At all times, people dreamed of becoming immortal. How many hunters for life without death have searched for the formula of the treasured elixir on the worn pages of ancient tomes. The endless race for eternal life became the curse and obsession of many seekers, pushing them to commit monstrous crimes.

It is believed that the elixir of immortality is a fabulously magical substance that can rejuvenate the human body and make a person’s life endless.

The elixir of immortality is often mentioned in the myths, traditions and legends of many peoples as the “food” of the gods. For example, the gods of Ancient India ate amrita, Ancient Greece- ambrosia, Ancient Egypt- water of immortality, Iranian deities - haoma.

The desire to acquire immortal life was the most desirable and tempting goal. But no one can say with certainty that anyone managed to gain immortal life - this possibility still remains a mystery.

Every person is sure that his life span is very short. How many means were there to gain endless life! And every time they gave hope to prolong life! It is possible that some people still succeeded...

The ancient Indian epic "Mahabharata" talks about the juice of a certain plant that prolongs human life to 10 thousand years. But where to find this wonderful plant is not said. But ancient Greek sources talk about the fruit of the “tree of life”, which can restore youth to a person. In Russian epics you can often find mention of “living water”, the source of which is located on the island of Buyan.

At the time of the discoveries of Christopher Columbus, many believed that lands had been found on which the sources of eternal life were located. Thus, an associate of Columbus wrote this to Pope Leo X: “North of Hispaniola, among other islands, there is one island at a distance of three hundred and twenty miles from it, as those who found it say, on the island there flows an inexhaustible spring of flowing 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."

Many seekers have spent the time of their lives searching for an island with a mysterious source. As a result, many unknown lands were discovered, but no one found the source of immortality.

But there are many known recipes for the elixir of immortality. For example, a Tibetan recipe: put stones in a glass jar - rock crystal, smoky and rose quartz, amethyst, carnelian, cacholong and fill with water, then put it in the sun for 10 hours. As a result of exposure to sunlight on this solution, a rejuvenating drink is obtained that significantly increases vitality. This drink is taken orally, washed with it, and applied as a compress for cuts, bruises and burns.

Or here is another fairly simple recipe for preparing a rejuvenating infusion - it is known to many as a remedy discovered by Tibetan monks. An infusion is prepared from the herbs chamomile, immortelle and birch buds in equal quantities and taken half a glass with honey. The course lasts 45 days, but can be repeated only after five years.

The recipe for the elixir of youth, which is described in ancient Indian legends, is also quite simple. Chopped two heads of garlic need to be boiled in 1 liter of milk, and then left for at least 1 hour. You need to drink this infusion 1 tablespoon three times a day. This life-giving liquid helps cleanse blood vessels and improve immunity.

Many researchers claim that at one time Cleopatra allegedly drank a drink that gave immortality. However, since she committed suicide some time later, it is impossible to judge the success of the experiment.

Also interesting is the incident that happened to the Chinese Emperor Xuanzong (8th century). The court healer-alchemist prepared a drink of immortality for his ruler. The drug was prepared over the course of a year. But a month later, after taking the “drink of immortality,” the emperor died.

They say that in the small provincial Japanese town of Fukuoka there lived a 75-year-old woman named Sei Senagon. Perhaps her fate would have been the same as that of millions of women her age, if not for the mistake of the medical staff. She received an excessive dose of hormonal medication. The result stunned everyone - like a child, her teeth grew again, gray hair and wrinkles disappeared. The rejuvenated Japanese woman not only got married, but also gave birth to a child. After this, many older people rushed to take hormonal drugs, but none of them achieved the desired result.

Today, there are many theories that explain aging, but none of them is a universal remedy or basis for combating this phenomenon.

According to the Bible, initially, human life was eternal. However, the fall of Eve and Adam led to punishment, which consisted of deprivation of the gift of immortality. However, there are no rules without exceptions - it is known that the Lord gave one of Noah’s ancestors, Methuselah, the opportunity to live up to 969 years. Since then it has become catchphrase"Methuselah's age."

The legendary Hippocrates believed that a decrepit man could turn on the process of rejuvenation through sexual contacts with young girls. This is exactly the method that the famous King David used, thereby delaying the time of his decrepitude.

