A new elixir of immortality? Elixir of youth or the secret of eternal life - the unknown

Power, wealth, the most beautiful women - the rulers of all times and peoples had all this, there was only one thing - the opportunity to use it forever. Death took the life of a commoner as well as a powerful king or emperor. It is not surprising that from the most ancient times, the powers that be most of all dreamed of getting their hands on the elixir of immortality.

Eternal search for the elixir of immortality

Magazine: The Greatest #6(80), 2017

What were the first alchemists looking for?

What equalizes a pensioner who does not know how to make it to the next pension, and a billionaire, "sitting" on a gas or oil pipe, owning a luxurious house on Rublyovka and all the benefits of civilization? Only one is death. A half-starved pensioner may well live even longer than his fabulously rich compatriot. And so it always was, death made no difference between a commoner and a powerful king or emperor. For example, a simple 152-year-old English peasant Thomas Parr survived nine kings!
Imagine how it hurts rulers and rich people to die when they can buy everything but life! It is not surprising that since ancient times, kings and sultans, kings and emperors have done everything possible to achieve immortality. They hired alchemists and scientists, sent expeditions to the most distant countries, trying to get their hands on the elixir of immortality. This mythical substance had the ability not only to rejuvenate the human body, but also to prolong its life indefinitely. The notion that eternal life can be obtained simply by using some special remedy comes from mythology. This tool was allegedly owned by the gods and other supernatural forces. The elixir of immortality could only be stolen from them or taken by force, having fought various fabulous monsters. Later, the idea arose that people themselves were quite capable of synthesizing the elixir, it was only necessary to choose the right ratio of some rare ingredients. Thus was born alchemy, the main purpose of which was the creation of the elixir of immortality.
According to a number of researchers, the most ancient is Chinese alchemy, which arose in the second half of the 1st millennium BC. Taoists were mainly engaged in alchemy then. Their teaching did not recognize reincarnation (relocation of the soul), therefore, the death of the body, according to the Taoists, led to the dispersion of souls (they believed that a person has ten) and the inability to ever bring them together. Souls were united only by the body, with its death and decay, a person finally and irrevocably perished, which is why the body had to gain immortality.
Chinese alchemy is divided into external and internal. According to the concept of external alchemy, immortality could be obtained by ingestion of specially prepared elixirs or pills. But internal alchemy suggested a different path, which consisted in gaining eternal life by activating a number of processes in the body. Their activation was achieved by meditations and special exercises.
How risky it was to try to gain immortality is evidenced by the story of Emperor Li Chun (820). This emperor of the Tang Dynasty decided to live forever and began to take the elixir of immortality, developed by his personal alchemists. It is believed that the composition of this elixir included mercury, which causes a negative effect on the psyche. Because of such a dangerous elixir, at first the wise ruler began to lose his mind. The courtiers pretended not to notice this, only one honest dignitary made an attempt to warn the emperor about the danger associated with his belief in fraudulent alchemists. However, Li Chun by that time could no longer sensibly assess the situation, he drove the dignitary away and continued to take the poisonous drug. The end of Li Chun was very sad: the emperor, who had completely lost his mind, was killed by court eunuchs. The attempt to become immortal also ended sadly for the Chinese emperor Xuanzong (VIII century). For a whole year, his personal alchemist prepared for his ruler a drink that bestows eternal life. Having taken the elixir prepared by the court alchemist, the emperor died in agony. This is not surprising, because the composition of elixirs certainly included mercury and arsenic.

Expeditions for immortality

In ancient China, they believed in the existence of distant countries and islands, the inhabitants of which possessed the secrets of immortality. Sailors and merchants told about the existence of springs, the water of which gave eternal life. There were also rumors about magical fruits: whoever tasted them gained youth and lived indefinitely. Especially popular were the legends about the lands of the immortals - the five sacred mountains: Penglai, Duyu, Yuanjiao, Fangzhang, Yingzhou. It was believed that these mountains, with the help of huge black turtles supporting them, swim in the East Sea.
The Chinese emperors of the ancient kingdoms of Zhou and Yan sent special expeditions, their goal was to discover at least one of the legendary islands and deliver magical fruits or a drink to the emperor, who was thirsty for immortality. It is clear that these expeditions did not find anything. However, the dream of finding these legendary lands did not leave the Chinese rulers. Surprisingly, even the illustrious emperor Qin Shi-Huangdi was carried away by their search.
According to ancient sources, Shi-Huangdi was very afraid of death, therefore, having discovered in ancient manuscripts legends about islands that bestow immortality, he, without thinking twice, sent an expedition in search of Mount Penglai. The expedition was led by a sailor named Xin Shi, he had to find the island and get magical fruits. Alas, the expedition ended in failure. However, the emperor was persistent and sent a second expedition of 20 huge ships to search. Its leader was the court alchemist Xu Fu, who not only believed in the existence of magical fruits, but also believed that the elixir of immortality could be created by scientific methods.
According to the existing legend, Xu Fu's ships, after a fruitless search for Mount Penglai, headed for Japan and landed on its shores. Fearing an ignominious return to his homeland and the wrath of the emperor, who was left without magical fruits, Xu Fu decided to stay in Japan, where he became the ruler of the land of Kii. This version of the end of the second expedition in search of Mount Penglai is also confirmed by the famous Chinese historian Sima Qian (135-86 BC): according to his data, Xu Fu became a local king in some lands far from China. In one of the Chinese chronicles there is an entry: “Xu Fu set sail, but discovered lands remarkable for their peacefulness and fertility. There he settled, became king and did not return.
Well, Qin Shi-Huangdi, without waiting for the return of the expedition, placed all his hopes on Taoist alchemists who were trying to synthesize the elixir of immortality. Alas, and they let him down, the emperor died without waiting for the opportunity to live forever. The failure of the famous emperor did not cool the ardor of those who expected to become immortal. A hundred years have passed, and the Han emperor Xia-Wu sent his ships in search of the cherished lands; needless to say, his sailors returned with nothing. However, this was not the last attempt to find the cherished islands of immortality.
The already mentioned historian Sima Qian wrote in his Historical Notes: “From the time of the sovereigns of Wei-wang, Xuan-wang and Yan Zhao-wang, people were sent to the sea to find the sacred mountains of Penglai, Fangzhang and Yingzhou. According to legend, they are in Bohai and whoever gets there will find saints and a medicine for immortality there. From a distance they are like clouds; when you get close, the mountains go into the water; you want to swim, but the wind drives away; so no one got to the mountains. There was no one among the rulers who would not dream of them.
When Christopher Columbus discovered America, many rumors and assumptions immediately appeared that it was on these new lands that the treasured springs with water that bestowed immortality were located. To Pope Leo X, an associate of Columbus wrote the following about one of them: “North of Hispaniola, between other islands, there is one island at a distance of three hundred and twenty miles from it; as those who found it say, an inexhaustible spring of running water beats on the island of such wonderful properties that an old man who begins to drink it, while observing a certain diet, after a while will turn into a young man.
Is there any doubt that the island with such a magical source began to be intensively searched for, because the powerful of this world were interested not only in gold, but also in eternal life. Alas, the navigators, having spent years looking for a miracle source, did not find it, but they discovered many new lands. In subsequent centuries, the "hunt" for immortality focused not on sea ​​spaces, but in the secret laboratories of alchemists.

