The human body is 70 percent water. It is not for nothing that one well-known biologist figuratively called living things "animate water". Obviously, for the health and longevity of a person 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 we still do not know much about the properties of water - an important component of our body.
In any case, today it is no longer vague legends and not ancient legends, but scientific research that speaks of the effect of water on the health and life expectancy of inhabitants of different regions of the Earth.
It is known that the inhabitants of some islands of the Caribbean, for example, the island of Guadeloupe, look much younger than their European peers. When they are asked how they manage to maintain their youth for a long time, the answer usually follows: "On our island there is such water flowing from the springs that rejuvenates a person …" The inhabitants of the central regions of Ceylon (Sri Lanka) are also distinguished by excellent health. Residents of Sri Lanka consider the climate and water of mountain springs to be the reason for their health. Apparently, it was no coincidence that the ancients tried to look for life-giving water on this particular island.
Some scientists also associate the longevity of the highlanders and a number of peoples of the North with the water they drink. This is the so-called "effect of melt water", which has a beneficial effect on the metabolism and thus kind of "rejuvenates" the body.
Today, searches are no longer carried out on distant islands or in unknown lands. They are carried out in dozens of laboratories of the largest scientific centers in the world, studying 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 mostly endowed with wealth and power. They were looking for the shortest path. And such a path seemed to exist. The most ancient traditions and legends mentioned him - it is the "elixir of immortality" that the gods ate. In different countries it was called differently. The gods of the ancient Greeks used ambrosia, which gave eternal life, the Indian gods - amrita, the gods of the Iranians - haoma. And only the gods of ancient Egypt, showing majestic modesty, preferred the other food of the gods - water. True, all the same water of immortality.
Nobody from people came to the elixir of immortality as close as the alchemists, who were looking, however, for something completely different - the ways of making gold. There was a well-known logic in this. Immortality is a state that is not subject to change. Isn't gold the only substance that is not subject to external influences? It is not afraid of either alkalis or acids, it is not afraid of corrosion. It seemed that time itself was powerless in front of him. Does this metal contain some element that makes it so? And is it possible to isolate this substance from it or to 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 has come down to us, compiled by the personal physician of Pope Boniface VIII: it is necessary to mix crushed gold, pearls, sapphires, emeralds, rubies, topaz, white and red corals, ivory, sandalwood, deer heart, aloe root, musk and amber. (We hope that prudence will keep readers from being too hasty about the composition given here.)
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Not much simpler was the other composition, which can be found in one ancient oriental book: "You need to take a toad that lived for 10,000 years, and a bat that lived for 1000 years, dry them in the shade, crush them into powder and take."
And here is a recipe from an ancient Persian text: “You need to take a person, red-haired and freckled, and feed him with fruits until he is 30, then lower him into a stone vessel with honey and other compounds, enclose this vessel in hoops and seal it hermetically. In 120 years his body will turn into a mummy. Thereafter, the contents of the vessel, including what became the mummy, could be taken as a healing and life-prolonging agent.
The delusions that sprout in every area of human activity have brought a particularly bountiful harvest in this area. Mention may be made in this connection of a French scholar of the fifteenth century. In search of a vital elixir, he boiled 2,000 eggs, separated the whites from the yolks and, mixing them with water, repeatedly distilled them, hoping in this way to extract the desired substance of life.
The apparent senselessness of such recipes does not yet testify to the senselessness of the search itself. Only what was discarded as unnecessary became known. But if we judge the history of a particular science only by unsuccessful experiments and failed discoveries, the picture will probably be 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 some of these attempts ended successfully, that is, someone managed to lengthen their life somewhat, then, naturally, everything was done so that this recipe did not become anyone's property. If, after taking the drug, the object of the experiment parted with life, all the more he could not 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 accept the elixir of immortality, made by his court doctor.
Among the few people about 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. Towards old age, he began to indulge in various investigations related to the elixir of eternal life, guided mainly by his own intuition. And since a person is inclined to trust himself more than any other authority, it is not surprising that soon Andrei Borisovich was in complete confidence that he had finally found the desired composition. Like many other seekers of the elixir of immortality, he chose to keep his find 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 had no doubts about his own immortality.