It should be noted that today the life and immortality of Count Cagliostro is being discussed quite a lot - some consider him a charlatan and a rogue, others consider him a man who knew the secret of the philosopher's stone.

It should be noted that interest in the philosopher's stone arose in the middle of the 10th century and continues to this day. The Philosopher's Stone is a mythical substance considered to be the beginning of all beginnings. It can give its owner immortality, knowledge and eternal youth. But not only these properties attracted alchemists all over the world. The main reason for the search for this mythical substance was that the philosopher's stone was capable of turning any metal into gold.

Modern science does not deny the possibility of transforming one chemical element into another. In addition, it must be said that today there are many legends about the transformation of metals into gold. For example, they say that Raymond Lully, by order of the English king Edward II, smelted about 60 thousand pounds of gold from tin, mercury and lead. And this gold was of the highest standard. Coins minted from this gold are still kept in English museums.

Or after the death of Emperor Rudolf II (1552-1612), a large amount of gold and silver bullion remained in the treasury (approximately 8 and 6 tons, respectively). No one could understand where he could get such an amount of precious metal, and most importantly, it was of such a high standard that it did not contain any impurities. And this fact amazed the researchers most of all, since at that time it was technically impossible to obtain a precious metal of such quality.

But let us return to the legends of immortality. They say the legendary Genghis Khan, feeling that his strength was waning and old age was just around the corner, gathered sorcerers, healers, sages and healers from all his lands, who claimed to know the secret of the elixir of youth and immortality. He ordered everyone to prepare an elixir. The test was simple - after the healer drank his potion, his head was cut off. If the severed head did not grow back when placed on the body, the next healer passed the test. This “fun” of Genghis Khan would have lasted long enough if one decrepit sage had not told him: “Great Khan, I have lived in this world for many years and have long lost count of my days. I have read many wise ancient books, and I know many hidden secrets. But there is no elixir of immortality, you are doing a useless task and wasting your allotted days. The immortality of the mortal body does not exist. Only the deeds of a deceased person and his spirit are immortal.” Having released the wise old man, the great conqueror ordered to prepare for a new campaign to conquer the whole world. According to legend, Genghis Khan died during a campaign against the Tangut state in 1227.

In India they will tell you about Raja Tapasviji, who lived 186 years (1770-1956) and this is documented. At 50, he retired to the Himalayas and became a hermit. By practicing spiritual practices and yoga, he achieved perfection in controlling his body (the state of samadhi). Tapasviji spoke about his meeting with an old hermit who spoke only the language of Ancient India - Sanskrit and claimed that he lived about 5 thousand years. This old man told Tapasviji about the elixir of immortality that he had. The drink should be taken no more than once every 10 years. After the death of Tapasviji, his home was carefully examined to find the elixir of immortality, but the search was fruitless.

Scientists believe that some multicellular organisms existing on earth are potentially immortal or capable of long-lasting existence if this existence is not interrupted by some accident. Such organisms include freshwater hydras, sea anemones, and some types of fish and reptiles. It is possible that this quality is facilitated by the low energy level of metabolism of these organisms, so their rate of aging is significantly slowed down.

At the same time, the opinion of modern scientists gives hope that science can solve the problem of increasing human lifespan. In this regard, genetic engineering, stem cell technology, transplantology, hormonal therapy and many other branches of medicine are actively developing. Developments in the field of cryobiology and artificial intelligence are very promising.

American physicist R. Feynman said: “If a person decided to build a perpetual motion machine, he would be faced with a ban in the form of a physical law. In contrast to this situation, in biology there is no law that would assert the obligatory finitude of the life of each individual.”

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 the 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, not from fairy tales, but 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 islands Caribbean 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 central regions Sri Lankans 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 already 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 whole 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 person 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 of it. 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 innocently replied:

I do not know exactly. 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 in different times, it turns out that he was seen in England, known in Holland, 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.

There is, by the way, 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 evidence about his further 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 rid the mortal body of 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 the spoilage of oil, 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 this is how a person is designed 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.

Other Worlds Gorbovsky Alexander Alfredovich

New elixir of immortality?

New elixir of immortality?

