Elixirs of immortality: from the past to the present day. Immortality, the elixir of life and the food of the gods How to make the elixir of eternal life

This was in the 18th century. One day, a servant of the legendary Count of Saint-Germain was asked whether his master really met Julius Caesar personally and had the secret of immortality. To which the servant calmly replied that he did not know, but over the last 300 years of his service with Saint Germain, the count had not changed at all in appearance...

Nowadays, the issue of immortality has not lost its relevance, and active work to find a way to achieve physical immortality is being carried out in all industrialized countries of the world.

THE TIRELESS COUNT

If we omit the mythological history of the biblical Adam, who, according to legend, lived for 900 years, the Eternal Jew Ahasfer and Koshchei the Immortal, then the first popularizer of the elixir of immortality will be the same Saint Germain, a personality, it must be said, a very mysterious one. In the 18th century, popular rumor seriously claimed that the count was 500 years old, and in his castle there was a unique mirror in which one could see the future.

It was rumored that the count personally showed the headless body of his grandson in the mirror to Louis XV. In turn, the famous adventurer Count Cagliostro, who considered himself a student of Saint Germain, mentioned a certain vessel during interrogation by the Inquisition. In it, Saint-Germain, according to Cagliostro, kept the elixir of immortality, made according to the recipes of the ancient Egyptian priests.

The most interesting thing is that people who personally met Saint Germain in various parts of Europe described him as a man of about 45 years old with a dark complexion. At the same time, over the course of decades, the graph did not change at all in appearance. He was rich, well-mannered and had truly aristocratic manners. The Count spoke equally well in French, English, Italian, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, Russian, Chinese, Turkish and Arabic.

Often in conversations with monarchs, Saint Germain mentioned the rulers of bygone days and in conversation often claimed that he had personal conversations with many ancient rulers and philosophers, including Jesus Christ. Saint-Germain died either in 1784 in Holstein, or in 1795 in Kassel.

But his grave was never found. And many aristocrats who knew the count during his lifetime met him more than once after his official death! There is evidence of the appearance of Saint Germain in Europe of the 20th century. Did the count really possess the elixir? eternal youth, is this possible?

YOUTH FOR A TYRANT

As you know, the most notorious sinners and satraps cling to life more than others. Historical sources claim that the first emperor of the Qin dynasty, the legendary Shi Huangdi, who lived in the 3rd century BC. e., was literally obsessed with the idea of ​​his own immortality. His associates studied ancient treatises from morning to night in the hope of discovering a recipe for eternal youth.

But in vain. As a result, the upset emperor issued a decree in which he forbade himself to die. But he died anyway. Subsequently, many emperors of China tried to find the elixir eternal life, but apart from unique rejuvenation techniques, nothing was invented.

Medieval rulers also became famous for their search for a recipe for immortality. All the methods they invented bordered on rare inhuman sadism. They say that Marshal of France Count Gilles de Rais, the prototype of Bluebeard, became more famous in this field than others. After his arrest, during interrogations by the Inquisition, he confessed that he had killed several hundred young people in order to make an elixir of immortality from their genitals.

In the second half of the 16th century, the Hungarian Countess Elizabeth Bathory took baths from the blood of virgins to gain eternal youth and beauty. In total, 650 girls met their end in the Countess's castle.

BLOOD FOR THE LEADER

Like the medieval aristocrats, the first Soviet leaders also wanted to live forever. In the 1920s, the famous revolutionary Alexander Bogdanov headed the world's first Blood Institute, in which they tried to transfuse the elderly leaders of Soviet Russia with the blood of young people.

However, things didn't work out. Lenin, unlike his sister, who underwent a rejuvenation procedure, refused a blood transfusion, calling it scientific vampirism. Perhaps the research would have been successful, but Bogdanov unexpectedly died during one of his experiments on himself. After his death, a disappointed Stalin ordered the experiments to be interrupted.

Half a century later, the problem of gaining longevity through blood transfusions of young compatriots was quite successfully practiced by the leader North Korea Kim Il Sung. Having begun the procedures at the age of 65, the dictator lived to the very advanced age of 82, although he planned to last until at least 120 years.

THE GENERATOR OF YOUTH EXISTS

IN modern world There are dozens of promising methods for extending human life. But humanity is not waiting for a unique diet, an expensive operation or cryo-freezing of one’s own body, but for the invention of a device that, in a few sessions, would help a person completely get rid of diseases and live an extra 40-50 years.

