It always seemed to a person that the period of life allotted to him was too short. Many have tried to fix things, looking for ways to prolong life or even make it infinite. Some have almost succeeded...

"Mahabharata" - the epic of Ancient India - tells about the juice of some mysterious tree, prolonging a person's life up to ten thousand years. But where exactly to look for him, and remained a mystery. Ancient Greek historians also knew about the “tree of life”, however, they already claimed that it was not juice, but the fruits of some overseas tree that could restore youth to a person, but not give immortality. Russian epics sing " living water”, the source of which was 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 finding, finally, the source of immortality were also transferred there. Some even believed that he 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 found it say. On the island there is an inexhaustible spring of flowing water of such miraculous properties that an old man who drinks it, while observing a certain diet, after a while will turn into a young man. I beg Your Holiness, do not think that I say this out of frivolity or at random: this rumor has indeed established itself at court as an undoubted truth, and not only the common people, but many of those who stand above the crowd in their intelligence or wealth, too believe him."

It is not known 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, dubbed the land Florida ("blooming"). But he still didn't get immortality.

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

We have such water from springs on the island that rejuvenates a person.

Inhabitants central regions Sri Lankas have excellent health and also look younger than their years - due to the climate and water from mountain sources. Many highlanders 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 unused natural reserve.

But back 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 ever managed to create such an elixir, its recipe, of course, was kept in the deepest secret. How would you like this tool:

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

Everything would be fine, but how to find out the date of their birth from cute little animals? This is not mentioned in the recipe.

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 who died in 1936 at the age of ... 246 (according to official documents), and an Indian who died in 1956 at the age of 186. 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 lengthen the life span allotted to him. You can believe these two facts, you can not believe it, but for all the fantastic nature of such phenomena, we are not talking about immortality. And the search for it did not stop and does not stop: there are always people who are ready to devote years, decades, all their lives to them ...

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 a disturbing secret:

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

This mysterious person visited Russia. In St. Petersburg, his appearance made a splash. And the story of the failed duel with the court physician Roberts added new brilliance to his name. Annoyed by Roberts' attempts to denigrate him in the eyes of the court, Cagliostro offered him an original duel - "on poisons." Both opponents 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 had the secret of the elixir of immortality circulated around the capital.

Alas, these were just rumors. Cagliostro was captured by the Inquisition and died in its dungeons. All his personal papers were burned, and only a copy of one note taken in the Vatican miraculously 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 seizures and convulsions, and perspiration appears on his body. Waking up from this state, in which, however, he does not experience the slightest pain, on the thirty-sixth day he must take the third, and last, grain, after which he falls into a deep and calm sleep. During sleep, the skin slides off it, 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, becoming a new person, having experienced complete rejuvenation.

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

The interrogation protocols of Cagliostro preserved curious information about another mysterious person - Count Saint-Germain. Cagliostro claimed to have seen a vessel in which the count keeps ... 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 having no past, but even no 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 did not believe him too much, but ... When someone asked the earl's coachman whether it was true that his master was four hundred years old, he answered ingenuously:

I do not know for sure. But in the one hundred and thirty years that I have served my master, his lordship has not changed a bit.

Of course, the coachman could be trained. But how to explain the fact that elderly aristocrats in the best houses recognized in Saint-Germain a man who 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, remembered in Italy. He changed names and titles - the Marquis of Montfert, the Comte de Bellamy, and a dozen others. And just as suddenly as he appeared, the Comte Saint-Germain disappeared from Paris and arose in Holstein. From there came the news of his death. But none of the tombstones in the vicinity of 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 authentically known that three years later the French envoy in Venice saw the count, and not only saw, but also talked with him for a long time. And two years later, Saint-Germain ended up in one of the prisons where the revolutionaries kept aristocrats. Then traces of him were lost. Died on the guillotine, like 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, kind friend - Madame de Genlis. He did not change a bit, but he tried not to delay the unexpected meeting, and the very next day he disappeared from Vienna as mysteriously as he had in his time from Paris. Fifteen years later, when almost no one who knew Saint-Germain personally was left alive, the count reappeared in Paris under the name of Major Fraser. He posed as an Englishman, had unlimited funds of unknown origin, but lived rather closed. He was recognized by an elderly dignitary who miraculously survived the revolution, exile and everything connected with them. I recognized it, but unlike Madame de Genlis, he did not share this discovery with anyone, but tried to get close to "Major Fraser", since his years had changed 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 else. 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, he mentioned that at one time he met with such a person as the great Saint-Germain. His interlocutor just shrugged his shoulders and started talking about something else, but ... the 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 reports can hardly be considered reliable. Although if we take it as an axiom that he really 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 to live under a different name. Otherwise, he would not have rest from those who are eager to penetrate his secret.