The famous Russian scientist V. M. Bekhterev studied the problem of immortality. I. I. Mechnikov worked hard on this problem, trying to obtain a certain serum that would stimulate the activity of cells and thereby rejuvenate the entire body. In fact, it was one of the variants of the same elusive “elixir of immortality,” only at the level of science. Some semblance of such a serum was produced by the Soviet academician A. A. Bogomolets. This composition increased the stability of the aging body and actually produced a certain rejuvenating effect.

The Swiss doctor P. Nigans strove for the same goal, but in different ways. He tried to rejuvenate the body by injecting it with serum from the tissues of newborn deer.

It turns out that various compositions have some rejuvenating properties. Thus, in experiments conducted at the 2nd Moscow Medical Institute, mice were injected with royal jelly from bees. As a result, the life expectancy of the test subjects doubled!

Soviet scientists developed the drug NRV - petroleum growth substance. After taking NRV, performance increased, gray people's hair darkened, tissue metabolism improved, etc. However, during long-term testing, this version of the “elixir of youth” did not justify itself. (Currently, NPV as a stimulant is approved only for external use.) But most of all hopes and expectations for returning youth and prolonging life are associated with hormones.

When thyroid hormone was administered to older people, the results were amazing: literally rejuvenation of the entire body began. However, the beneficial effect was short-lived.

One of the researchers working in this area, the American doctor Robert A. Wilcoy, has set himself the noble but difficult task of restoring youth to women. He developed a complex course of treatment, including a specific diet, taking vitamins and salts in combination with injections of the female sex hormones estrogen and progesterone. Allegedly, he managed not only to stop the age-related changes occurring in the body, but also to cause something like a reverse process. And what is especially important is that these changes affected not only the general condition, but also appearance, to which women, not without reason, attach so much importance.

For several years now, one of the Swedish clinics has been successfully working with the hormone thymosin. Experiments on mice exceeded all expectations and hopes. The hormone slowed down their aging process so much that time seemed to stand still for them. Hormone injections were also given to patients. A correspondent who visited the clinic met a woman there who looked to be about 60 years old.

It turned out that she was actually 89 years old. The doctor himself involved in these experiments believes that systematic administration of the hormone could increase life expectancy to 130 years.

In light of these facts, it does not seem an exaggeration to report a “rejuvenating hormone” for some insects, which was isolated in one of the laboratories. The introduction of this hormone can ensure that the insect remains at a “young age” for an unlimited time. This discovery, like others discussed, gives hope that sooner or later a similar hormonal composition can be found for humans.

But perhaps, others say, it’s not the hormones at all. We cut branches, they say, without touching the roots.

The roots of aging lie elsewhere - in the fact that over the years, a large number of fragments of molecules with a high electrical potential, the so-called “free radicals,” accumulate in the body. They cause unwanted and irreversible changes in the body. If only we could find a way to neutralize them...

And now messages have been received about the first steps. The simplest remedy was used - preservatives used in industry to prevent oil spoilage. Experiments on mice showed that individuals from the experimental group lived almost one and a half times longer than those from the control group. In relation to humans, this means that life could be extended to an average of 105 years. Modest result? Maybe. But this is just the beginning. If we learn to neutralize “free radicals,” some scientists believe, human life can be extended to several centuries.

There are other directions too. And they promise even more.

Here is a man who is not much different from others.

It's probably no different at all. And only by accidentally touching his hand, you can feel that it is unusually cold. Feel it - and not attach any importance to it. Or - to give, if we know what this could mean. If we know about the experiments that are currently being conducted to artificially reduce body temperature.

If you introduce a solution of sodium and calcium into the thermostat of our body - the hypothalamus - you can regulate the temperature of the entire body in a certain way. By performing this manipulation on monkeys, it was possible to reduce their body temperature by as much as 6°C. At the same time, the monkeys themselves did not freeze, were neither sleepy nor lethargic - no side effects were noticed.

Now it’s time for humans and experiments on humans.

But why, what is the point of this?

The meaning is still the same - prolongation of life. If you lower a person’s body temperature by just 2°, their life expectancy will increase to an average of 200 years. At a body temperature of 33°, a person is expected to live about 700 years! According to the researcher, “If the thermostat is adjusted to a lower temperature, there is no reason to assume that we will feel differently than at 37°, we will react to changes in external temperature in exactly the same way as we do now.”