Oddly enough, such a device exists and operates on principles that are logically close to cruel experiments medieval rulers. However, now we are not talking about transfusion of young blood to an old man, but about transplanting a young biofield.

One of the presentations of the technique took place in 1997 in St. Petersburg at the First International Congress “Weak and ultra-weak fields and radiation in biology and medicine.” A scientist of Chinese origin from Khabarovsk, Yuri Vladimirovich Jiang Kanzhen, gave a report on his unique method. According to the scientist’s theory, repeatedly confirmed by practical experiments, all living organisms exchange with each other some genetic information invisible to the eye.

The process occurs using electromagnetic waves in the ultrahigh frequency range. The device, invented by Dr. Jiang Kanzhen, can transfer the biofield of young organisms to old ones, rehabilitating their DNA and stimulating rejuvenation. Like a real scientist, Jiang Kanzhen experimented on both himself and his father - the result was both the youthfulness of the scientist himself and the body regeneration processes of his 80-year-old father.

It is interesting to note that, unlike many similar inventions, official science accepted the scientist’s discovery and even issued patents for several inventions. So it is likely that in the foreseeable future, every clinic will have a device capable of transferring the biofield of a young man to his elderly relatives, rejuvenating them. In this case, human life expectancy will almost double.

SCIENCE DOES NOT STAND STANDING

He agreed to comment on the possibility of creating a technique that significantly prolongs human life Doctor of Medical Sciences, Academician of the Higher Academic Clinical Hospital Dmitry Valerievich GLUKHOV:

“The elixir of eternal youth really has a right to exist.” But not in the medieval sense. Research in the field of rejuvenation techniques is being actively conducted all over the world, and there have been significant advances in this area. In Russia alone, more than 10 rejuvenation systems and more than 30 rejuvenation techniques have been commercialized, not counting various dietary supplements and pharmacological drugs.

The work is mainly carried out in the field of cosmetology and correction of the human immune system. Every year new techniques appear based on advanced, promising technologies. Thus, nanotechnology gave impetus to a new direction in rejuvenation - supramolecular chemistry. Development is proceeding quickly, and perhaps in the near future one of the researchers will show the treasured bottle with a cloudy liquid.

Today, technologies of electromagnetic transformation, or modification of the human genome, have advanced the furthest in this direction. Again, many scientists are working in this direction in Russia. In my opinion, Jiang Kanzhen's work looks quite promising. It is impossible not to mention Professor Zakharov with his cell therapy and revitalization, Goryaev, Komrakov and other researchers.

If they are successful and the methods are widely implemented, the average human life expectancy may increase from the current 65-70 years to 140-160 years. True, in this case the person will have, among other things, to lead a relatively healthy lifestyle.

Dmitry SIVITSKY

The human body is 70% water. It is not for nothing that one famous biologist figuratively called living beings “animate water.” Obviously, for a person’s health and longevity, it is not indifferent what kind of water nourishes the tissues of his body.

Indeed, in recent years it has become known that water varies significantly not only in chemical impurities, but also in isotopic composition and other features. Many properties of water change, for example, if it is passed between the poles of a magnet. Water can be more biologically active, and this affects the aging process of the body. But we still don’t know much about the properties of water - an important component of our body.

In any case, today it is no longer vague legends or ancient legends, but scientific research that speaks about the influence of water on the health and life expectancy of the inhabitants of different regions of the Earth.

Where do people live longer?

It is known that residents of some Caribbean islands, such as Guadeloupe, look much younger than their European peers. When they are asked how they manage to remain young for a long time, the answer usually follows: “On our island, such water flows from springs that rejuvenates a person...” The inhabitants of the central regions of Ceylon (Sri Lanka) are also distinguished by excellent health. Sri Lankans blame climate and water for their health mountain springs. Apparently, it was no coincidence that the ancients tried to look for life-giving water on this island.

Some scientists associate the longevity of the mountain people and a number of peoples of the North with the water they drink. This is the so-called “melt water effect”, which has a beneficial effect on metabolism and thereby, as it were, “rejuvenates” the body.

Today, searches are not conducted on distant islands or unknown lands. They are carried out in dozens of laboratories of the largest scientific centers world, studying the properties of water and its effect on the human body.