By the way, there is another person who has 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 so.

Go, go! Nothing to rest, - he allegedly shouted.

Christ parted his parched lips:

Good. But you, too, will go all your life. You will wander forever, and you will never have peace or death ...

The owner of the house was called Ahasuerus. But he is better known under the nickname "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 an English abbey visited by the archbishop of Armenia. The archbishop, according to him, was personally acquainted with Ahasuerus, talked with him more than once and was absolutely sure that it was this man who had been cursed by Christ. In 1242, Ahasuerus appeared in France, and then disappeared for two and a half centuries.

In 1505 he was seen in Bohemia, and in 1547 in Hamburg. Bishop Paul von Eytheen met him there, who in his notes mentions that this man spoke all languages ​​without the slightest accent, led a secluded and ascetic life, and had no property. If he was given money, he immediately distributed it to the poor. In 1575, Ahasuerus 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 really visited Moscow and talked to some people. 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 be crucified, doomed to redemption.”

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

“There is nothing that could 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 looking for the elixir of immortality. But, first of all, scientists have found that a human cell has a strictly defined life span - 50 divisions. The only difference is how fast this process takes place. For someone it takes sixty years, for someone it takes more than a hundred. But after that, 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 the elixir. Although there are interesting results of experiments on mice.

The introduction of industrial preservatives into the mouse body, those that prevent spoilage of the 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 a special diet generally rejuvenated the caudates: two-year-old individuals, that is, old men, began to behave like three-month-old youths. However, everyone knows that you need to eat right. Although not everyone does it ... for some reason. Yes, and so the man is arranged that he prefers to dream of a miraculous drug of instant action: he slammed a glass - and again he is healthy and young.

But in fact, if someone had achieved immortality, then 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 get boring. Yes, and immortality itself can be abandoned, as did, according to legend, the wisest of the wise - King Solomon. 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.

8 462

The human body is 70 percent water. No wonder one famous biologist figuratively called living beings "animate water." Obviously, for the health and longevity of a person, it is not indifferent what kind of water nourishes the tissues of his body. And indeed, in last years it became known that water differs 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 much about the properties of water - an important component of our body - we still do not know.

In any case, today it is no longer vague legends and not ancient legends, but scientific research that speaks of the influence of water on the health and life expectancy of the inhabitants of different regions of the Earth.

It is known that the inhabitants of some Caribbean islands, such as Guadeloupe, look much younger than their European peers. When they are asked how they manage to keep their youth 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. The inhabitants of Sri Lanka consider the climate and water of mountain springs to be the cause of their health. Apparently, it was no coincidence that the ancients tried to look for life-giving water on this island.

The longevity of the highlanders and a number of peoples of the North, some scientists also associate with the water they drink. This is the so-called "melt water effect", which has a beneficial effect on metabolism and thus, as it were, "rejuvenates" the body.

Today, the search is no longer carried out on distant islands or in 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 anxious to lengthen their lives as much as possible were, for the most part, endowed with wealth and power. They were looking for the shortest path. And such a way seemed to exist. The most ancient traditions and legends mentioned him - this is the "elixir of immortality", which the gods ate. AT different countries it was called by different names. The gods of the ancient Greeks used ambrosia, which gives eternal life, the Indian gods - amrita, the gods of the Iranians - haoma. And only the gods ancient egypt, showing majestic modesty, preferred other food of the gods - water. True, all the same water of immortality.

Of the people, no one approached the elixir of immortality as close as the alchemists, who, however, were looking for something completely different - ways to make gold. There was a certain logic to 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 so? And is it possible to isolate this substance from it or bring it into the human body along with gold? “Whoever takes gold inside,” says one ancient oriental text, “he 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 heart 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 compiled by the personal physician of Pope Boniface VIII has come down to us: gold, pearls, sapphires, emeralds, rubies, topazes, white and red corals, ivory, sandalwood, deer heart, aloe root, musk and ambergris should be mixed in crushed form. (We hope that prudence will deter readers from overly hasty application of the composition given here.)