It is assumed that the remedy for such a reduction in temperature will be produced in the form of pills that everyone can buy. When? Typically, the period from the discovery of a drug to its mass production and sale is 5-6 years. If this discovery is tested on volunteers and proves itself, perhaps such a drug will begin to be produced in the coming years.

There is no contradiction in the very many paths along which the search for a new “elixir of immortality” is taking place. One path illuminates the search on another path, in another direction.

The results of experiments in recent years and decades - don’t they suggest that the messages of the ancients about “elixirs of youth” and eternal life are not such fairy tales?

Perhaps some kind of memory was reflected in the evidence that has reached us, some echo of reality was preserved?

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Alchemy is a game like cards, where you can, having set a person on fire, cheat him.
Ben Jonson. Alchemist

When talking about the search for this stone, people usually remember the mysterious art of alchemy. Today, alchemy is considered by many to be a primitive form of chemistry, but it was something more, since it extended much beyond protochemistry into the realm of mystical and occult knowledge. Just as astrology studied the dependence of human life on the stars, so alchemy explored the connection of man with earthly nature, combining chemistry and magic. Alchemists used chemistry as a metaphor for human relationships, just as astrologers used the stars. The ancient Greeks, Chinese, and Indians commonly referred to alchemy as an Art, or, speaking of the primary purpose of alchemy, alteration or transmutation in the broadest sense: chemical transformations capable of transforming common metals into gold, a precious metal highly prized for its color and ability not to rust. even after lying in the ground for hundreds of years. Transmutation also involved physiological changes from disease to health: alchemists believed they could use the stone to create an elixir that could turn dead tissue into living flesh. For the Chinese and Indians, transmutation also meant a transition from the earthly state to the spiritual world.

The idea of ​​the elixir of immortality belongs to the Chinese Taoists, who, among other things, were looking for ways to achieve immortality. Founded in the 6th century BC by the sage Lao Tzu, this combination of religion, philosophy, magic and primitive science gave rise to all areas of practical chemistry: sophisticated methods of preserving dead bodies (an example is the tomb of a woman at Ma Wandui with a hermetic chamber sealed with kaolin clay); rigor in the execution of procedures and measurements; the use of a variety of devices, furnaces, forges, vessels for reactions and distillation; and, of course, the belief that the elixir could somehow stop aging - the search for it began around the 4th century BC. It was believed that the strongest form of such a substance should be a solution containing a metal resistant to corrosion, "drinking gold", then it was believed that the immutability of this noble metal should be transmitted to the person who drank it.

One scientist gave more than 1,000 names for the elixir, where gold was not the only ingredient. For example, the book "Great Secrets of Alchemy" by Song Qimiao (581-673 AD) describes formulas based on the use of mercury, sulfur and arsenic. According to the English historian Joseph Needham, it is possible that some Chinese emperors even died as a result of poisoning with such “elixirs of immortality.” Hundreds of years later, the failure of the Chinese alchemists became obvious, since they strictly adhered to their only goal - finding the elixir of immortality, unlike their Western colleagues, who along with this sought to discover a way to obtain gold. It is believed that this was one of the reasons why Chinese alchemy did not achieve any significant results compared to European; another reason is that the Chinese adopted Buddhism, which offered a safer path to immortality.

Western alchemy originated in antiquity, during the heyday of classical Greek civilization, beginning roughly with the death of Alexander the Great (323 BC) until the defeat of Antony and Cleopatra in 30 BC. Bolos of Mend, a Hellenized Egyptian who lived in the Nile Delta in the 1st century BC, wrote a book On Nature and Mystery, which contained secret recipes for the preparation of gold and silver. Most of these recipes ended brief description transmutation: “One essence will be revealed in another essence, one essence will prevail over another essence, one essence will subjugate another essence.”

