 A discussion of the heretical Docetae begins Hippolytus' Book VIII.Who exactly the Docetae were is unclear, though Hippolytus seems to make a distinction between this group and others who considered Jesus to exist merely in appearance, the doctrine with to which the term "Docetism" is now affixed.Hippolytus associates this heresy with a misinterpretation of the Parable of the Sower of Matthew's Gospel and a belief that Christ's soul was separated from his body at his Crucifixion.