Another composition was not much simpler, which can be found in one ancient oriental 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 the ancient Persian text: “You need to take a person, red-haired and freckled, and feed him with fruits for up to 30 years, then lower him into a stone vessel with honey and other compounds, enclose this vessel in hoops and hermetically seal it. In 120 years, his body will turn into a mummy.” After that, the contents of the vessel, including what became the mummy, could be taken as a remedy and a means of prolonging life.

Errors, which germinate in every sphere of human activity, have yielded a particularly bountiful harvest in this field. Mention may be made in this connection of a French scholar 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 desired substance of life.

The sheer senselessness of such recipes does not testify to the senselessness of the search itself. Only that which was discarded as unnecessary became known. But if we judge the history of this or that science only by unsuccessful experiments and failed discoveries, the picture will probably be about the same.

Experiments in the field of immortality were distinguished by one circumstance - the complete mystery that surrounded the results. If we imagine that one of these attempts was successful, that is, someone managed to lengthen his life somewhat, then, naturally, everything was done so that this recipe would not become anyone's property. If, having taken the drug, the object of the experiment parted with his life, he, all the more, could no longer tell anyone about his sad fate. Such a fate befell, for example, the Chinese emperor Xuanzong (713-756). He went to his royal ancestors much earlier than the due date, only because he had the imprudence to take the elixir of immortality, made by his court physician.

Among the few of whom we know that, having taken the elixir, they considered themselves immortal, there was one rich gentleman-philanthropist who lived in Moscow in the last century, whom everyone called simply by his first name and patronymic - Andrei Borisovich. By old age, he began to indulge in various researches related to the elixir of eternal life, guided mainly by his own intuition. And since a person is inclined to believe in himself more than in any other authority, it is not surprising that soon Andrei Borisovich was completely sure that he had finally found the composition he was looking for. Like many other seekers of the elixir of immortality, he preferred to keep his find a secret. He himself believed in the effect of the composition so much that he really felt rejuvenated, he even began to go to dances ... Until his last minute, he did not doubt his own immortality at all.

This case is reminiscent of the story of another Russian gentleman who lived around the same time and also believed in his own immortality. Even in his youth, once in Paris, he visited the famous soothsayer Lenormand. Having told him everything pleasant and unpleasant that awaits him in the future, Lenormand completed her prediction with a phrase that left an imprint on his whole future life.

“I must warn you,” she said, “that you will die in bed.

- When? What time? the young man turned pale.

The soothsayer shrugged.

From that moment on, he made it his goal to avoid what seemed to be destined for him by fate. Upon his return to Moscow, he ordered all beds, sofas, down jackets, pillows and blankets to be taken out of his apartment. During the day, half asleep, he rode around the city in a carriage, accompanied by a Kalmyk housekeeper, two footmen, and a fat pug, which he kept on his knees. Of all the entertainment available at the time, he enjoyed attending funerals the most. Therefore, the coachman and postilion traveled around Moscow all day in search of funeral processions, to which their master immediately joined. It is not known what he was thinking about, listening to the funeral of others - perhaps he was secretly glad that all this had nothing to do with him, since he did not go to bed, and therefore, the prediction could not come true, and he would thus avoid of death.

For fifty years he waged his duel with fate. But once, when, as usual, he was half asleep in the church, believing that he was present at the funeral, his housekeeper almost married him to some of her elderly friend. This incident so frightened the gentleman that a nervous shock occurred to him. Sick, wrapped in shawls, he sat dejectedly in his armchair, flatly refusing to obey the doctor and go to bed. Only when he was so weak that he could no longer resist did the lackeys forcefully lay him down. As soon as he felt himself in bed, he died. How strong was faith in prediction?

No matter how great the delusions and mistakes, in spite of everything, in spite of failures and disappointments, the search for immortality, the search for ways to prolong life was not interrupted. Mistakes, ignorance, failures were immediately ridiculed. But the smallest step towards success was closed by a secret.

That is why information about the successes that have been achieved along this path is isolated, scattered and unreliable.

There is, for example, a message about Bishop Allen de Lisle, a person who really existed (he died in 1278), was engaged in medicine - historical annals refer to him only as a "universal healer". He allegedly knew the composition of the elixir of immortality, or at least some method of significantly extending life. When he was already many years old and he was dying of old age, with the help of this elixir he managed to extend his life for another 60 years.

