Elixir of life

The elixir of life, also known as the elixir of immortality or Dancing Water and sometimes equated with the Philosopher's stone, is a legendary potion, or drink, that grants the drinker eternal life or eternal youth. Many practitioners of alchemy pursued it for two main reasons: either they sought the gift of immortality for its own sake, or they desired to spend as much time as possible practicing alchemy. The elixir of life was also said to be able to create life. It is related to the myths of Enoch, Thoth, and Hermes Trismegistus, all of whom in various tales are said to have drunk "the white drops" (liquid gold) and thus achieved immortality. It is also associated with the Koran's Al Khidr ('The Green Man'), and is mentioned in one of the Nag Hammadi texts.Turner, John D. (transl.). The Interpretation of Knowledge. Retrieved 4 May 2006.

History

Naturally, no such potion has ever been discovered though alchemists in ancient China, India, and the West spent a great deal of time and effort on it. An elixir can be referred to as the 'Quintessence of life', by the referance to the 4 main elements consisting of Fire, Earth, Air, and water. The 5th element is said to be unknown; of which some have dubbed it to be the elixir.

China

In Ancient China, various emperors sought for the fabled elixir with various results. In the Qin Dynasty, Qin Shi Huang sent Taoist alchemist Xu Fu with 500 boys and 500 girls to the eastern seas to find the elixir, but he never came back (legend has it that he found Japan instead). The ancient Chinese believed that ingesting long-lasting precious substances such as jade, cinnabar or hematite would confer some of that longevity on the person who consumed them. Gold was considered particularly potent, as it was a non-tarnishing precious metal; the idea of potable or drinkable gold is found in China by the end of the third century BCE. The most famous Chinese alchemical book, the Tan Chin Yao Ch’eh ("Great Secrets of Alchemy," dating from approximately 650 CE), discusses in detail the creation of elixirs for immortality (mercury, sulfur, and the salts of mercury and arsenic are prominent) as well as those for curing certain diseases and the fabrication of precious stones.

Many of these substances, far from contributing to longevity, were actively toxic. Jiajing Emperor in the Ming Dynasty died from ingesting a lethal dosage of mercury in the supposed "Elixir of Life" conjured by alchemists, and British historian of Joseph Needham compiled a list of Chinese emperors whose death was likely due to elixir poisoning. Chinese interest in alchemy and the elixir of life declined in proportion to the rise in Buddhism, with its alternative routes to immortality.

India

The Vedas (sacred scriptures of India) also contain vague references to a connection between gold and long life. Alexander the Great invaded India in 325 BC and it is possible that Indians acquired the idea from the Greeks, but it could have been the other way around ("ambrosia," the name of the Greek "food of the gods," means "no death"). It is also possible that it came to India from China, or vice versa. However, the elixir of immortality was not of great interest in India because Hinduism, the primary Indian religion (like Christianity) provided other avenues to immortality. The Indian elixirs were generally remedies for specific diseases or, at the most, to promote longevity. "Alchemy". Retrieved 4 May 2006.

Europe

More recently, the Comte St. Germain, an 18th century nobleman of uncertain origin and mysterious capabilities, was reputed to have the Elixir and to be several thousand years old.

Names

The Elixir has had hundreds of names (one scholar of Chinese history reportedly found over 1,000 names for it.), including (among others) Amritsar or Amrita, Aab-i-Hayat, Maha Ras, Aab-Haiwan, Dancing Water, hasma-i-Kausar, Mansarover or the Pool of Nectar, and Soma Ras. The word elixir was not used until the 7th century A.D. and derives from the Arabic name for miracle substances, "al iksir." Some view it as a metaphor for the spirit of God (e.g. Jesus' reference to "the Water of Life" or "the Fountain of Life"). And of course the Scots and the Irish adopted the name for their "liquid gold": the Gaelic name for whisky is uisge beatha, or water of life.

Fictional references

In Natalie Babbitt's classic children's book, Tuck Everlasting, ten-year-old Winnie Foster has to decide whether to accept the ultimate gift from a mysterious family living in the woods near her house.
Princess Kaguya drinks the elixir of life to erase her memories of the mortal world before heading back to the moon in The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter.
The elixir of life is mentioned in the movie and book Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.
The plot of the shooter game Imperishable Night revolves around the elixir of life.
The Elixir of Life is mentioned in the video game adventure The Great Escape, where in a certain mission the player must deliver it to an ally in order to progress further into the game. Here the elixir reportedly has amazing healing properties rather than increasing longevity or delivering youth. It is assumed the elixir is produced from swamp water.
The Elixir of spiritual life as mentioned in Ninja Gaiden.In which it serves as a substance or medicine with capabilities of being able to cure injuries and prolong life for Ryu Hayabusa.
In the Carl Kolchak movie The Night Strangler, the titular serial killer is an alchemist who requires human blood for his Elixir of Life.
In Sims 2 the elixir is an item and is earned by achieving aspirations

Footnotes

References

Al-Khidr, The Green Man
Alchemy and Daoism
Naam or Word, Book Three: Amrit, Nectar or Water of Life
Needham, J., Ping-Yu Ho, Gwei-Djen Lu. Science and Civilisation in China, Volume V, Part III. Cambridge at the University Press, 1976.
Turner, John D. (transl.). The Interpretation of Knowledge

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