Divine Pymander. Asclepius

...engraved upon an Emerald Table original: "Smaragdine Table," a legendary alchemical artifact supposedly containing the secrets of the universe in the Valley of Hebron after the Flood. Therefore, the reason previously alleged to prove that this author lived after Moses seems invalid. Nor does it appear in any way that he lived during Moses's time, although it is the opinion of some—such as Johann Funck original: "John Functius" (1518–1566), a German chronologist and theologian, who states in his Chronology that Hermes lived twenty-one years before the Law was given by Moses in the wilderness.

However, the reasons that he and others provide are far weaker than the ones I shall give to prove that he lived before the time of Moses. My reasons for this are as follows: First, because it is accepted among the ancient writers that he was the first to invent the art of communicating knowledge to the world through writing or engraving. Now, if this is true, then in all probability he lived before