Since,
therefore, there exist among them error and misleading influences, and magical
illusions are impiously wrought in the sight of men; but in the church,
sympathy, and compassion, and stedfastness, and truth, for the aid and
encouragement of mankind, are not only displayed without fee or reward, but we
ourselves lay out for the benefit of others our own means; and inasmuch as
those who are cured very frequently do not possess the things which they
require, they receive them from us;—[since such is the case,] these men are in
this way undoubtedly proved to be utter aliens from the divine nature, the
beneficence of God, and all spiritual excellence. But they are altogether full
of deceit of every kind, apostate inspiration, demoniacal working, and the phantasms
of idolatry, and are in reality the predecessors of that dragon who, by means
of a deception of the same kind, will with his tail cause a third part of the
stars to fall from their place, and will cast them down to the earth. It
behoves us to flee from them as we would from him; and the greater the display
with which they are said to perform [their marvels], the more carefully should
we watch them, as having been endowed with a greater spirit of wickedness. If
any one will consider the prophecy referred to, and the daily practices of
these men, he will find that their manner of acting is one and the same with
the demons. (Against Heresies 2.31.3)
