Just as another aside, the perplexing reference in the Letter to Theodore, where it certainly sounds like Clement is 'riffing' off of Papias:
You did well in silencing the unspeakable teachings of the Carpocrations. For these are the "wandering stars" referred to in the prophecy, who wander from the narrow road of the commandments into a boundless abyss of the carnal and bodily sins. For, priding themselves in knowledge, as they say, "of the deep things of Satan", they do not know that they are casting themselves away into "the nether world of the darkness" of falsity, and boasting that they are free, they have become slaves of servile desires. Such men are to be opposed in all ways and altogether. For, even if they should say something true, one who loves the truth should not, even so, agree with them. For not all true things are the truth, nor should that truth which merely seems true according to human opinions be preferred to the true truth, that according to the faith.
Now of the things they keep saying about the divinely inspired Gospel according to Mark, some are altogether falsifications, and others, even if they do contain some true elements, nevertheless are not reported truly. For the true things, being mixed with inventions, are falsified, so that, as the saying goes, even the salt (ἅλας) loses its savor.
Now what are the things they keep saying? Clearly this is something well known, like Papias's words were apparently well known as Irenaeus and Clement both know and echo them.
Irenaeus on the one hand says that the 'followers of Mark' are kabbalists who take an interest in numbers and criticizes them for that interest. One of the words apparently they take an interest in is 'blessing' (baruch):
but pre-eminently the name which is above all others, by which God is called, and which in the Hebrew tongue is expressed by Baruch, [a word] which also contains two and a half letters. From this fact, therefore, that the more important names, both in the Hebrew and Greek languages, do not conform to their system, either as respects the number of letters or the reckoning brought out of them, the forced character of their calculations respecting the rest becomes clearly manifest.
Irenaeus is often inaccurate in his renderings. The reality is that 232 both equates to 'the word of the Lord' and 'the blessing' (habarakhah) and 'eternal God' as well as 'salt.' Was Papias a person at all or was he God speaking through the various 'new prophets' it's not clear. But consider this for a moment:
The things they keep babbling/saying over and over about the divine-inspired according to Mark gospel
Τῶν τοίνυν θρυλουμένων περὶ τοῦ θεοπνεύστου κατὰ Μάρκον εὐαγγελίου
θρυλέω , (θρῦλος)
A. [select] make a confused noise, chatter, babble, “τὴν νύκτα θρυλῶν καὶ λαλῶν” Ar.Eq.348; θρυλέοιμι trisyll., Theoc.2.142.
II. [select] c. acc., repeat over and over, “θρυλοῦσ᾽ ἅ γ᾽ εἰπεῖν ἤθελον” E.El.910; “τὰ τοιαῦτα οἱ ποιηταὶ ἡμῖν ἀεὶ -οῦσιν, ὅτι . . ” Pl.Phd.65b; “τὰ μυθώδη . . , ὰ πάντες -οῦσιν” Isoc.12.237; “ὃ πάντες ἐθρύλουν τέως, δεῖν . . ” D.1.7, cf. 19.156; [τὴν τριήρη] θρυλήσει will keep talking of it, Id.21.160: abs., “καθάπερ πάλαι θρυλῶ” Epicur.Nat.109 G.; περὶ ἀγαθοῦ θ. Id.Fr.423: c. inf., PSI5.452.20 (iv A.D.):—Pass., to be common talk, τὸ -ούμενον, τὸ . . πανταχοῦ θ. E.Fr.285.1, cf. Isoc.Ep.6.7, Theopomp.Com.35, Antiph.246.2; “τὸ θ. ποτε ἀπόρρητον” D.2.6; “ἡ ὑπὸ πάντων θρυλουμένη εἰρήνη” Id.19.273; τὰ μὲν παλαιὰ καὶ θ. Anaxipp.1.4; “περὶ τεθρυλημένου πολλοῖς” Arist.Rh.1415a3; αἱ τεθρ. καὶ κοιναὶ γνῶμαι ib.1395a10; “τὰ θ. περὶ τὸν βάτραχον” Id.HA620b11; τινῶν λόγων ὑπὸ τῆς μητρός μου θρυλησθέντων (sic) UPZ144.45 (ii B.C.).
The juxtaposition between babbling and divinely-inspired may imply that those who are saying the things about Mark are members of the new prophesy movement.
The prophets in their oracular utterances do not merely say that they have heard certain messages from God; they demonstrably report the popular conversations (τοῦ λαοῦ θρυλούμενα), replying to objections voiced, as if they were officially recording questions from human sources. (3.9.38)
At the very least Clement uses this word to describe things the Carpocratians said before:
καὶ ὅτι θεομαχεῖ ὅ τε Καρποκράτης ὅ τ' Ἐπιφάνης, <ὃς> ἐν αὐτῷ τῷ πολυθρυλήτῳ βιβλίῳ τῷ Περὶ δικαιοσύνης λέγω (Epiphanes 36 in that notorious book, I mean On Righteousness) (3.2.9.3)
some are altogether falsifications, and others, even if they do contain some true elements, nevertheless are not reported truly. τὰ μὲν ψεύδεται παντελῶς, τὰ δέ, εἰ καὶ ἀληθῆ τινα περιέχει, οὐδ᾽ οὕτως ἀληθῶς παραδίδοται. Συγκεκραμένα γὰρ τἀληθῆ τοῖς πλάσμασι παραχαράσσεται ὥστε, τοῦτο δὴ τὸ λεγόμενον, καὶ τὸ ἅλας μωρανθῆναι.
I have to admit I've never understood the 'salt is corrupted' reference. The verb for corruption, μωρανθῆναι in its aorist passive infinitive form makes no sense to me unless the 'salt' is the holy spirit. But why is that so? The answer might lie in gematria because 'salt' no less than 'Papias' has the value of the 'Eternal God.'