第一讲：埃及时期：
众所周知，炼金术起源于埃及，最初是有人试图将贱金属伪造成贵金属，比如将铜和锌制成合金可以在外观和硬度上很接近黄金。
后来这种技术逐步发展成为一门学科，因为可能得到物质的转换，竟获得了神的地位，于是炼金术诞生了。
埃及人留给炼金术最重要的东西是《翠玉录》，是刻在一块翡翠石板上的最早的炼金术典籍，
以下是艾萨克?牛顿爵士手稿中对于翠玉录的翻译：
1.That wch is below is like that wch is above
& that wch is above is like yt wch is below to do ye miracles of one only
thing.
2.And as all things have been & arose from one
by ye mediation of one: so all things have their birth from this one thing by
adaptation.
3.The Sun is its father, the moon its mother,
4.The wind hath carried it in its belly, the earth
its nourse.
5.The father of all perfection in ye whole world
is here. Its force or power is entire if it be converted into earth.
6.Separate thou ye earth from ye fire, ye subtile
from the gross sweetly wth great indoustry.
7.It ascends from ye earth to ye heaven &
again it desends to ye earth and receives ye force of things superior &
inferior.
8.By this means you shall have ye glory of ye
whole world & thereby all obscurity shall fly from you.
9.Its force is above all force, for it vanquishes
every subtile thing & penetrates every solid thing.
10.So was ye world created. From this are & do
come admirable adaptations whereof ye process is here in this.
11.Hence I am called Hermes Trismegist, having the
three parts of ye philosophy of ye whole world.
12.That wch I have said of ye operation of ye Sun
is accomplished & ended.
牛顿的手稿使用的是19世纪的古英语，现代英语和汉语的翻译为：
1.What is above is like what is below,and what is
below is like that which is above,to make the miracle of the one thing.
如其在上，如其在下，要造出"惟一之物"的奇迹。
2.And as all things were made from contemplation
of one,so all things were born from one adaptation.
那惟一的"造物主"创造了万物，所以万物皆诞生于这同一之源。
3.Its father is the Sun,its mother is the Moon.
太阳为父，月亮为母。
4.The wind carried it in its womb,the earth breast
fed it.
它在风的子宫里孕育，大地的**滋养了它。
5.It is the father of all works of wonder in the
world,and its power is complete.
它是世界上所有奇迹之父，它有全能的力量。
6.If cast to earth,it will separate earth from
fire,the subtile from the gross.
把它撒在泥土里，它能将泥土从火中隔离，也能让精妙之物从粗物中呈现出来。
7.With great capacity it ascends from earth to
heaven,again it descends to earth,and takes back the power of the above and the
below.
它能从地面飞升到天空，然后，它还能再降落到地面，积聚上界和下界的所有力量。
8.Thus you will receive the glory of the
distinctiveness of the world,all obscurity will flee from you.
由此你将获得全世界最卓绝的荣光，所有的阴暗都将从你身边消散。
9.This is the whole most strong strength of all
strength,for it overcomes all subtle things,and penetrates all solid things.
这是强大力量中的最强者，它能超越所有的精妙之物，也能渗透入所有坚固之体。
10.Thus was the world created.
宇宙就是这样被创造出来。
11.From this comes marvelous adaptations of which
this is the procedure.
按照这一过程，从这"惟一之物"中产生了众多非凡的变化。
12.Therefore I am called Hermes,because I have
three parts of the wisdom of the whole world,and complete is what I had to say
about the work of the Sun.
我之所以被称为赫尔墨斯，是因为我为三位一体，关于"太阳的工作"，这就是我要说的全部。
请注意，在这里首先提出了“唯一之物”的概念，而唯一之物就是我们后来所说的“贤者之石”的最初猜想
此处所言的“赫尔墨斯”，实际上是埃及神“托特”，二者在后来的神话中合为一体，成为“奥秘智慧之父；占星术的奠基人；炼金术的发现者”