Nostradamus also chemist!

Having spent centuries searching for the recipe for the elixir of immortality, Chinese alchemists never achieved what they wanted. At the same time, it cannot be said that their efforts were wasted. Thanks to the activities of alchemists, new technologies appeared in the production of metals and their alloys, in the production of glass and porcelain. Also, a substance was discovered, on the contrary, greatly shortening life, under the well-known name of gunpowder.
Not only the Asian rulers wanted to become immortal, their European "colleagues" also dreamed of eternal life. At the courts of many European kings, as well as in the castles of rich feudal lords, alchemists worked tirelessly, trying to find the philosopher's stone. As Aristotle suggested, in addition to the four main elements - fire, air, earth and water - which make up all objects and living beings in the universe, there is also an unknown fifth element. It was he who was called the philosopher's stone. He not only grants immortality, knowledge and eternal youth, but is also able to turn ordinary iron or lead into gold.
By the way, the concept of the philosopher's stone, as the beginning of all beginnings (respectively, of alchemy), appeared in Egypt as early as the 5th century BC, so the statement about Chinese alchemy as the most ancient can at least be questioned. Hermes Trismegistus is considered the founder of alchemy. While there is no exact information whether he was a real person, because in Egypt he was revered as the god Thoth, and in ancient Greece - as the god Hermes. It is now believed that the works attributed to Hermes Trismegistus belong to a number of unknown authors, whose names we now hardly recognize. But the theoretical justification for alchemy, no doubt, was formulated by the Greek philosophers Plato and Aristotle.
Well-known scientists were also actively involved in alchemy, among them - Albert the Great (c. 1193-1280), author of the work "On Metals and Minerals", and Roger Bacon (1214-1294), who wrote "The Power of Alchemy" and "Mirror alchemy." The latter said that short life is by no means the norm, but a real deviation from it. Engaged in searches for the elixir of immortality and known to all Nostradamus, he not only looked for the recipe for the treasured drug in ancient books, but also personally experimented with various substances. He even had his own recipe for the elixir, but, as you know, he did not help him: the soothsayer died, like all mere mortals.

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 of "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 the Atlantic Ocean, hopes of finally finding 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 really 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 is no longer fairy tales, and it is known from the results of scientific studies 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 man also 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 exactly. 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 in 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 drag out 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.

There is, by the way, another person who has achieved immortality, but not with the help of an 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:

Fine. 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.

Since ancient times, people have dreamed of immortality. These dreams are reflected in numerous myths and legends of the peoples of the whole world.

The search for ways to achieve immortality is narrated in the oldest of

extant Sumero-Babylonian epic. Clay tablets with legends about

Gilgamesh are dated by scientists around the 3rd millennium BC, and on

They have notes that these are copies from an older original.

The Sumerian epic tells that in the domain of the god of wisdom Enki, the island of Dilmun rose from the waves of the Lower Sea, which was inhabited by a tribe of immortals. Outwardly, they resembled people, but they possessed eternal life. They did not know what sickness and old age were. There were no widows or widowers among them. They did not know what a headache and eye diseases were. The woman reached old age, but remained young and fresh. The man grew older and older, but did not feel like an old man.

But such a life was not enjoyed by people, but by the gods. Doomed to illness and deprivation, old age and death - this is what distinguished people from the gods, but it was difficult to come to terms with this. That is why the goal of the wanderings of the hero of the Babylonian epic Gilgamesh was the acquisition of immortality. Gilgamesh, ruler of the city of Uruk (XXVIII V. BC B.C.), was the son of the immortal goddess Ninsun and mortal husband Lugalbanda. He was two-thirds god and only one-third man, but even this third became fatal for him, and he had to leave the earth sooner or later. In search of immortality, Gilgamesh was inspired by the death of his beloved friend Enkidu.

And Gilgamesh went in search of his ancestor Utnapishtim, to whom, together with his wife, the only one among people, the gods granted eternal life. He hoped to learn from the immortal ancestor the secrets of gaining immortality. After long wanderings and adventures, Gilgamesh finally managed to find Utnapishtim.

“Oh, Utnapishtim!” he exclaimed. “If you have become immortal, then perhaps the gods will grant me eternal life? "Don't be deceived," replied Utnapishtim. "The gods will not gather for advice for you. Many people have pleased the gods, but apart from me and my wife, no one has been rewarded with eternal life."

Nevertheless, he gave Gilgamesh one chance to achieve immortality: "However, you can test your strength. If you manage to overcome sleep, perhaps you will succeed

conquer death. Try not to sleep for six days and seven nights!" But what does immortality mean without eternal youth! And then Utnapishtim advised Gilgamesh to sink to the bottom of the sea and pick the thorny thorn growing there, which is fraught with juice that refreshes strength and rejuvenates the body. Gilgamesh managed to get this talisman."Carefully he took care of the magic bush, which holds the secret of youth. He decided to bring it to Uruk and let the most decrepit old man taste its juice. If he becomes younger, then he himself will taste from the wonderful plant and regain his youthful strength.

Having crossed the great sea, and coming to the shore, Gilgamesh saw a pool, folded

of white stone and filled with fresh water. He wanted to plunge into the water and wash the sweat and dust off his tired body. But while he was plunging into the pool, a cunning snake crawled out of the hole and in an instant stole the magic bush, hiding with it in the bowels of the earth. Gilgamesh wept bitterly. He realized the futility of his efforts. Understood,

that not to avert his impending old age and not to postpone the hour of death, predetermined for him by the gods. With bitterness in his heart, he returned to his city of Uruk and humbly began to expect a terrible and inevitable end.

The serpent that stole the hard-won immortality from Gilgamesh appears more than once in the myths of different peoples. This is a prototype of that biblical serpent-tempter, which, having seduced Adam and Eve to taste the fruits of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, also deprived them of immortality.