Zhang Daoling (34-156), also a historical person, the founder of the philosophical system of Tao in China, managed to extend his life for the same period. After many years of persistent experimentation, he succeeded allegedly in the manufacture of some semblance of the legendary pills of immortality. When he was 60 years old, chronicles say, he regained his youth and lived to be 122 years old.

Along with these are other messages of the ancients. Aristotle and other authors mention Epimenides, a priest and famous poet from the island of Crete. It is known that in 596 BC he was invited to Athens to offer purification sacrifices there. According to legend, Epimenides managed to extend his life to 300 years.

But this age is not the limit. The Portuguese court historian tells in his chronicle about a certain Indian with whom he personally met and talked and who was allegedly 370 years old at that time.

Similar evidence includes a book published in Turin in 1613 and containing a biography of a Goa resident who allegedly lived to be almost 400 years old. Close to this figure are the years of the life of one Muslim saint (1050-1433), who also lived in India. In Rajasthan (India) and now there is a legend about the hermit Munisadhe, who retired to the caves near Dholpur in the 16th century and hides there ... until now.

Roger Bacon, a scientist and philosopher of the Middle Ages, was also interested in the problem of prolonging human life. In his essay De secretis operebus, he tells of a German named Papalius, who, after spending many years in captivity with the Saracens, learned the secret of making some kind of drug and thanks to him lived to be 500 years old. Pliny the Elder also names the same number of years - it was up to this age, according to his testimony, that a certain Illyrian managed to extend his life.

An example closer to us in time is the information about the Chinese Li Canyun. He died in 1936, leaving behind a widow who was, according to the record, his 24th wife. Li Canyong is said to have been born in 1690, which means he lived to be 246 years old.

But the strangest and most fantastic message from the same series is associated with the name of the Indian Tapasviji, who allegedly lived for 186 years (1770-1956). At the age of 50, he, being a Raja in Patiala, decided to retire to the Himalayas in order to become "beyond human sorrows." After many years of exercises, Tapasviji learned to plunge into the so-called state of "samadhi", when life seemed to completely leave his body, and he could not take any drink or food for a long time. This practice was reported by the British, who served in the colonial administration in India. They told of yogis who, after thoroughly cleansing the stomach and intestines, covered their ears and nose with wax and plunged into a state reminiscent of the hibernation of insects. In this state, they did not stay for a day or two, but for several weeks, after which they were brought back to life with the help of hot water and massage.

The fate of Tapasvija may not come as much of a surprise. Long-livers are known, naturally living up to 140-148 years of age. There is nothing fundamentally impossible in the fact that Tapasviji or someone else, using diet and other means, was able to push this limit back for a few more decades, there is nothing fundamentally impossible. It will be about the amazing testimony of Tapasviji himself.

Once, he said, at the foothills of the Himalayas he met an old hermit. He ate only fruits and milk, and looked unusually energetic and cheerful. But, most surprisingly, the hermit did not speak any of the modern Indian languages, speaking only in Sanskrit, the language of ancient India. It turned out that 5,000 years have passed since he came here! He managed to prolong his life to such limits allegedly thanks to a certain composition, the secret of which he owned. Reaching the age of 5000 years has not yet been “blocked” by any of the “long-livers” - neither in historical chronicles, nor in legends, nor in legends.

However, no matter how fantastic such a message, no matter how long the period of fifty centuries, all this is not immortality itself, but only some approaches to it, distant approaches. That is why scientists and fanatics, philosophers and madmen so persistently continued to search for the elixir of immortality - a means capable of bestowing eternal life. They gave these searches years, decades. Sometimes a whole life.

Alexander Cagliostro (1743-1795)

Many contemporaries believed that he possessed the secret of the elixir of immortality.

“The greatest charlatan and deceiver that history has ever known,” some say.

"A man who possessed infinite knowledge and power," say others

… A German provincial town with cobbled streets, traditional red tiled roofs and the inevitable gothic. Under one of these roofs, in the attic, in a fantastic environment of flasks, retorts and crucibles, a young man is sitting. He is busy with a business no less fantastic than the environment around him - the search for the elixir of eternal life. However, the most surprising thing is that this person is none other than Goethe, the young Goethe, who devoted several years of his life to the persistent search for the elixir of immortality. Not wanting to repeat the same mistakes, fall into the same dead ends and wander in the same labyrinths as his predecessors, he carefully studies the works of alchemists, looking for their most forgotten and hidden works. “I am secretly trying,” he wrote in those years, “to draw at least some information from the great books, before which the learned crowd half bows, half laughs at them, because they do not understand them. To delve into the secrets of these books is the joy of people wise and marked by fine taste.