In Alexandria, Egypt, early alchemy flourished thanks to centuries of experience in the forging and processing of gold, as vividly illustrated by the stunning gold artifacts preserved in the tombs of the pharaohs. It was from this experience that a discussion arose among the philosophers of the day about how the base metals could be converted into gold. The Stockholm and Leiden papyri, which date back to the 3rd century AD, describe how to make fake gold look like real gold using a mixture of sulfates, salts and iron alum. Based on the work of Zosimus of Panopolitan, who lived in the 3rd century AD, it can be assumed that alchemical theory concentrated on the invention of a tincture that could cause transmutation instantly, and it came to be called the philosopher's stone.

Later, the focus of alchemy turns to a complex set of semi-religious and quasi-magical ideas - from astrology with alchemy to numerology and other occult sciences - which seem to have originated in the Egypt of Moses under the influence of the belief in the god Thoth. They are called the "hermetic body" or "hermetic", after the Greek counterpart of Thoth - Hermes Trismegistus (Thrice Greatest). Other components of the Hermetics come from the Kabbalah, the Jewish doctrine of the secret, mystical interpretation of the Old Testament.

Only a select few were able to look into the magical world described in the hermetic. Nicholas Flamel, one of those who had access to the "Hermetic Art", appears in the first Harry Potter book. Flamel actually lived in the 14th century and is said to have created the philosopher's stone. According to Lawrence Principe of Johns Hopkins University, an expert on alchemy, "The Harry Potter books introduced millions of readers to a legendary character in the history of chemistry. Otherwise, people would probably never have known about him."

This classic story is one of the most famous inspiring myths of alchemy. Flamel was born in 1330, apparently in Paris, from a lower class background and became a clerk and bookseller. The story goes that an angel appeared to Flamel in a vivid vision and gave him a book on the Hermetic art, saying: “Read this book carefully, Nicholas. At first you will not understand anything from it, neither you nor anyone else. But one day you will see in it something that no one else can see."

Later, a stranger came to his store, who urgently needed to sell an old book, as he was desperate for money. Flamel immediately recognized a volume with a copper cover with strange engraved patterns and letters in an ancient language, like those that the angel had shown him. He was able to find out that this book was written by Abraham the Jew. Flamel was familiar with the alchemical works of his contemporaries and knew something about transmutations, but it still took him twenty-one years to decipher the mysteries of the hermetic corpus.

Since parts of the corpus were written in Hebrew, Flamel's wife Pernelle suggested that he seek advice from some Jewish rabbi who studied mystical Kabbalistic texts. Knowing that many Jews were forced to move from France to Spain, Flamel rushed there, to Santiagoda-Compostella, along with pilgrims to the Church of St. James, hoping to meet the right person along the way. Already on the way back, he met the Jewish sage Kanches, who was able to shed light on the secrets of this mysterious manuscript and gave Flamel the key with which he was able to decipher the entire contents of the book.

Flamel returned home to his wife, and after three years their efforts were crowned with success. Around noon on Monday, January 17, 1382, they turned half a pound of mercury into silver using the white philosopher's stone. Then at five o'clock in the afternoon on April 25, 1382, they turned mercury into gold using a red type of stone. Flamel and Pernel continued their work and received the stone several more times.

In the end, they began to say that Flamel managed to prepare the coveted elixir of immortality. However, this elixir apparently did not help him much, since he died in 1417 (or March 22, 1418, according to another source), having lived to be eighty-seven or eighty-eight years old. Today his tombstone is in the Cluny Museum, where it was transported from a Parisian grocery store where it was used as a cutting board.

However, some believe that Flamel staged his funeral. This view is confirmed in the first Harry Potter book, where Flamel and his wife have a much happier fate, living to the ages of 665 and 658 or so, living a quiet life and making pottery in Devon. How did they do it? Perhaps the answer lies in Flamel's most famous book, An Explanation of Hieroglyphic Figures, or His Secret Book of the Blessed Stone, Called the Stone of the Philosophers, where, with the help of various figures supposedly carved on a crypt that Flamel acquired in a local parish, he encrypted the method of making stone Like other alchemists, he kept the nature of the stone secret and spoke of his work only in the most vague and figurative terms, giving no clues as to what he was doing.

According to one theory, Flamel announced the creation of the stone to hide the real source of his wealth, which was acquired through dubious transactions. Some sources note that Flamel indeed became a very rich man, so much so that he was able to found and finance fourteen hospitals, seven churches and three cathedrals in Paris alone and even more in Boulogne.

