in Ecclesiastical History, Christian heretics, so called both from the veneration they had for the serpent which tempted Eve, and the worship they paid to a real serpent. They pretended that the serpent was Jesus Christ, and that he taught men the knowledge of good and evil. They distinguished between Jesus and Christ. Jesus, they said, was born of the Virgin Mary, but Christ came down from heaven to be united with him; Jesus was crucified, but Christ had left him to return to heaven. They likewise distinguished the God of the Jews, whom they termed Jaldabaoth, from the supreme God; ascribing to the former the body, and to the latter the soul of man. They had a live serpent, which they kept in a kind of cage; and at certain times they opened the cage door, and called to the reptile. The animal came out, and mounting upon the table, twined itself about some loaves of bread, which they broke and distributed to the company, all of whom kissed the serpent. And this, by a horrid blasphemy, they called their Eucharist.