It is interesting to note that already in the Sumerian era, the achievement of immortality was associated with the acquisition of eternal youth. They continued to dream about it in the era of antiquity. As proof of this, one can refer to the very characteristic myth of the goddess of the dawn, Eos, and her beloved Typhon.

Pink-fingered Eos, the goddess of dawn, fell in love with the beautiful son of the Trojan king Typhon. To never part with her beloved, she begged the Olympic gods to grant him immortality. The insidious gods gave Typhon immortality, but ... did not grant eternal youth. Typhon lived a long time. His head turned white, his body melted and shrank, his laughter sounded less and less. Youth has disappeared in the crowns of slender cypresses and the love of Eos has cooled. Once the ruddy Eos locked her bedroom with her pink fingers and Typhon in it. Found another bed. And Typhon, withered and wrinkled, turned into a cricket and chirps there and now. The wise myth of Typhon will in many ways become the leitmotif of our reflections on the search for immortality. “We talk all the time about prolonging life,” writes the famous Russian scientist L. N. Gumilyov, “but in essence, they are engaged in prolonging old age. And this is not such a great pleasure. life is renewed...

Therefore, in the myths of most peoples, immortality has always been associated with eternal youth.

According to the myths of ancient China, the tree of immortality grew on Mount Kunlun. The fruit ripened on it, and the one who ate it lived forever. It, like other trees that give longevity, blossomed and bore fruit only once in several thousand years. A potion of immortality was prepared from these fruits, which was kept by the goddess Sivanmu, the Lady of the West. The lucky one who swallowed it could live forever. But getting to the top of Mount Kunlun, where the goddess Xiwangmu lived, was not easy. The foot of the mountain was surrounded by the abyss of the Zhoshui-Weak water river. It was enough for a feather to fall on the water, and it immediately sank, and a boat with people even more so. Kunlun was surrounded by fire-breathing mountains. The fire in them burned without ceasing day and night, and everything that got there burned down. Not a single person achieved the cherished goal, and only the arrow Yi managed to overcome all obstacles and receive the potion of immortality from the goddess Si-vanmu. Stretching out an arrow And a gourd with a magic potion, Lady of the West

said: "This is enough for you and your wife to receive immortality. If one person accepts all the contents, then he can ascend to heaven and become a deity. If two people drink it, they will become immortal on earth."

Shooter Yi's wife, the beautiful and treacherous Wu Chang'e, decided to deceive her husband and, stealing a gourd from him, took all the magic potion alone to become a goddess.

Becoming a goddess, Wu Chang'e settled on the moon in a cold and deserted lunar

palace. There was only a white hare, who all year round grinds potion in a mortar

immortality. And the longer Wu Chang'e lived in the moon palace, the sadder her loneliness became. Her thoughts often returned to the world of people. Wu Chang'e repented, she really wanted to return home, admit her guilt, and ask her husband for forgiveness. But all was in vain, and she had no choice but to live forever in the lunar palace, never descending to earth.

Only many years later, another person appeared on the moon, just like Wu Chang'e, who once aspired to immortality. It was Wu Gang, who, for his misdeeds, was sent by the gods to the lunar palace to cut down the cinnamon tree: he cut down the tree, but it grew back together, and he could not cut it down for an eternity...

In ancient Chinese myths and legends, a lot of attention is paid to the search for various potions and elixirs of immortality. So, it was said that far in the West, near the sacred mountain Kunlun, on which the tree of immortality grows (the fruits of which only one shooter Yi could get), there lived six shamans who collected magical herbs near the tree and prepared the elixir of immortality from them.

It was also told about the magic mushroom jouzhi, which brought people a long life and put off old age. Wu Cheng'en, in Journey to the West, refers to these mushrooms as ginseng fruits and describes how the swine-like Zhu Bajie ate them.

In Ge Hong's book "Bao Pu-tzu" in the chapter "Drugs of Immortality" it is stated that the wonderful jouzhi mushrooms are none other than dwarfs seven to eight inches tall. The meeting with them is not to be missed. It is necessary, with the help of sorcery, to silently go around them from behind with a hobbled gait and grab them. Then it is necessary to tear off the whole skin from the dwarf and swallow it. Soon after that, one can hope to ascend to heaven in broad daylight.

In many extraordinary countries beyond the seas, according to Chinese myths, there lived people who possessed immortality or longevity. For example, in the east, in the country of Tszyu-nytszygo - the Land of Nobles, long-term people lived, who ate steamed mujin flowers - red, purple and white. In the southern wasteland lived the black people of the immortals - Busimin. This country had a mountain

Yuanqiu - Round hill. On the mountain grew the tree of immortality ganmu - "sweet tree". It was enough to eat its fruit to become immortal. Chiquan, the Red Spring, flowed under the mountain. A sip of water from this source gave longevity. Therefore, people lived there, not knowing death. In the Western Wasteland was the country of Sanmyanybi - the Country of three-faced and one-armed. According to legend, they were immortal. There was also the country of Huzhen, whose inhabitants were with human faces and fish bodies and could rise to heaven and descend to earth. They either lived indefinitely or were immortal.

The most curious country where the immortals lived can be considered the country of Wuqi - the Country of people without offspring in the Northwestern Desert. People in this country were not divided into men and women. After death, their bodies were buried in the ground, but their hearts continued to beat. After one hundred and twenty years, they came to life and went outside to enjoy the joys of life again. Their life was followed by death, death followed by life, and death itself was a long sleep, so they can be considered immortal. The country of Wuqi prospered, although its inhabitants had no offspring.

But the most famous land of the immortals were the five sacred mountains: Duyu, Yuanzeyao, Fanghu, Yingchzhou and, especially, Penglai.

These mountains floated in the East Sea and were supported by fifteen huge

black turtles - three for each floating mountain. On the tops of these sacred

floating mountains rose golden palaces with stairs of white jade. Immortals lived in these palaces. Everywhere there grew jade and pearl trees, from which fruits ripened that tasted good, and those who ate them became immortal. On one of these islands, according to legend, there is a source of jade-colored wine. The drinker of this wine gains immortality.

When people on earth learned that not far from the sea rise so beautiful and mysterious mountains, whose inhabitants have a medicine that gives immortality, many wanted to visit there. This legend eventually became known to the rulers and rulers, who began to equip large ships one after another, supplied them with

food and sent the Taoists to the sea to the sacred mountains, trying by any means to get the world's greatest treasure - the potion of immortality. This magical elixir was tried to be obtained during the Warring States period (IV-III centuries BC) by Wei-wang and Xuan-wang, the rulers of the Qi kingdom, Zhas-wang, the ruler of the Yan kingdom, Qin Shihuang-di - the First Qin emperor ( 259-210 BC), the Han emperor Wu-di (141-88 BC) and many, many others. But all to no avail. They all died, like ordinary people, without having obtained the potion of immortality and without even seeing the outlines of the sacred mountains.