People who were extremely concerned about maximizing their lives were, for the most part, endowed with wealth and power. They were looking for the shortest route. And such a path seemed to exist. The most ancient traditions and legends mentioned it as the “elixir of immortality”, which the gods tasted. IN different countries ah he was called by different things. The gods of the ancient Greeks used ambrosia, which gives eternal life, the Indian gods used amrita, the gods of the Iranians used haoma. And only the gods Ancient Egypt, showing majestic modesty, they preferred water to other food of the gods. True, the same water of immortality.

Alchemists and the Elixir of Immortality

No one came as close to the elixir of immortality as the alchemists, who, however, were looking for something completely different - ways to make gold. There was a certain logic in this. Immortality is a state that is not subject to change. Isn’t gold the only substance that is not subject to external influences? It is not afraid of alkalis or acids, it is not afraid of corrosion. It seemed that time itself was powerless before him. Doesn't this metal contain some principle that makes it like that? And is it possible to isolate this substance from it or introduce it into the human body along with gold? “Whoever takes gold inside,” says one ancient Eastern text, “will live as long as gold.” This is the traditional basis of ancient beliefs: eat the eyes of an eagle - you will be like an eagle, eat the hearts of a lion - you will be strong like a lion... Gold was an indispensable component of various versions of the elixir of immortality. A recipe has come down to us, compiled by the personal physician of Pope Boniface VIII: one must mix crushed gold, pearls, sapphires, emeralds, rubies, topazes, white and red corals, ivory, sandalwood, deer heart, aloe root, musk and ambergris. (We hope that prudence will prevent readers from applying the composition given here too hastily.)

Ancient recipes

Not much simpler was another composition, which can be found in one ancient eastern book: “You need to take a toad that has lived for 10,000 years and a bat that has lived for 1,000 years, dry them in the shade, grind them into powder and take them.”

And here is the recipe from an ancient Persian text: “You need to take a man, red-haired and freckled, and feed him with fruits until he is 30 years old, then lower him into a stone vessel with honey and other ingredients, enclose this vessel in hoops and seal it hermetically. After 120 years, his body will turn into a mummy.” The contents of the vessel, including what became the mummy, could then be taken as a healing and life-prolonging agent.

Misconceptions that sprout in any sphere of human activity will bear a particularly bountiful harvest in this area. In this regard, we can mention a French scientist of the 15th century. In search of the elixir of life, he boiled 2000 eggs, separated the whites from the yolks and, mixing them with water, distilled them many times, hoping in this way to extract the sought-after substance of life.

The obvious meaninglessness of such recipes does not yet indicate the meaninglessness of the search itself. Only that which was discarded as unnecessary became known. But if we judge the history of a particular science only by unsuccessful experiments and failed discoveries, the picture will probably be approximately the same.

01.04.2016. 13:05

INDIAN ELIXIR OF IMMORTALITY. In the morning, place chopped cloves of 2 small heads of garlic into an enamel pan. Pour 1 liter. milk, bring to a boil and cook over medium heat for 5-7 minutes, then remove from heat, leave for an hour in a warm place, then divide into 4 servings and eat throughout the day. Take for 5 days and repeat every 3 months (the pungency of garlic is removed with milk). In India, this recipe is called the elixir of immortality.

CHINESE TINCTURE “LONG LIFE”
Pour chopped garlic up to the neck into a half-liter bottle, pour in two glasses of vodka and place in a cool, dark place for 15 days. Add 1 tsp daily at lunch. tinctures in food.

SLAVIC DRINK “ZDRAVUSHKA”
Grind rose hips and rowan in a 1:1 ratio in a coffee grinder. Brew the mixture 1 tsp. per glass of boiling water, leave in a warm place for 10 minutes and drink as tea 2 times a day.

SWEDISH REJUVENATING DRINK “VIKING”
Mix a teaspoon of dried rose hips, nettle herbs and knotweed, pour a glass of boiling water and leave for 3 hours. Drink in the morning instead of tea.

ITALIAN DRINK OF VIVILITY AND LONGEVITY.

Pour 2 tablespoons of mint into 1 liter of boiling water, leave for 5 minutes, strain. Add juice of 1/2 lemon and 1 tbsp. honey Take 1 glass at night from February to April and from October to December.
________________

POLISH COCKTAILS OF YOUTH.

