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The boy learned that the liquid part of the Master Work was called the Elixir of Life, and that it cured all illnesses; it also kept the alchemist from growing old.
男孩在書中看到，元精的液體部分叫作長生不老液，除了能防止煉金術(shù)士衰老，還能醫(yī)治百病；
And the solid part was called the Philosopher's Stone.
固體部分則叫點(diǎn)金石。
"It's not easy to find the Philosopher's Stone," said the Englishman.
“并非輕而易舉就能發(fā)現(xiàn)點(diǎn)金石。”英國人說，
"The alchemists spent years in their laboratories, observing the fire that purified the metals.
“煉金術(shù)士們在實(shí)驗(yàn)室里守候多年，觀察冶煉金屬的火焰，
They spent so much time close to the fire that gradually they gave up the vanities of the world.
觀察久了，漸漸就把世上所有的虛榮盡皆棄之腦后。
They discovered that the purification of the metals had led to a purification of themselves."
于是，有一天，他們發(fā)現(xiàn)提煉金屬的結(jié)果卻是凈化了他們自身。”
The boy thought about the crystal merchant.
男孩想起了水晶店的老板。
He had said that it was a good thing for the boy to clean the crystal pieces, so that he could free himself from negative thoughts.
老板曾說過，擦拭水晶是件好事，可以使他們擺脫不好的念頭。
The boy was becoming more and more convinced that alchemy could be learned in one's daily life.
男孩越來越堅(jiān)信，在日常生活中就能把煉金術(shù)學(xué)到手。
"Also," said the Englishman, "the Philosopher's Stone has a fascinating property. A small sliver of the stone can transform large quantities of metal into gold."
“另外，點(diǎn)金石有一種迷人的特性。一小片點(diǎn)金石的碎片就能把大量的金屬點(diǎn)化成黃金。”英國人說道。
Having heard that, the boy became even more interested in alchemy.
聽到這番話，男孩對煉金術(shù)產(chǎn)生了極其濃厚的興趣。
He thought that, with some patience, he'd be able to transform everything into gold.
他想，只要耐心一點(diǎn)，就能把一切都變成金子。
He read the lives of the various people who had succeeded in doing so: Helvetius, Elias, Fulcanelli, and Geber.
他讀到了幾位獲得成功的煉金術(shù)士的傳記，比如埃爾維修斯、艾利亞斯、弗爾坎內(nèi)里、熱貝爾等。
They were fascinating stories: each of them lived out his personal legend to the end.
他們的經(jīng)歷令人著迷：他們都實(shí)現(xiàn)了自己的天命。
They traveled, spoke with wise men, performed miracles for the incredulous, and owned the Philosopher's Stone and the Elixir of Life.
他們云游四方，遇見智者，向懷疑者展示奇跡，獲取了點(diǎn)金石和長生不老液。
But when the boy wanted to learn how to achieve the Master Work, he became completely lost.
但是，當(dāng)男孩想掌握獲取元精的方法時，卻完全暈頭轉(zhuǎn)向了。
There were just drawings, coded instructions, and obscure texts.
書中只有一些圖案，用密碼寫的說明，以及晦澀難懂的文章。