The famous Chinese historian Sima Qian (135-86 BC) wrote in his Historical Notes:

"From the time of the sovereigns of Wei-wang, Xuan-wang and Yan Zhao-wang were sent

in the sea people to find the sacred mountains of Penglai, Fangzhang and Yingzhou. According to legend, they are in Bohai, and whoever gets there will find the saints and the medicine of immortality there. From a distance they are like clouds, but when you get close, the mountains go into the water; you want to swim, but the wind drives away; so no one got to the mountains. There was no one among the rulers who would not dream of them."

The most prepared expeditions in search of the islands of the immortals were equipped during the reign of Emperor Qin Shi Huangdi (259-210 BC). It was the emperor who united the country and began the construction of the Great Wall of China, which protected the Celestial Empire from nomads. A flotilla of twenty huge ships under the command of Su Shu, carrying three thousand young men and women, as well as a large number of various workers, servants and artisans, was sent by Emperor Qin Shi Huangdi to the East Sea to the islands of immortality.

Days, weeks, months passed. There was no news from Su She. The emperor spent many hours on the shore, peering at the obscure horizon. But the ships never returned. It was rumored that the expedition of Su She did find the islands of the immortals and, having drunk the magical elixir of immortality, all 3000 of its participants remained forever on wonderful islands, not wanting to return to the Celestial Empire. Chinese historians, on the other hand, took a slightly different view. In one of the old chronicles we read: "Su Shs set sail, but discovered lands remarkable for their peacefulness and fertility. There he settled down, became king and did not come back."

The most ancient legends of many nations mentioned the "elixir of immortality" that the gods ate. IN 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, the gods ancient egypt- the water of immortality.

Imitating the gods, people also tried to prepare the elixir of immortality. In many old books appeared recipes for this magical

elixir. So, in the book of Ge Hong "Bao Pu-tzu" in the chapter "Xian-yaonyan" - "Drugs

immortality" there are many recipes for making this elixir. It was recommended 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, crush them into powder and take them inside - then you can live up to forty thousand years.

And here is the recipe from the ancient Persian text: “You need to take a red-haired and freckled person 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. After 120 years, his body will turn into mummy." After that, the contents of the vessel, including what became the mummy, could be taken as a means of prolonging life.

The recipe for the elixir of immortality, compiled by the personal physician of Pope Boniface VIII (1294-1303), has come down to us: "it is necessary to mix gold, pearls, sapphires, emeralds, rubies, topazes, white and red corals, ivory, sandalwood, deer heart , aloe root, musk and amber."

One French scientist of the 15th century, in search of a life elixir, boiled 200 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.

Many Chinese emperors were fond of searching for the potion of immortality. Wudi, the emperor of the Han Dynasty (ruled from 141 to 88 BC), surrounded himself with magicians and sorcerers, who were supposed to make the slave compositions and secret drugs by him alone. Wudi dreamed of finding the miraculous dew that the immortals allegedly ate, or getting wonderful peaches, after tasting which one can join eternal life.

Another Chinese emperor, Xuanzong (713-756) went to his royal ancestors much ahead of schedule only because he had the imprudence to take the elixir of immortality made by his court physician.

It is said that during the Han Dynasty, Prince Liu An was in Huainan,

fascinated by the doctrine of the immortals. He understood the doctrine of Tao (the Way) to such an extent that

He made the pills of immortality himself, took one, and ascended to heaven in broad daylight. He left his pills at home in an earthen bowl, they were pecked by chickens and eaten by dogs and disappeared in an instant.

Only from the sky came the clucking and yelping of dogs in the clouds. This legend

curious, but that's all. After all, from the "Historical Notes" of Sima Qian it is known that

Huainan prince Liu An committed suicide because someone denounced him, accusing him of treason. He was afraid of punishment and cut his throat.

But did anyone really manage to discover the secrets of the elixir of immortality? In all likelihood, of course not. However, in history from time to time appeared mysterious personalities who allegedly managed to enter the doors of immortality.

One of these mysterious personalities was the philosopher of the Pythagorean school Apollonius of Tyana, the same age as Jesus Christ, who was born three years before the New Era. Apollonius of Tyana visited many countries ancient world, studied the secrets of the priests of India and Babylon, contemporaries attributed to him many miracles. After surviving ten emperors, at the age of 70, Apollonius of Tyana returned to Rome, where, by order of the emperor Domitian, he was put on trial on charges of black magic. But a miracle happened: in front of everyone, Apollonius disappeared from the crowded courtroom.

For a number of centuries it was believed that Apollonius, having managed to prepare the elixir of immortality, continues to hide among people. In the XII century there lived a philosopher and alchemist who called himself Artephius, from whom two mysterious works have come down to our time, full of mysteries and omissions - a treatise on the philosopher's stone and an essay on ways to prolong life. Many contemporaries believed that under the name of Artephius

Apollonius of Tyana is in hiding and brought strong arguments in defense of their suspicions.

Legends attribute the achievement of complete immortality to the Jerusalem Jew Ahasuerus - the famous Eternal Jew. According to religious legends, Christ, during his way of the cross to Golgotha, in extreme exhaustion leaned against

wall of the house belonging to Ahasuerus. But the cruel Jew did not give a second to rest to Christ, who was carrying a heavy wooden cross, and drove him away. Then Christ doomed Ahasuerus to eternal wanderings, with no hope of ever finding peace or death.

And now, here and there, from century to century, a man appears, whom many identify with the personality of the immortal Ahasuerus. The Italian astrologer Guido Bonatti met him at the Spanish court in 1223.

Five years later, he is mentioned in an entry in the chronicle of the abbey of St. Alban (England). According to the words of the Armenian archbishop who visited the abbey, it is told about the meetings with Ahasuerus, who was in Armenia at that time. Allegedly, the person who pretended to be Ahasuerus well remembers the events of more than a thousand years ago, remembers the appearance of the apostles and many details of the life of those years that no one living today knows about.

In 1242, this man appears in France, then the silence of historical chronicles reigns for two and a half centuries. In 1505, Ahasuerus appears in Bohemia, a few years later he is seen in the Arab East, and in 1547 he is again in Europe, in Hamburg.