This incident is reminiscent of the story of another Russian master who lived at about the same time and also believed in his own immortality. While still in his youth, being once in Paris, he visited the famous fortuneteller Lenormand. Telling him all the pleasant and unpleasant that awaits him in the future, Lenormand completed her prediction with a phrase that left an imprint on his entire future life.
“I must warn you,” she said, “that you are going to 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 removed from his apartment. In the afternoon, half asleep, he rode around the city in a carriage, accompanied by a Kalmyk housekeeper, two footmen and a fat pug, whom he kept on his knees. Of all the entertainment available at that time, he most enjoyed attending the funeral. Therefore, the coachman and the postilion traveled around Moscow all day in search of funeral processions, to which their master would immediately join. It is not known what he was thinking, listening to the funeral service of others - perhaps he secretly rejoiced 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 one day, when, as usual, half asleep, he stood in the church, believing that he was attending the funeral service, his housekeeper almost married him to some old friend of hers. This incident so frightened the master that a nervous shock occurred to him. The patient, wrapped in shawls, he sat dejectedly in an 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 footmen forcefully lay him down. As soon as he felt himself in bed, he died. How strong was the belief in prediction?
No matter how great the delusions and mistakes were, 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, failure were immediately ridiculed. But the smallest step towards success was closed by the mystery.
That is why information about the successes achieved along this path is sporadic, scattered and unreliable.
There is, for example, a message about Bishop Allen de Lisle, a person who really existed (he died in 1278), who was engaged in medicine - the historical annals call him nothing more than a "universal healer." He allegedly knew the composition of the elixir of immortality, or at least some method of significantly prolonging life. When he was already many years old and he was dying of old age, with the help of this elixir he managed to prolong his life for another 60 years.
For the same period, Zhang Daoling (34-156), also a historical person, the founder of the philosophical system of Tao in China, managed to prolong his life. After many years of persistent experimentation, he allegedly succeeded in making some kind of legendary pill of immortality. When he was 60 years old, according to the chronicles, 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 make cleansing sacrifices there. According to the legend, Epimenides managed to extend his life up 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 at that time allegedly 370 years old.
A book published in Turin in 1613 and containing a biography of one inhabitant of Goa, who allegedly lived to be almost 400 years old, can be attributed to similar evidence. The years of the life of one Muslim saint (1050-1433), who also lived in India, are also close to this figure. In Rajasthan (India), there is still a legend about the hermit Munisadh, who in the 16th century retired to the caves near Dholpur and hides there … to this day.
Roger Bacon, a scientist and philosopher of the Middle Ages, was also interested in the problem of extending human life. In his essay "De secretis operebus" he tells about a German named Papalius, who, after spending many years in captivity with the Saracens, learned the secret of making some kind of medicine and thanks to him lived to be 500 years old. Pliny the Elder also names the same number of years - it was to this age, according to his testimony, that a certain Illyrian managed to prolong his life.
An example closer to us in time is the information about the Chinese Li Canyung. He died in 1936, leaving behind a widow who, according to the record, was his 24th wife. Li Canyong is said to have been born in 1690, which means he lived for 246 years.
But the strangest and most fantastic message from the same series is associated with the name of the Indian Tapaswiji, who allegedly lived for 186 years (1770-1956). At the age of 50, as a Raja in Patiala, he decided to retire to the Himalayas in order to become "on the other side of human sorrows." After many years of exercise, 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 talked about yogis who, having thoroughly cleansed their stomach and intestines, covered up their ears and nose with wax and plunged into a state reminiscent of the hibernation of insects. They stayed in this state not 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 Tapaswiji may not come as much of a surprise. Centenarians are known who naturally lived up to 140-148 years of age. There is nothing fundamentally impossible that Tapaswiji or someone else, using diet and other means, was able to push this limit for several more decades. It will be about the amazing testimony of Tapaswiji himself.
Once, he said, an old hermit met him at the spurs of the Himalayas. He ate only fruit and milk, and looked extremely 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 5000 years have passed since he came here! He managed to extend his life to such limits supposedly thanks to a certain composition, the secret of which he owned. None of the “long-livers” have yet “blocked” reaching the age of 5000 years - neither in historical chronicles, nor in legends, nor in legends.
However, no matter how fantastic such a message is, no matter how long the period of fifty centuries is, 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 this search for years, decades. Sometimes my whole life.
