“That kind of wound is called a suppurating sore, which begins in the female breasts and then grows quickly into the abdominal region. When it finally becomes a poison that permeates the heart, there is no remedy. In just such a way the discussions of heretics are to be avoided, lest through the ears they reach the mind with an irremediable wound.”

“To deceive the first human beings, the devil claimed the serpent as his tool. So to seduce the hearts of orthodox, he armed the tongues of these with the poison of his falsehood. With pastoral care, however, we oppose these snares, dearly beloved, to the extent that the Lord helps us. To prevent any of the holy flock from perishing, we advise you with fatherly admonitions to turn away from "wicked lips and treacherous tongue," from which the prophet asks that his soul "be kept free," since "their talk crawls like a crab," as the blessed apostle said. They creep in low to the ground, take hold softly, squeeze gently and kill undetected.”

“He said well above: "they will advance still more in ungodliness." It would seem that the only evil consists in what they say about the resurrection. However, great consequences follow from this. For if the resurrection has already occurred, then judgment and recompense are also abolished, and the good have enjoyed sorrows and afflictions, while the evil have been punished by wallowing in pleasures. What need, then, is there to hold to virtue, if such are the recompenses? He did not say: of all people, but: of some, that is, the weaker ones. Therefore he adds the following as well.”

“Their speech spreads like a canker. For heretics say true and useful things in the beginning; but after a while they vomit forth deadly doctrines. Hence he says, their speech spreads like a canker; from one spark comes a great fire, and from one deceitful man much blood (Sir 11:34). Of whom are Hymeneus and Philetus: he gives an example of this. For these two corrupted the faith in their time and turned others into vain babblers. Of Philetus he said: all they who are in Asia have turned away from me; of whom are Philetus and Hermogenes (2 Tim 1:15). Of Hymeneus he says in 1 Timothy: of whom is Hymeneus (1 Tim 1:20).”

“and their message will spread like gangrene. Hymenaeus and Philetus are among them, who have strayed concerning the truth. like gangrene. Gangrene is a infected ulcer, consuming the place, causing rotting; some say it is a creeping ulcer, or erysipelas. He who is Hymenaeus..." Of those ones who utter profane and empty chatter.”