Bishop of Schleswig Paul von Eitzen (1522-1598) tells about the meeting and conversation with him in his notes. According to his testimony, this man spoke all languages ​​without the slightest accent. He led a secluded and ascetic life and had no possessions other than the dress he wore. In 1575, he was seen in Spain, here the papal legates at the Spanish court, Christopher Krause and Jacob Holstein, spoke with him. In 1599, he was seen in Vienna, from where he was heading to Poland, intending to get to Moscow. Soon he really appears in Moscow, where many allegedly also saw him and talked to him. In 1603 he

appears in Lübeck, which was witnessed by the burgomaster Kolerus, the historian and theologian Kmover and other officials. In 1604

The Eternal Jew appears in Paris, in 1633 - in Hamburg, in 1640 - in Brussels, in 1642 - in Leipzig, in 1658 - in Stamford (Great Britain).

When, at the end of the 17th century, the eternal wanderer reappeared in England,

skeptical British decided to give him an exam with

professors at Oxford and Cambridge. However, his knowledge of ancient history, V

geography of the most remote corners of the Earth, which he visited or allegedly visited,

were amazing. When he was suddenly asked a question in Arabic, he

accent answered in that language. He spoke almost every language, both European,

as well as eastern ones.

Soon this man showed up in Denmark, and then in Sweden, where traces of him again

are lost. In 1818, 1824 and 1830, he, or someone impersonating him, appears in England, and since then again disappears from view for a long time.

In the second half of the 18th century, the attention of contemporaries was attracted by two mysterious figures who allegedly owned the elixir of immortality - Count Cagliostro (1743-1795) and Count Saint-Germain (1710 (?) -1784 (?)).

Regarding Count Cagliostro, at present, most researchers

there is no doubt. It is documented that this clever adventurer was a native of Palermo, Joseph Balsamo, who from an early age became famous for various cunning tricks and machinations. He owed his knowledge of magic and alchemy to the Armenian Altotas, with whom he visited various sanctuaries in Egypt, and then practiced alchemy at the court of Pinto, the Grand Master of the Order of Malta, who had a great penchant for the mysterious sciences. Leaving Malta and parting

with Althotas, Count Cagliostro (as he began to call himself, arbitrarily assigning the title of count) began to demonstrate his magical knowledge at the royal courts of Europe and even in Russia. Probably, rumors about the miraculous elixir of immortality and eternal youth that he allegedly had at his disposal belong to this time. However, the remarkable adventurer never achieved immortality, and he died in 1795, chained to the wall of the gloomy cellar of the Castel Sant'Angelo in Rome, where he was thrown by the Inquisition as a heretic, deceiving magician and freemason.

A much greater mystery surrounds the Count of Saint-Germain, a contemporary of Cagliostro. In the minutes of the court of the Inquisition, a story recorded from the words of Cagliostro about his visit to Saint-Germain, where he claimed to have seen a vessel in which the Count

kept the elixir of immortality. Comte Saint-Germain amazed his contemporaries with his extraordinary awareness of the past. His appearance led to amazement and confusion of elderly aristocrats, who suddenly recalled that they had already seen

this man was seen a long time ago, in childhood, in the salons of his grandmothers. And since then, they marveled, he had not changed at all in appearance.

Saint-Germain showed up suddenly, with no past. About him and about the origin of his fantastic wealth, we know as little as his contemporaries. Just as mysterious is his death, allegedly occurring in 1784 in a secluded castle in Holstein. One of his contemporaries, who knew the count, called it "an imaginary death", he wrote that none of the tombstones in the area bear the name of Saint-Germain.

Many years after this "death" acquaintances of Saint-Germain met

count in many European cities. So, Saint-Germain was present at a meeting of Freemasons in Paris a year after his "imaginary death". Three years later, in 1788, the French envoy to Venice, Count Chalon, meets Saint-Germain in St. Mark's Square and talks with him. During the years of the French Revolution, the count was allegedly identified in one of the prisons where aristocrats were kept. 30 years after the death of Saint-Germain, the elderly aristocrat Madame Genlis, who knew the count well in her youth, meets this man, who has not changed at all, on the sidelines of the Congress of Vienna. In the last years of the reign of Louis Philippe, when almost none of the people who knew Saint-Germain personally were left alive, a retired dignitary met the mysterious count, still not aged at all.

There are two more later reports associated with the name of Saint-Germain. He allegedly reappeared in Paris, already in 1934. And the last time - in December 1939. Since, however, by that time there were no people left who were personally acquainted with the count, these reports can hardly be considered reliable.

The strangest and most fantastic modern messages about immortality is associated with the name of the Indian Tapasviji, who allegedly lived 186 years (1770-1956). At the age of 50, he, being a Raja in Patiala, decided to retire to the Himalayas. After

years of exercises Tapasviji learned to immerse himself in the so-called

a state of "samadhi", when life seemed to completely leave his body, and could

do not take food or drink for a long time. One day, Tapasviji said, he met an old hermit near the foothills of the Himalayas. 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.

But still, it is worth recognizing that all the cases described above of achieving immortality by someone are more likely to be legends. Let's get on firmer ground existing reality and analyze what means in the field of achieving practical immortality modern science Nowadays. Let's immediately put aside all methods of increasing life expectancy. Firstly, we already talked about them in the previous chapter, and secondly, they only deal with

increasing the life span of an organism, and not about the principled search for immortality.

Currently, the search for immortality is going on several diametrically

opposite directions. One of them is a brain transplant. At present, it is unconditionally proven that it is the brain that is the bearer of a person's individuality, his thinking, perception of the world, memory, awareness of himself as a person.

Already in 1963, physiologists demonstrated amazing experiments on transplanting the brain of a toad into the head of a frog. It turned out a very strange and amazing frog with the habits of a toad. Instead of jumping into the water, like other representatives of its kind, it, like a real toad, began to look for a hole in the ground in order to burrow into it.

Almost 30 years have passed since these experiments. Over the years, dozens of heart, liver and kidney transplants have been successfully carried out in humans, and the problems of tissue incompatibility of transplanted organs are beginning to be resolved. Thus, science came close to brain transplantation. Although work in this direction is being carried out quite intensively, it is difficult to say when exactly it will be possible to translate scientific experiments into practice. In any case, this time is not far off and it is quite possible that our generation will already witness a successful human brain transplant.