So the great poet, as an alchemist, a seeker of the elixir of immortality, turns out to be on a par with rather strange people. One of them was his contemporary - Alexander Cagliostro. The greatest charlatan and deceiver that history has ever known - some people thought so. A man who possessed infinite knowledge and power - so others argued.

If we thought of telling about all the adventures and adventures of this man, the pages allotted here would hardly be enough for us. In addition to the mystery of his origin and the unknown source of wealth, Cagliostro had another secret. “They say,” one of the newspapers wrote at that time, “Count Cagliostro possesses all the wonderful secrets of the great adept and discovered the secret of preparing a life elixir.” Was it not this rumor that made Cagliostro such a significant figure in the courts of royalty? So significant that the French king Louis XVI declared that any disrespect or insult to this person would be punished on a par with an insult to his majesty.

During Cagliostro's stay in St. Petersburg, secular ladies, struck by the youthful beauty of his wife Lorenza, were even more amazed when they learned from her words that she was over forty and that her eldest son had long served as a captain in the Dutch army. In response to natural questions, Lorenza somehow "said" that her husband owns the secret of the return of youth.

The strange charm inherent in Cagliostro, the mystery that surrounded him, attracted the attention of the Russian court to him. The personal doctor of the Empress, the Englishman Robertson, not without reason, sensed a potential rival in the visiting celebrity. Using the methods adopted at court, he tried to denigrate the count in the eyes of those who were close to the throne. The naive court physician expected to fight Cagliostro with the weapon that he himself wielded best - the weapon of intrigue. However, the count chose to "cross swords" on his own terms. He challenged Robertson to a duel, but an unusual duel - on poisons. Everyone had to drink the poison prepared by the enemy, after which he was free to take any antidote. With the firmness of a man who does not doubt success, Cagliostro insisted on precisely such conditions for the duel. Intimidated by his strange confidence, Robertson refused to accept the challenge. The duel did not take place. Perhaps Robertson heard rumors about the elixir of immortality, which his opponent allegedly possessed - it is possible that he, like many of his contemporaries, believed in this.

But the favorite of fate, Count Cagliostro, challenged her too often, made risky bets too often. In the end, he fell "odd", and this card was the last in his life. Cagliostro was captured by the Inquisition, imprisoned, where he is said to have died in 1795, chained to the wall of a deep stone well.

Cagliostro's personal papers, as was usually the case on such occasions, were burned. Only a copy of one of his notes, previously taken in the Vatican, has survived. It describes the process of “regeneration”, or the return of youth: “... having taken this (two grains of the drug. - Ed.), A person loses consciousness and speechlessness for three whole days, during which he often experiences convulsions, convulsions and on the body he is perspiring. Waking up from this state, in which, however, he does not experience the slightest pain, on the thirty-sixth day he takes the third, and last, grain, after which he falls into a deep and calm sleep. During sleep, the skin peels 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, becoming a new person, having experienced complete rejuvenation.

No matter how fantastic the above description may seem, it is strangely reminiscent of the Indian method of restoring youth "kayakalpa". This course, according to his own stories, was taken by Tapasviji twice in his life. He first did this when he was 90 years old. Interestingly, his treatment also lasted forty days, most of which he also spent in a state of sleep and meditation. After forty days, new teeth allegedly also grew in him, his gray hair acquired its former black color, and former vigor and strength returned to his body.

However, although in ancient texts, in medieval and later records, we find references to such "regenerations", none of them speaks of the composition of the drug used.

Should this be surprising?

The human body is 70% water. No wonder one famous biologist figuratively called living beings "animate water." Obviously, for the health and longevity of a person, it is not indifferent what kind of water nourishes the tissues of his body.

Indeed, in recent years it has become known that water differs 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 much about the properties of water - an important component of our body - we still do not know.

In any case, today it is no longer vague legends and ancient legends, but scientific research that speaks of 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 the inhabitants of some Caribbean islands, such as Guadeloupe, look much younger than their European peers. When they are asked how they manage to keep their youth 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. The inhabitants of Sri Lanka consider the climate and water of mountain springs to be the cause of their health. Apparently, it was no coincidence that the ancients tried to look for life-giving water on this island.