"PANI VALEWSKAYA"
Mix 1 tbsp. dry blackcurrant leaves, oregano, 3 tbsp blackberry leaves and stone fruit. 1 tbsp. pour 2 cups of boiling water over the mixture, leave in a thermos for 20 minutes, strain and drink 1/2 cup after meals..
2nd COCKTAIL.
Mix 2 tsp. blueberry leaves, string grass, St. John's wort, stone fruit leaves, 3 tsp. rose hips, 1 tsp thyme. Brew 1 teaspoon of the mixture per glass of boiling water and drink like tea.

RECIPE FOR LONGEVITY.
Licorice root or licorice infusion.
Pour a tablespoon of powder into a glass of boiling water, leave for 2 hours, drink warmed one tablespoon at a time 3-5 times before meals. An excellent remedy for loss of strength and apathy. For herpes on the lips, purulent pimples: soak a piece of paper napkin in the lotion and apply it to the painful area for 3-4 minutes.
Apply lotions 4-5 times a day until the inflammation goes away. Store the lotion in the refrigerator.

ELIXIRS OF VIVIDITY

When the body is exhausted, it is useful to use the recommended folk remedies
medicine general strengthening recipes:

1. Mix 500 g of chopped walnuts with 300 g of honey, 100 g of aloe juice, 50 g of parsnip root powder. Store in a dark place. Take 1 tbsp. spoon 3 times a day 30 minutes before meals.

2. Grind the washed blackcurrant berries and pour honey in a 1:1 ratio, stir well. Store in a cool, dark place. Take 1 tbsp. spoon a day 3 minutes before meals, washed down with a decoction of the rhizomes of Radiola rosea.

EASTERN ELIXIR OF YOUTH.

100 ml. lemon juice.
200 g honey.
50 ml. olive oil.

Mix all ingredients and take one teaspoon on an empty stomach.

In addition to the fact that by using this product you will look younger before your eyes (your complexion will improve, your eyes will shine, your skin will smooth out), you will get rid of constipation (if you suffer from it) and will never know what sclerosis is.

Elixir of Youth-1
This remedy perfectly cures shortness of breath, rejuvenates, and cleanses the blood. Its use is especially useful for overweight, middle-aged people.

Crush 400g of garlic, squeeze the juice from 4 lemons, pour into a wide-necked jar. Mix the juice and crushed garlic, close the jar with a light linen cloth and place in a dark place for 24 days. Shake when taking. Take 1 tsp once a day before bedtime. mixture in half a glass of water. After 10-12 days you will feel a lack of fatigue and sound sleep will improve.

Elixir of Youth-2
The proposed elixir of youth will help cleanse blood vessels and also relieve shortness of breath. To prepare it you will need 1 liter of May honey, the juice of 10 lemons and 10 heads of garlic. Grind all ingredients well and leave for a week in a closed jar. Take 1 tsp. in the morning on an empty stomach, without missing a single day. The medicine should last for 2 months.
Elixir 3
The effect is amazing: vision noticeably improves, skin becomes smooth, gray hair disappears, hair becomes thicker and darker. And this is the product. Ingredients:
- 200 g of flaxseed oil (sold in a pharmacy),
- 4 lemons,
- 3 small heads of garlic,
- 1 kg of honey.
Preparation:
Grind peeled garlic cloves, 2 peeled lemons, 2 peeled lemons in a meat grinder. Mix all declared products, transfer to a glass jar with a lid and store in the refrigerator.
Application:
Take one tablespoon (wooden) half an hour before meals. Preferably 3 times a day, but 1 time is possible (this is better than nothing).

Elixirs of immortality, living water, recipes for eternal youth - this is a favorite topic of myths, legends, historical and archaeological investigations, and scientific works. We decided to look into the topic and find out what humanity ultimately managed to do on the path to immortality.

Where and how did they look for immortality?

The elixir of youth and immortality is mentioned in the legends and traditions of many peoples of the world as the food of the gods. Gods Ancient Greece ate ambrosia, gods Ancient India- Amrita, Iranian gods - Haoma, the gods of Ancient Egypt drank the water of immortality. One of the tales of the Epic of Gilgamesh, the oldest work of literature, is dedicated to the search for immortality. Ancient East, created almost 5000 ago. Alchemists from different countries tried to recreate the recipes for the miraculous drinks described in ancient books by order of the rulers.