Therefore, theoretically, it is already possible to imagine people whose brain, and hence their personality, will pass from one body to another many times. Throwing away one after another unnecessary, aged bodies, a person will be carried away from century to century, from millennium to millennium. The life of one person, her memory will contain whole epochs of human history. However, a natural question arises - whose bodies are going to be discarded as unnecessary and exhausted, this "personality"? And who will determine the right to immortality of one person at the expense of the organisms of other people? To a lesser extent, these questions have already arisen before doctors and scientists during transplantation of donor kidneys and hearts. They will become much more acute when trying to find "donor" bodies for a brain transplant. It must be firmly grasped that despite the fact that the appearance of a person, the features of his face, the structure of the body will fully correspond to the body

"donor", his personality and self-consciousness will be determined exclusively by the transplanted brain.

This problem was anticipated by the genius of M. A. Bulgakov in the story "Dog

heart". Good dog Sharik under the influence of a transplanted pineal gland

the brain of a dead bandit and an alcoholic turns into an exact likeness

the last one. Now this question is being developed by American cinema.

Woman whose brain was irreversibly damaged in the crash gets a brain transplant

another woman whose body perished. Who is the new creature, with the appearance of the first woman and the brain of the second? How should she treat her loved ones, husband, children? This is inexhaustible material for dramatic collisions.

Perhaps in the future, scientists will be able to construct an artificial body for the brain, the guardian of personality. It will be a cyborg robot with a human brain. Thus, it is possible to achieve immortality by losing one's body. Is humanity psychologically ready for such experiments? Are you personally ready? This philosophical problem has been raised more than once in numerous science fiction novels, starting with the famous "Head of Professor Dowell" (1925) by the Soviet science fiction writer A. R. Belyaev (1894-1941).

The second way to achieve practical immortality is genetic engineering. Each cell of a living being stores in its nucleus all the genetic information necessary for the formation of a new organism. A few years ago, scientists at Oxford University in the UK conducted an interesting experiment - a new frog, an exact copy of the first, was grown from a frog epithelium cell. That's why

theoretically, in the near future, mass reproduction of absolutely identical twins, including human h, will become possible. This means that when a person is 80 or 90 years old, it will be possible to take from him the nuclei of cells from any organ and, having grown them in cells devoid of a nucleus, get an exact biological copy of this person. That is, it will be possible to completely repeat oneself, but appearing as a newborn and in a certain sense ensure one's immortality, since this operation could be repeated an unlimited number of times.

Moreover, in the future it would be theoretically possible to use not only the "living" genetic material of cells, but also "preserved", say, in the tissues of a mummy. And it will be possible to reproduce a complete biological copy of this mummy from the moment of birth. But since mummifications were mostly awarded to tyrants, the question arises - is it necessary to reproduce them again?

It is worth clarifying that all these biological copies, repeating the appearance of specific people in the smallest detail, will nevertheless be endowed with their own consciousness. It will be psychologically a completely different individual, and his memory, his joys and sorrows, love and hate, will be far from the prototype. His intellectual image will take shape under the influence of a different upbringing, education, and, finally, simply the human environment of a new generation of people. And even if we manage to recreate the new Tutankhamun, in terms of its psychological makeup it will not be an ancient

Egyptian, but our contemporary. Therefore, even here we do not achieve complete immortality. If during a brain transplant we retain a personality, but lose the body and appearance, then with genetic engineering we retain the exact likeness of a given person, but lose his personality, memory, experience, and perhaps talent.

True, the well-known Soviet scientist P. K. Anokhin put forward a hypothesis according to which the hereditary transmission of information received by a person during his life is fundamentally possible. In this case, the "copy person" will carry the memory of everything that happened to the "original", will keep it in himself as memories

his own life. Thus, it will be possible to achieve complete

individual identities. The chain of individual consciousness, passing from the body to

body, will not be interrupted. The memory of the life of the past, already grown old and not

existing bodily shells will be as uninterrupted as our memories of a day lived yesterday, a month ago or last year.

The next, and moreover, a very, very promising direction in the search for immortality is the science of cryobiology, which studies the vital activity of an organism under very low temperatures Oh.

The theorist and founder of cryogenesis (i.e. freezing) is considered to be the American professor of physics and mathematics Robert Ettinger, who published the book "The Discovery of Immortality" in the 60s, which immediately became a bestseller and won hundreds of fans of the cryogenesis method. "When someone is declared doomed,

because modern medicine is unable to help, man still alive by 99 percent, - writes R. Ettinger. - After all, it is a fact that many diseases that were once considered fatal are cured today. Keeping the body cold, you just have to wait until new knowledge and technology will help you return ... "

To date, there are convincing experimental

confirmation of cryogenization. Yugoslav scientists managed to revive rats,

chilled to 6 degrees. Surgeons at Harvard University (USA) revived

hamsters after being frozen for more than five hours. Experimenters have repeatedly revived monkeys in a supercooled

a state when the animals were no longer breathing, and the heart was not beating.

A lot of amazing facts about the return to life of frozen people have been accumulated by modern medicine. One of these cases is associated with the Japanese driver Masaru Site, who worked on a refrigerator - a car transporting chilled

products. That day, he came to Tokyo from Suzuoka to receive a shipment of ice cream. The hard trip and the heat tired the driver, and he decided to take cover from the heat and rest until he received the cargo in the back of his refrigerating machine. Time has passed. Someone noticed a car standing without a driver. When they opened it, they found the driver in it, but already "frozen". The thermometer inside showed 10 degrees below zero.

The driver's body was rushed to the nearest hospital. Doctors worked on the frozen man for several hours and revived erol According to the doctors, Saito was first poisoned by the gas that was released during the melting of dry ice, and then "froze". The life of the driver was saved by the fact that in the atmosphere of a closed van there was an increased content of carbon dioxide released during the evaporation of dry ice and a reduced oxygen content (its reserves were consumed all the time while the driver was breathing).

Experiments in the field of cryobiology finally made it possible to decide on freezing a person. In 1973, a sensational message went around the world press: Professor D. Bedford from Los Angeles, knowing that he was dying of lung cancer, agreed to be frozen in liquid nitrogen at a temperature close to 200 degrees below zero, and returned to life, when medicine finds an effective means of combating his illness.

A few years later, a purely commercial enterprise appeared in the USA, the owners of which offered everyone the same procedure: to freeze and store

a person at his will for tens or hundreds of years. Many, many Americans wished to undergo a freezing procedure and thus go to

journey to the future.

However, at the end of the 70s, a major scandal erupted: the police found the bodies of a dozen and a half people in the stage of deep decomposition in one of the freezing centers, which, presumably, was not agreed upon when they concluded contracts for immortality. Naturally, the credibility of the idea itself was greatly undermined. It took years for everything to return to normal.

There are currently four cryogenesis centers in the United States (two in California, one each in Michigan and Florida) that store a total of 26 "frozen" Americans. There are similar centers also in France and Japan.