Alexander Cagliostro (1743-1795)
Many contemporaries believed that he possessed the secret of the elixir of immortality.
“The greatest charlatan and deceiver that history has ever known,” some say.
"A man who possessed infinite knowledge and power" - say others
… A German provincial town with cobblestone streets, traditional red tile roofs and the inevitable Gothic. Under one of these roofs, in an attic, in a fantastic environment of flasks, retorts and crucibles sits a young man. He is busy with something no less fantastic than the environment around him - the search for the elixir of eternal life. However, the most surprising thing is that this man is none other than Goethe, the young Goethe, who devoted several years of his life to a stubborn search for the elixir of immortality. Not wanting to repeat the same mistakes, to fall into the same blind alleys and wander in the same labyrinths as his predecessors, he carefully studies the works of alchemists, searches for their most forgotten and hidden works. “I am secretly trying,” he wrote in those years, “to get at least some information from the great books, before which the learned crowd half bows,half laughs at them because he doesn't understand them. To delve into the secrets of these books is the joy of the wise and distinguished people."
So the great poet as an alchemist, a seeker of the elixir of immortality, is 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 - so some thought. A man who possessed infinite knowledge and power, others said so.
If we had thought to tell about all the adventures and adventures of this man, the pages allotted here would hardly have been enough for us. In addition to the mystery of his origin and the unknown source of wealth, Cagliostro had another secret. “They say,” wrote one of the newspapers at that time, “Count Cagliostro possesses all the wonderful secrets of the great adept and discovered the secret of preparing the elixir of life”. Was it not this rumor that made Cagliostro such a significant figure in the courts of royalty? So significant that the French king Louis XVI announced that any disrespect or insult to this person would be punished on a par with an insult to his majesty.
During Cagliostro's stay in St. Petersburg, society ladies, struck by the youthful beauty of his wife Lorenza, were even more amazed when they learned from her that she was over forty and that her eldest son had long been serving as a captain in the Dutch army. In response to natural questions from Lorenz, she somehow "let slip" that her husband had the secret of returning youth.
The strange charm inherent in Cagliostro, the mystery that surrounded him, attracted the attention of the Russian court to him. The empress's personal physician, the Englishman Robertson, not without reason, sensed a potential rival in the visiting celebrity. Using the methods adopted at court, he tried to blacken the count in the eyes of those who were close to the throne. The naive court physician hoped to fight Cagliostro with the weapon that he himself wielded best of all - the weapon of intrigue. However, the count preferred to "cross swords" on his own terms. He challenged Robertson to a duel, but an unusual duel - with poisons. Each had to drink the poison prepared by the enemy, after which he was free to accept any antidote. With the firmness of a man who did not doubt his success, Cagliostro insisted on precisely these conditions of the duel. Frightened by his strange confidenceRobertson refused to accept the challenge. The duel did not take place. It is possible that rumors reached Robertson 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 too often challenged her, too often made risky bets. In the end, he got "odd", and this card was the last in his life. Cagliostro was captured by the Inquisition, imprisoned, where he is reported to have died in 1795, chained to the wall of a deep stone well.
The personal papers of Cagliostro, as usually happened in such cases, were burned. Only a copy of one of his notes, previously filmed in the Vatican, has survived. It describes the process of “regeneration”, or the return of youth: “… having taken this (two grains of the drug. - Author), a person loses consciousness and speechlessness for three whole days, during which he often experiences convulsions, convulsions and on the body his perspiration appears. Having woken up from this state, in which he, however, does not feel the slightest pain, on the thirty-sixth day he takes the third and last grain, after which he falls into a deep and restful sleep. During sleep, his skin peels off, teeth and hair fall out. They all grow back within a few hours. In the morning of the fortieth day, the patient leaves the room, becoming a new person, having experienced complete rejuvenation."
As fantastic as this description may seem, it is strangely reminiscent of the Indian method of returning youth "kayakalpa". This course, according to his own stories, took Tapaswiji twice in his life. He did this for the first time 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, he allegedly also grew new teeth, gray hair regained its former black color, and former vigor and strength returned to the 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 we be surprised at this?
Gorbovsky Alexander Alfredovich. Other Worlds