Chinese emperors were especially obsessed with searching for recipes for immortality. Thus, the Emperor of China Qin Shi Huangdi was pathologically afraid of dying and desperately wanted to find the elixir of immortality, which, according to Chinese mythology, would ensure eternal life for three sacred mountains in the middle of the sea. During his reign, he equipped two expeditions for the magic drink: in 219 and 210 BC. e. For the first time, he directed people towards the sacred island mountains, where, according to legend, the immortals lived. There was no news of that campaign. Therefore, Qin organized a second expedition, which included four magicians, including the court fortuneteller at the court of Xu Fu. Upon his return, Fu informed the emperor about the unsuccessful search and the giant fish that prevented him from reaching the magical island of Penglai. He also showed a magical text that reported the fall of the Qin Dynasty due to the invasion of barbarians. It is described that Xu Fu's fleet consisted of 60 ships with a crew of 5,000 sailors, on the ships were 3,000 girls and boys and artisans with different skills. The third time, Xu Fu also took archers on a trip to exterminate the fish, but never returned: researchers suggest that he settled in Japan, mistaking the Japanese Mount Fuji for the mythical Mount Penglai. Soon, the 39-year-old emperor took custom-made immortality elixir pills and died because they contained mercury. He was buried in a huge mausoleum built in advance: it was erected by 700,000 workers and artisans, the perimeter of the outer burial wall was 6 km.

The subsequent Emperor Wudi also engaged in similar searches: he paid magicians and spellcasters, and executed those whom he accused of charlatanism. Another Chinese emperor, Xuanzong, who ruled in the 19th century, also died from the elixir of immortality. It is known that the elixir was prepared by Taoist monks in a special way - they boiled it for a year. The 49-year-old emperor drank the drink for a month and, ironically, did not rejuvenate, but died.

What were the elixirs made from?

Finding out the recipe for Chinese living water is a task within the power of scientists. At the beginning of March this year, Chinese archaeologists discovered 3.5 liters of the ancient elixir of immortality. The discovery was made in Henan province in the city of Luoyang during the excavation of a tomb with an area of ​​210 m², dating from the period of the Western Han Empire (202 BC - 8 AD). Archaeologists recovered an ancient jug and, upon opening, noted the smell of alcohol. Laboratory analysis of the liquid showed that the contents were a mixture of potassium nitrate and alunite (alum stone). According to scientists, this corresponds to the recipe for the elixir of immortality, which is known from Taoist texts.

“This is the first time that mythical immortality medicines have been found in China,” said Shi Jiaren, head of the Institute of Cultural Relics and Archeology in Luoyang.

Other ancient civilizations had different recipes from the Chinese. For example, people replaced ambrosia, an ancient Greek divine drink, with olive oil and fat. Another elixir of immortality in ancient times was lammer-vine - a concentrate of unknown composition in which amber was dissolved.

European alchemists believed that the composition should contain an eternal substance - for example, gold. One of the recipes for the elixir of immortality belongs to the personal physician of Pope Boniface XIII: he suggested mixing crushed gold, pearls, sapphires, emeralds, topazes, white and red corals, ivory, sandalwood, deer heart, aloe root, musk and ambergris.

The most common elements of elixirs are gold, jade, mercury, arsenic, as well as many other substances that have toxic properties. It is not surprising that the consumption of such liquids often led to poisoning and death.

Extending life scientifically

Nowadays, the search for the elixir of immortality continues: gerontological scientists are looking for ways to prolong a person’s youth and life, research and experiments are being conducted. Thus, in the USA, near San Francisco, the Ambrosia center opened, where elderly patients are transfused with blood from young donors. About 600 people volunteered to participate in the first stage of the large-scale study and agreed to pay $8,000 for the opportunity to rejuvenate: within two days they were transfused with plasma from donors under 25 years of age. In total, subjects receive about 1.5 liters of young plasma.

The very idea of ​​blood transfusion for rejuvenation is not new - it was expressed by Robert Boyle in the 17th century - but it has only now come to fruition. The test was first carried out on mice. In 2012, Dr. Robin Franklin from the University of Cambridge proved that the blood of young mice benefits older ones: their memory, learning ability and other indicators improved. Conversely, transfusion of old blood to young individuals worsened the condition of the latter.