It should be noted that cryogenesis is a very expensive business, therefore the first 40 Frenchmen who decided to acquire a chance for immortality are millionaires. In the US, applicants must pay $125,000 to freeze the body, or $50,000 to freeze only the head.

Some practical Americans prefer the second option - both cheaper and easier to transport in case of emergency. And if the descendants are able to "unfreeze" the head, then they will certainly be able to choose the appropriate body for the preserved brain (and hence the personality).

Practical Americans noticed another interesting fact. It turns out that in order to wake up a millionaire in 300 years, it is enough to put $1,000 in the bank today. Three percent per annum in a hundred years will turn

this amount of 19,000, in two hundred - 370,000, and by the time of the supposed awakening, each such inhabitant of the refrigerator, according to calculations, will already have 7,000,000 dollars.

The journey to immortality always begins, at least officially, with clinical death. A team from the company "Trans Time" immediately takes on the client. First of all, it is necessary to provide artificial blood circulation: the oxidation process should not be interrupted. For this, special pharmacological solutions are introduced. After the body is covered with ice. Then the blood is replaced with a saline solution, to which a liquid is added with a substance that prevents the crystallization process in the body. The cooled body is then wrapped in a special sheet and lowered into ice, where its temperature drops to minus 43 degrees. It is at this point that you can proceed to the separation of the head, if that was the will of the client. Usually, the whole body is placed in a bag like a sleeping bag and lowered head down into a container filled with liquid nitrogen.

However, it should be noted that the American Cryonics Society (low

temperatures) guarantees the road only "there", but "back" - no

certain guarantees. When defrosting, such serious

problems that modern medicine is not yet able to solve. All

hope - for the achievements of medicine of the future.

When 73-year-old James Bedford, a psychology professor from Los Angeles, was frozen for the first time in history, some journalists joked: "Well, Bedford will be surprised when he remains dead!"

"The hope that someone can be brought back to life after freezing,

is tantamount to striving to get a cow out of a hamburger, ironically on this

about Arthur Rowe from New York University and adds: - When freezing

irreparable damage is done to the cells."

A different opinion is shared by Dr. Avi ben Abraham, President

American Society of Cryonics, engaged in scientific research in the field of

use of low temperatures in medicine. Death, he believes, is coming

gradually. Although the heart stops, cells, tissues and internal organs

continue to live. Another scientist, cryobiologist P. Segal, has already managed to

resuscitate hamsters after a two-hour freeze. He also got

experiment with a raccoon dog. She returned to normal temperature after the procedures that are subjected to during the cryogenization of the body of people. By the way, both scientists, and

also their family members are candidates for freezing for the sake of immortality.

The English anatomist Hunter wrote in the 18th century:

“If a person wants to give the last ten years of his life to the alternation of sleep and activity, then his life could be extended to 1000 years; by defrosting every 100 years for one year, he could always find out what happened during the time he was in anabiosis".

So, it may well be that several dozens of our contemporaries, enclosed in transparent capsules, which flow around liquid nitrogen cooled to -200 ° C, float along the waves of time into the future, towards immortality.

There are some other directions in the search for immortality. In 1976, a professor from the GDR E. Liebbert described an experiment with Mexican agave, in which he managed to increase the species limit of duration life ten times. For gerontologists dealing with the problem of aging, this experience has gone unnoticed. In 1983

An article by the Moscow scientist V. I. Gudoshnikov appeared in the collection of works of the Moscow Society of Nature Testers about experiments on rats that managed to stop development in dynamics between stages I and II of the menopause and keep the body between them for 40 days.

As a result of the analysis of these two experiments and his own experiments, Nikolai Isaev, a corresponding member of the Moscow Society of Naturalists, managed to create his own theory of increasing the species life expectancy.

The essence of the theory is as follows: in order to extend the life of any organism ten times

and more, it is enough to create and maintain "stuttering" in any place of the ontogenesis program (ie, a genetically determined scheme of development of a given organism) in the process of its implementation. We age because the body maintains

a certain level of key metabolites (waste products

organism) with activity that does not allow "stuttering" in the process of implementation

ontogeny programs. As soon as the level of key metabolites decreases (for example, in the experiment with agave, the products produced by the genetic system were removed), the body moves without slowing down to the previous, younger, stage of its life. From this previous stage, the construction of products and structures of the generative stage of life begins again. Removing products again... and so on for 90 years. As a result, the agave has increased the species life expectancy from 10 to 100 years, that is, ten times. This experience could be continued indefinitely, since there is no aging as such, because the body is in conditions where there is no material basis for aging - the key metabolites are not maintained here at the level set by nature.

To date, N. N. Isaev has practically developed and put into practice various options for the "cycling" of some plants - potatoes, maple, which make it possible to achieve species "immortality". In the future, work on

achievement of human species immortality. Its essence is to stop aging in a person at any age: for example, between 40 and 41 years. From this moment on, this organism will pass an arbitrarily long segment of its life within the specified interval.

Thus, the theoretical prerequisites for achieving species immortality of a person have been created. Another thing is that the path from successful experiments on plants to the practical implementation of this theory in humans can be very, very long.

The problem of human immortality has two main aspects: scientific and

biological and philosophical and moral. In a biological sense, as we only

what we saw, it is quite possible sooner or later with the progress of science to achieve any practical results in achieving personal immortality. Another thing is, do we need to spend energy and scientific potential to solve these problems?

At first glance, this question may seem paradoxical, although nothing

there is nothing paradoxical about it. Let's think, is humanity ready to achieve immortality?

Let's try to consider this issue from various angles, first of all - from the demographic one. According to the calculations of French demographers, in 1987 the 80 billionth human inhabitant of our planet was born since the beginning of the human race (of course, this figure is very arbitrary). Will there be a limit to the growth of mankind and at what level will its bar be set in the coming decades and centuries?

The first people, who probably numbered only a few tens of thousands,

wandered the earth in search of food, being dependent on the change of seasons, on

climate change. The first technical victories, the development of fire led to

represents an increase in the population, which 200,000 years ago approached a figure of 500,000

By 40,000 B.C. e. all continents, including America and Australia, were inhabited, and the number of people on the globe reached five million people.

By the beginning of the IV millennium BC. e. the entire population of the earth was estimated at about 50 million people. During the "age of Pericles" (5th century BC), humanity stepped over a hundred million. By the era of Charlemagne, the world's population had grown to 200 million, and by the Renaissance, to 500 million.