The longevity of the highlanders and a number of peoples of the North, some scientists associate with the water they drink. This is the so-called "melt water effect", which has a beneficial effect on metabolism and thus, as it were, "rejuvenates" the body.

Today, the search is not conducted on distant islands or in 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 anxious to lengthen their lives as much as possible were, for the most part, endowed with wealth and power. They were looking for the shortest path. And such a way seemed to exist. The most ancient traditions and legends mentioned him - this is the "elixir of immortality" that the gods ate. In different countries it was called differently. The gods of the ancient Greeks used ambrosia, which gives eternal life, the Indian gods - amrita, the gods of the Iranians - haoma. And only the gods of Ancient Egypt, showing majestic modesty, preferred water to other food of the gods. True, all the same water of immortality.

Alchemists and the elixir of immortality

Of the people, no one approached the elixir of immortality as close as the alchemists, who, however, were looking for something completely different - ways to make gold. There was a certain logic to 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 so? And is it possible to isolate this substance from it or bring it into the human body along with gold? “Whoever takes gold inside,” says one ancient oriental text, “he 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 compiled by the personal physician of Pope Boniface VIII has come down to us: gold, pearls, sapphires, emeralds, rubies, topazes, white and red corals, ivory, sandalwood, deer heart, aloe root, musk and ambergris should be mixed in crushed form. (We hope that prudence will deter readers from overly hasty application of the composition given here.)

ancient recipes

Another composition was not much simpler, which can be found in one ancient oriental 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 the ancient Persian text: “You need to take a person, red-haired and freckled, and feed him with fruits for up to 30 years, then lower him into a stone vessel with honey and other compounds, enclose this vessel in hoops and hermetically seal it. In 120 years, his body will turn into a mummy.” After that, the contents of the vessel, including what became the mummy, could be taken as a remedy and a means of prolonging life.

Errors that germinate in every sphere of human activity, in this area bring a particularly bountiful harvest. Mention may be made in this connection of a French scholar of the 15th century. In search of the elixir of life, he boiled 2,000 eggs, separated the whites from the yolks and, mixing them with water, distilled them many times, hoping in this way to extract the desired substance of life.

The sheer senselessness of such recipes does not testify to the senselessness of the search itself. Only that which was discarded as unnecessary became known. But if we judge the history of this or that science only by unsuccessful experiments and failed discoveries, the picture will probably be about the same.

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

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

If we omit the mythological history of the biblical Adam, who lived, according to legend, for 900 years, the Eternal Jew Ahasuerus and Koshchei the Immortal, then the first popularizer of the elixir of immortality will be the same Saint Germain, a person, I must say, very mysterious. In the 18th century, folk 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 in 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 about 45 years old with a swarthy face. At the same time, over the course of decades, the graph did not change at all in appearance. He was rich, well-bred, and had a truly aristocratic manner. The Count spoke French, English, Italian, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, Russian, Chinese, Turkish and Arabic equally well.

Often in conversation with monarchs, Saint Germain referred to the rulers of bygone days, and in conversation he often claimed to have 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 of eternal youth, is it possible?

YOUTH FOR THE 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. From morning to night, his associates studied ancient treatises in the hope of discovering a recipe for eternal youth.

But in vain. As a result, the frustrated emperor issued a decree in which he forbade himself to die. But still he died. Subsequently, many emperors of China tried to find the elixir of 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 ways they invented bordered on a rare inhuman sadism. They say that Marshal of France Count Gilles de Ré, the prototype of Bluebeard, became famous in this field more than others. After being arrested 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 Elisabeth Bathory took baths from the blood of virgins to gain eternal youth and beauty. In total, 650 girls found their end in the castle of the countess.

BLOOD FOR THE LEADER

Like 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 the elderly leaders of Soviet Russia were tried to transfuse the blood of the young.

However, the matter did not work out. Lenin, unlike his sister, who underwent a rejuvenating procedure, refused a blood transfusion, calling it scientific vampirism. Perhaps the research would have been successful, but Bogdanov died unexpectedly during one of the 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 the transfusion of the blood of young compatriots was quite successfully practiced by the leader of North Korea, Kim Il Sung. Having begun the procedures at the age of 65, the dictator lived to a very old age of 82, although he planned to stretch it to at least 120 years.