The experiment on older Americans is being conducted by 32-year-old Dr. Jesse Karmazin, and he is already reporting positive results for patients: the level of proteins responsible for the development of cancer and Alzheimer's disease has dropped by 20%, sleep, mood, cognitive abilities, muscle tone and even improved. appearance. To be fair, it is worth noting that scientific community looks askance at these experiments and advises all volunteers to refuse to conduct experiments.

Another modern elixir of youth was discovered by Australian scientists: they gave the Japanese Ashitaba plant to animals and noticed that with its regular use, the life of the animals increased by 20%. According to researchers, aging of the body occurs from an excess of food, which leads to the accumulation of various mutations in the cells of the body. Ashitaba produces a substance that causes the body's cells to process "biological waste." It is this feature of the plant that prolongs the body’s youth and, as a result, life.

The recipe for longevity from Australian scientists looks like this: moderate fasting (lack of food activates and accelerates the process of destroying incorrectly folded proteins and damaged mitochondria), a balanced diet combined with a small intake of Ashitaba extract and moderate physical activity - in movement the body gets rid of heavy metals and other toxic substances formations.

It always seemed to a person that the period of life allotted to him was too short. Many tried to correct the matter, looking for ways to prolong life or even make it endless. Some people almost succeeded...

"Mahabharata" - the epic of Ancient India - tells the story of the sap of some mysterious tree, which prolongs a person's life to ten thousand years. But where exactly one should look for him remained a mystery. Ancient Greek historians also knew about the “tree of life,” however, they already argued that it was not sap, but the fruits of some overseas tree that could restore youth to a person, but not give immortality. Russian epics sing of “living water,” the source of which was located in the middle of the ocean on the island of Buyan. But no one has ever found either the “tree of life” or the source of “living water.”

Nevertheless, the search for a means of eternal life continued. When Christopher Columbus discovered unknown new lands in the West in Atlantic Ocean, hopes of finally finding the source of immortality were transferred there. Some even believed that it had already been found and gave the exact coordinates. Thus, the Italian humanist Pedro Martyr, a close acquaintance of Columbus, wrote to Pope Leo X:

“To the north of Hispaniola, among other islands, there is one island at a distance of three hundred and twenty miles from it, as those who have found it say. On the island there flows an inexhaustible spring of running water of such wonderful quality that an old man who drinks it while following a certain diet will after a while turn into a young man. I beg Your Holiness, do not think that I said this out of frivolity or at random: this rumor has really established itself at court as an undoubted truth, and not only the common people, but also many of those who stand above the crowd in their intelligence or wealth, too they believe him."

It is unknown how many expeditions went in search of mysterious island with its magical source. It is only known that as a result of one of these expeditions, America was once again discovered: a noble Spanish nobleman, in search of “living water,” reached the New World and, believing that there was another island in front of him, christened the land Florida (“blooming”). But he still did not gain immortality.

But today it’s no longer fairy tales, and from the results of scientific research it is known that water really affects people’s life expectancy and health. The human body is seventy percent water, and it is by no means indifferent to what kind of water nourishes its tissues. Residents of some Caribbean islands look much younger than their European peers and explain this phenomenon quite casually:

On our island, such water flows from springs that rejuvenates a person.

Residents of the central regions of Sri Lanka have excellent health and also look younger than their years - due to the climate and water from mountain springs. Many mountaineers surprise with their longevity and excellent physical condition. So the search for the elixir of immortality is not as hopeless as it might seem. Man, of course, will not cease to be mortal, but he is quite capable of living twice as long as he lives now. In any case, our skeleton has a “margin of safety” for one hundred and twenty years of active (!) life, so there is clearly an untapped natural reserve.

But let's return to the search for the elixir of immortality. In addition to magic water, there were many “man-made” recipes. Only those that clearly did not give the desired result have reached us. For if someone once managed to create such an elixir, its recipe, of course, was kept in the deepest secrecy. How would you like this tool:

“You need to take a toad that has lived ten thousand years and a bat that has lived a thousand years, dry them in the shade, grind them into powder and take them.”

Everything would be fine, but how can you find out the date of birth from cute little animals? The recipe doesn't say this.

In general, information about the successes that people have achieved in the search for immortality is scattered and unconvincing. It is known more or less reliably about two people who died in our century, having lived a very long life. This is a Chinese man who died in 1936 at the age of... 246 years (according to official documents), and an Indian man who died in 1956 at the age of 186 years. An Indian at the age of fifty retired to the Himalayas, where he took up yoga. Apparently, a combination of special exercises, diet and some other means made it possible to significantly extend his life span. You can believe these two facts, you can not believe them, but despite the fantastic nature of such phenomena, we are not talking about immortality. And the search for it has not stopped and will not stop: there are always people ready to devote years, decades, their entire lives to it...