In the 18th century, the world's population reached one billion. In 1900 it

was 1.5 billion, in 1950 - 2.5 billion people. Early 1976

population the globe reached 4 billion, and in 1987 humanity stepped over the fifth billion. What will be the fate of humanity in the near future?

Demographers are trying to make predictions. The official forecast was adopted by a special UN Population Division. This is the most optimistic hypothesis, since

it assumes that all countries will soon reach a level of fertility that ensures only the renewal of generations without increasing the number - 2.1 children per woman. If it can be assumed that developing countries, where fertility is gradually declining, will indeed reach this level in the next century, then in industrialized countries the situation is different. Their birth rate has already fallen.

below this threshold and tends to fall further. It is to be hoped that population decline will not really be felt in these countries until after the year 2000, and UN experts believe that then, for civic reasons, many couples will decide to have more children, or concerned governments will adopt

appropriate measures to stimulate the birth rate. If things go that way, the world population will stabilize by 2100 at about 11 billion people.

The massive increase in life expectancy that we discussed in the previous chapter could greatly change this UN scenario. As a result, the population of industrialized countries would begin to decline only by 2050, and the reaction of married couples to falling birth rates would appear later. Under these conditions, the European population will stabilize by 3125 at the level of 1939, and in the world there will be a significant disproportion between the population of Asia, Africa, Latin America and Europe.

If the birth rate in developed countries continues to decline, reaching everywhere the modern level of Germany, if it is in developing countries, in which the population explosion will stop, and if life expectancy is limited to 75 years, humanity will disappear by the year 2400. Investigating this variant of development

of mankind, the French demographer Bourgeois-Pito believes that the world population will peak at 9.4 billion people in 2070, and then gradually disappear.

However, another course of events is also possible: a decrease in the population

developed countries will cause an influx of population from the countries of the big population explosion.

Underprivileged peoples, but on the rise of population growth,

can appropriate for themselves, by good or by force, the lands and resources of the wealthy nations, but

in decline. These latter will gradually mix with the aliens,

until they lose their individuality. They will disappear, as many have already disappeared.

nations in a similar situation.

What impact can the achievement of immortality by science have on changing the demographic picture? The most unpredictable. Considering that the issue of the impact of immortality on the population has never been seriously put on the agenda, no scientific calculations and forecasts could be found.

But, as we have seen, the achievement of personal immortality is quite possible already in the first centuries of the next millennium. And this, as yet unaccounted for, fact can make a significant correction in the demographers' forecasts we discussed. And first of all, it will have an impact not on the total population (although, over time, on it too), but on the ratio of the population of developed and developing countries. After all, it is no secret that the population of developed capitalist countries will primarily benefit from the achievements of science. It would be possible to speculate about possible ways of changing the demographic situation in the conditions of achieving species immortality of a person, but this would be redundant, since we have not yet decided the question - is personal immortality necessary and worth it to achieve.

Most likely, the immortality of people is incredibly painful and detrimental to the life of society. Progress consists in a change of generations, each generation brings something new to society. A similar idea is expressed in the following verse by Robert Rozhdestvensky:

If only people lived forever

It would be inhuman - How do you know what you're worth in life?

How to understand what risk is?

Jump into the sea?

So you won't drown.

Climb to the fire?

So you won't burn! Plow the field?

Then I can...

Gunpowder to invent?

And for what?

Would enjoy lazy arrogance

Prisoners of their immortality.

They wouldn't do anything.

Never come out of the darkness...

Perhaps the most important stimulus of life

In bitter truth

that we are mortal.

The experience of history shows that the progress of science has always overtaken the moral development of mankind. The issue of immortality is no exception. Quite

it is possible (and even very likely) that from a biological point of view, scientists will be able to solve the riddle of immortality in the coming centuries. But what will be the moral face of the generation that will have to be granted immortality? Will rapists, murderers, thieves really disappear? Most likely - no, to think otherwise would be a social utopia. So is he really worthy of immortality who took the life of his own kind? And isn't the very concept of "life imprisonment" sounding like a pun then? But the worst thing is to give someone the right to decide whether this person is worthy

live forever or not. This will inevitably lead to abuses, group, class, party, national, racial approaches, and from here it is only one step to one or another variety of fascism.

So, the question of immortality is a touchstone that may not be within the power of modern humanity.

But let's try to translate the question of immortality into a somewhat different plane. Let's assume that everyone is finally convinced that the personal immortality of all mankind is a brake on its progress, both scientific, social, and elementary biological. But there are individuals who certainly deserve immortality - outstanding scientists, artists, inventors, poets, thinkers, philosophers. And since science is already in a position to grant immortality, so let's

let's leave it only to individuals, a strictly limited number of outstanding people.

I don't want to impose my opinion on anyone. Let everyone try to determine for himself the most probable circle of these people, based on preferences, at least

the last five to seven decades. Thought? Would you like these personalities to be "more alive than all the living" not only in slogans, but also in life? Our opinions about the merits of this or that figure may vary depending on the political situation. But by granting him immortality, we can get not just a life

dictator, and (which is much more terrible and even difficult to imagine) - an immortal dictator.

Whatever philosophers say about the role of personality in history, but the era of Stalinism

ended with the death of Stalin. And God alone knows how much more "objective prerequisites" we would have to wait for to change the course of history under the ever-living comrade Stalin.

Therefore, it seems to me that one should not rush to solve the problem of personal immortality immediately. We, as we are, are not yet ready to live forever. We are for this

have not yet fully matured and, it seems, we will not yet be able to fully consciously dispose of eternity.

LITERATURE

A step towards immortality? "NTTM - Craftsman", 1990, No. 1. Yuan Ke. Myths of Ancient China. M., "Science", 1987. RederD. G. Myths and legends of ancient Mesopotamia. M., 1965.

Gumilyov L. N. No mysticism. "Youth", 1990, No. 2. There were 80 billion of us. A

how much will? "Science and Life", 1989, No. 4.

Gorbovsky A. A., Semenov Yu. S. Closed pages of history. M., Thought, 1988. Prokofiev V. 26 frozen Americans. "Labor", 1991, November 14. Mezentsev V. A. Miracles. Popular Encyclopedia. Alma-Ata, Ch. ed. Kaz.sov. encyclopedia, 1991, v. 2, book 3.

7 059

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. 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 effect of water on the health and life expectancy of the inhabitants. different districts 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 sources 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 shortest way. 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. 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.

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 and freckled, and feed him with fruits 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 thought about while 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), practiced medicine - the 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, having spent 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

…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 french king Louis XVI declared that any disrespect or insult to this man 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 usual in similar cases, 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. - Auth.), 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?