THE GENERATOR OF YOUTH EXISTS

AT 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 cryofreezing of its own body, but 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, but such an apparatus exists and operates on principles that are logically close to the cruel experiments of medieval rulers. However, now it is not about transfusing 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 superweak fields and radiation in biology and medicine." A report on his unique technique was made by a scientist of Chinese origin from Khabarovsk, Yuri Vladimirovich Jiang Kanzhen. According to the scientist's theory, repeatedly confirmed by practical experiments, all living organisms exchange some genetic information invisible to the eye.

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

It is interesting to note that, unlike many similar inventions, official science accepted 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 person to his elderly relatives, rejuvenating them. In this case, the duration of human life will almost double.

SCIENCE DOES NOT STAND

To comment on the possibility of creating a technique that significantly prolongs human life, we were agreed by the doctor of medical sciences, academician of the VAKB Dmitry Valerievich GLUKHOV:

The elixir of eternal youth really has a right to exist. But not in the medieval sense. All over the world, research is being actively conducted in the field of rejuvenation techniques, there are significant successes in this area. In Russia alone, more than 10 rejuvenation systems and more than 30 rejuvenation techniques have been commercialized, not counting a variety of dietary supplements and pharmacological preparations. Most of the work is carried out in the field of cosmetology and correction of the human immune system. Every year there are new methods based on advanced, promising technologies. So, nanotechnologies gave impetus to a new direction of rejuvenation - supramolecular chemistry. Development is proceeding rapidly, and, perhaps, in the near future, one of the researchers will show the coveted bottle with a cloudy liquid. Today, the technologies of electromagnetic transformation, or modification of the human genome, have advanced farthest in this direction. Again, many scientists are working in this direction in Russia. In my opinion, the work of Jiang Kanzheng looks quite promising. It is impossible not to mention Professor Zakharov with his cell therapy and revitalization, Goryaev, Komrakov and other researchers. In case of their success and the mass introduction of methods, the average life expectancy of a person can increase from the current 65-70 years to 140-160 years. True, in this case, a person will have, among other things, to lead a relatively healthy lifestyle.

01.04.2016. 13:05

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

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

SLAVIC DRINK "ZDRAVUSHKA"
Grind rose hips and mountain ash in a ratio of 1: 1 in a coffee grinder. Brew the mixture in 1 tsp. in a glass of boiling water, insist 10 minutes in warmth and drink as tea 2 times a day.

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

ITALIAN DRINK OF VITALITY AND LONGEVITY.

Pour 2 tablespoons of mint with 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 VALEVSKAYA"
Mix 1 tbsp. dry blackcurrant leaves, oregano, 3 tbsp blackberry and stone fruit leaves. 1 tbsp Pour the mixture with 2 cups of boiling water, insist in a thermos for 20 minutes, strain and drink 1/2 cup after a meal.
2nd COCKTAIL.
Mix 2 tsp. blueberry leaves, succession grass, St. John's wort, stone fruit leaves, 3 tsp. rose hips, 1 tsp thyme. Brew 1 tsp of the mixture in a glass of boiling water and drink like tea.

RECIPE FOR LONGEVITY.
Licorice ROOT or licorice infusion.
Pour a tablespoon of the powder with a glass of boiling water, leave for 2 hours, drink heated in a tablespoon 3-5 times before meals. An excellent remedy for depression and apathy. For herpes on the lips, purulent acne: moisten a piece of paper tissue in lotion and apply for 3-4 minutes on the painful area.
Make lotions 4-5 times a day until the inflammation subsides. Store lotion in the refrigerator.

ELIXIRS OF ENERGY

When the body is depleted, it is useful to use the recommended folk
medicine fortifying 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 ratio of 1: 1, mix well. Store in a dark cool place. Take 1 tbsp. spoon a day 3 minutes before meals, washed down with a decoction of the rhizomes of radiola rosea.

ORIENTAL ELIXIR OF YOUTH.

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

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

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

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

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

Elixir of youth-2
The proposed elixir of youth will help in cleansing blood vessels, as well as relieve shortness of breath. To prepare it, you will need 1 liter of May honey, juice of 10 lemons and 10 heads of garlic. Grind all the 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 improves noticeably, skin becomes smooth, gray hair disappears, hair becomes thicker and darker. And the remedy is this. Ingredients:
- 200 g of linseed oil (sold in a pharmacy),
- 4 lemons,
- 3 small cloves of garlic
- 1 kg of honey.
Cooking:
grind peeled garlic cloves, 2 peeled lemons, 2 lemons in a peel in a meat grinder. Mix all the 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 (it's better than nothing).