One of these people was Alexander Cagliostro. In addition to the mystery of his origin and the unknown source of his enormous wealth, Count Cagliostro had an exciting secret:

"They say, wrote one of his contemporaries. – Cagliostro discovered the secret of preparing the elixir of life. His young-looking and charming wife is already more than forty years old, and, according to her, the count has the secret of returning youth.”

This mysterious man visited Russia too. In St. Petersburg, his appearance created a sensation. And the story of the failed duel with the court physician Roberts added new shine to his name. Extremely irritated by Roberts’ attempts to denigrate him in the eyes of the court, Cagliostro offered him an original duel - “with poisons.” Both competitors had to drink the poison prepared by the other and then take any antidote. The count insisted, but the frightened doctor flatly refused: too persistent rumors that Cagliostro possessed the secret of the elixir of immortality circulated throughout the capital.

Alas, these turned out to be just rumors. Cagliostro was captured by the Inquisition and died in its dungeons. All his personal papers were burned, and miraculously only a copy of one note, taken in the Vatican, survived. It describes the process of “regeneration,” or the return of youth:

“After taking two grains of the drug, a person loses consciousness and speechlessness for three whole days, during which he often experiences attacks of seizures and convulsions, and perspiration appears on his body. Having awakened from this state, in which, however, he does not experience the slightest pain, he must take the third and last grain on the thirty-sixth day, after which he falls into a deep and peaceful sleep. During sleep, the skin slips off, teeth and hair fall out. They all grow back within a few hours. On the morning of the fortieth day, the patient leaves the room, having become a new person, having experienced complete rejuvenation.”

Everything would be fine, but the recipe for the drug has not been preserved. And - was he there at all?

The interrogation protocols of Cagliostro contain interesting information about another mysterious person - Count Saint-Germain. Cagliostro claimed that he saw the vessel in which the count kept... the elixir of immortality. They did not believe him: Count Saint-Germain died ten years before the death of Cagliostro himself, in 1784. But then strange things began to happen.

The Count appeared in Paris in 1750, not only without a past, but even without any plausible history. However, he preferred not to talk about himself at all, only sometimes - either on purpose or by accident - he let slip about his conversations with Plato or Seneca or one of the apostles. Of course, they didn’t believe him too much, but... When someone asked the count’s coachman whether it was true that his master was four hundred years old, he replied innocently:

I don't know for sure. But in the one hundred and thirty years that I have served my master, his lordship has not changed at all.

Of course, the coachman could have been trained. But how can one explain the fact that elderly aristocratic women in the best houses recognized in Saint-Germain a man who had visited their grandmothers’ salons half a century ago? Moreover, the elderly matrons swore that he had not changed a bit during this time. Moreover, if we compare the descriptions of people who knew the count well at different times, it turns out that he was seen in England, known in Holland, and remembered in Italy. He changed names and titles - Marquis of Montfert, Count de Bellamy and a dozen others. And just as suddenly as he appeared, Count Saint-Germain disappeared from Paris and appeared in Holstein. From there the news of his death came. But none of the gravestones in the area around his castle bear the name of Saint-Germain. But it is on the list of Freemasons, whose meeting took place in Paris a year after the “death” of Saint Germain. It is reliably known that three years later the French envoy in Venice saw the count, and not only saw him, but also talked with him for a long time. And two years later, Saint-Germain found himself in one of the prisons where revolutionaries kept aristocrats. Then traces of him were lost. Did he die on the guillotine, like so many in those years? It turned out not.

Thirty years after the “imaginary death” of the count, on the sidelines of the Congress of Vienna, he was met by an old, good friend, Madame de Genlis. He did not change at all, but tried not to prolong the unexpected meeting and the next day disappeared from Vienna as mysteriously as he had done from Paris. About fifteen years later, when almost no one who knew Saint-Germain personally was alive, the count reappeared in Paris under the name of Major Fraser. He pretended to be an Englishman, had unlimited funds of unknown origin, but lived a rather secluded life. He was identified by one elderly dignitary, who miraculously survived the revolution, exile and everything connected with them. He recognized it, but unlike Madame de Genlis, he did not share this discovery with anyone, but tried to get closer to “Major Fraser,” since the years had changed him beyond recognition.