However, upon closer examination, Princip discovered that Flamel's story was not supported by the facts. "In the world of alchemy, as in the world of magic, things often seem not to be as they are." The Flamel couple actually lived at that time, but modern historians have been unable to find evidence that they ever practiced alchemy; the first mention of their interest in the philosopher's stone appeared in 1500, long after their death. Flamel's most famous book, “Hieroglyphic Figures,” was published in 1612 and, as research has shown, was written at the end of the 16th century. All other alchemical texts attributed to Flamel were created after his death.

“Archival documents show that Flamel’s fortune was not as enormous as the stories would have us believe, and it was born not through the transmutation of metals, but through a clever game on the Paris real estate exchange and was supplemented by the fortune that Pernelle inherited from previous marriages,” - says Princeipe. Nevertheless, after his death, the story of Flamel continued to acquire details and details. Early evidence speaks of his enormous wealth, and in the 18th century there was talk of extending life, no doubt with the help of the philosopher's stone.

In 1712, one traveler met with a “learned dervish from Asia Minor,” who had recently seen the Flamel couple, healthy and strong, already over 375 years old, living in India. Half a century later they find themselves at the Paris Opera. “This interesting detail is also quoted in the Harry Potter book, where Rowling calls Nicholas an opera aficionado and mentions his age as 665 years old (this was in 1995 or 1996),” says Princip.

Even though his practice of alchemy was dubious, not to mention the fact that he allegedly found the philosopher's stone, Flamel's work had a great influence on famous 17th-century alchemists such as Robert Boyle and Sir Isaac Newton. Newton had a copy of Flamel's work and wrote a seven-page review entitled "An Explanation of the Hieroglyphic Figures of Nicholas Flamel, Year 1399," attempting to show the real ancient alchemy of which the modern idea is distorted.

The desire to find a stone did not seem too dubious an undertaking in an era bordering magic and science. The idea that metals consist of a collection of elementary primary substances was very popular at that time, and this idea itself originates from ancient Greek philosophy and science. Empedocles, and then Aristotle, developed the theory that all things are composed of four elements - air, earth, water and fire. Thus, if an alchemist could find a way to change this mixture, then it is logical to expect that it would be possible to change one metal into another.

As Princip says, at the beginning of the modern era, alchemists, as a rule, isolated various primary substances. Like any self-respecting scientist of antiquity, they noticed that Aristotle’s recipes could not be repeated in their laboratory. The widespread idea that all metals consist of only two elementary substances, sulfur and mercury, in different proportions and different purities, arose around the 9th century, and only then came to Europe.

However, by “sulfur” and “mercury” they did not mean the elements themselves, but their properties: “sulfur” was usually considered as the primary element of combustion and color, and was believed to be present in metals, since they change into an earth-like substance under exposure to fire. "Mercury", a metallic primordial substance, was attributed such properties as fusibility, malleability and luster. Thus, if you combine the yellow color of sulfur with the metallic luster of mercury, you get a yellow metal. With the right recipe, you can create gold.

As Flamel's story shows, there were two types of philosopher's stone, or perhaps two degrees of perfection: one for the transmutation of "imperfect" metals into silver - the white stone, and the other for the creation of gold - the red stone, or "powder of transmutation". In the first Harry Potter book, Voldemort is hunting for a stone that is as red as blood.

Usually the elixir of immortality is described as a solution of stone in wine, reviving the flowering of youth. How does he work? Just. In the words of Paracelsus (the Falstaffian character and pioneer in the field of chemistry, also known as Theophrastus Philip Aurelius Bohm-bastfon Hohenheim, 1493-1541): “The philosopher’s stone cleanses the human body of all impurities by introducing new and younger forces that join to his nature."

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. Residents of Sri Lanka consider the climate and water of mountain springs to be the reason for their health. 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 world's largest scientific centers that study 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 he was called by different names. The gods of the ancient Greeks used the gift eternal life ambrosia, Indian gods - amrita, Iranian gods - haoma. And only the gods of Ancient Egypt, showing majestic modesty, preferred water to the 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. Does this metal contain some principle that makes it like this? 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.