The acquaintance took place, and the dignitary gradually learned that his interlocutor was well aware of everything that happened at the French court... two hundred years ago. He spoke with such details that could not be read anywhere. Even when he spoke about very distant times and distant countries, one got the impression that he was really present there and then. The old dignitary could not stand it and let slip that at one time he had met such a person as the great Saint Germain. His interlocutor just shrugged his shoulders and started talking about something else, but... the very next day he disappeared from Paris.

Then he was allegedly seen there already in the mid-thirties of our century. But since there was no one personally acquainted with the count, these messages are difficult to consider reliable. Although if we take it as an axiom that he actually invented the elixir of immortality, then his behavior seems quite logical. Wanting to keep his secret, he had to either move from place to place and change names, or fake his death and continue living under a different name. Otherwise, he would have had no peace from those eager to penetrate his secret.

By the way, there is another person who achieved immortality, but not with the help of the elixir, but in a completely different way. According to legend, when Jesus Christ was led to the place of execution, he wanted to lean against the wall of one of the houses for a minute to rest. But the owner of the house did not allow him to do this.

Go, go! There’s no point in resting,” he allegedly shouted.

Christ unclenched his parched lips:

Fine. But you, too, will walk throughout your life. You will wander forever, and you will never have peace or death...

The owner of the house was called Agasfer. But he is better known under the nickname “The Eternal Jew,” and there are several interesting testimonies about his future fate. In 1223, he was met at the Spanish court by the Italian astrologer Guido Bonnati. Five years later, he was mentioned in one of the papers of the English abbey, which was visited by the Archbishop of Armenia. The archbishop, according to him, was personally acquainted with Agasfer, talked with him several times and was absolutely sure that it was this man who was cursed by Christ. In 1242, Agasfer appeared in France, and then disappeared for two and a half centuries.

In 1505 he was seen in Bohemia, and in 1547 in Hamburg. There Bishop Paul von Uytheen met with him, who in his notes mentions that this man spoke all languages ​​without the slightest accent, led a secluded and ascetic lifestyle, and had no property. If they gave him money, he immediately distributed it to the poor. In 1575, Agasfer appeared in Spain, in 1599 - in Vienna. From there he intended to go to Poland and then to Moscow. And there is vague evidence that he actually visited Moscow and communicated with someone. But his appearance in the German city of Lübeck in 1603 is more than documented - an entry in the city chronicle made by the burgomaster, historian and theologian in Latin:

“Last year, on January 14, a famous immortal Jew appeared in Lübeck, whom Christ, going to the crucifixion, condemned to redemption.”

Mentions of this mysterious personality were also found at a later time. The last one is dated 1830. You can believe it, you can reject it. Or you can take the point of view of one medieval doctor who wrote:

“There is nothing that can save the mortal body from death, but there is something that can postpone death, restore youth and prolong the short human life.”

Modern science is also searching for the elixir of immortality. But, first of all, scientists have established that a human cell has a strictly defined lifespan - 50 divisions. The only difference is how quickly this process occurs. For some it takes sixty years, for others it takes more than a hundred. But after this, the cell dies, and all attempts by scientists to increase the number of divisions were unsuccessful. And the experimenters chose a different path - cell rejuvenation. Some manage to achieve a positive effect, but no one has yet found an elixir. Although there are interesting results from experiments on mice.

The introduction of industrial preservatives into the mouse body, those that prevent oil spoilage, lengthened the life of the animals by almost one and a half times. Reducing his diet by a third lengthened his life by half. And the special diet generally rejuvenated the tailed ones: two-year-old individuals, that is, old men, began to behave like three-month-old youngsters. However, everyone knows that you need to eat right. Although not everyone does this... for some reason. And the way a person is designed is that he prefers to dream about a miraculous drug of instant action: he slams a glass and is healthy and young again.

But in fact, if someone achieved immortality, sooner or later he would have to ask himself the question - why live an endless life? Even the most exquisite pleasures become boring, even the most favorite activities can become boring. And you can renounce immortality itself, as, according to legend, the wisest of the wise, King Solomon, did. When he was offered the elixir of immortality, he refused to accept it because he did not want to outlive those who were close to him and whom he loved...

There is, after all, such a view of immortality.