The Elixir of Life

Richard Garnett (1835-1906) was an English librarian, biographer, writer and poet. His literary works include numerous translations from Greek, German, Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese; several books of verse; the book of short stories The Twilight of the Gods and Other Tales (1888, 16 stories; 12 stories added in the 1903 edition); biographies of Thomas Carlyle, John Milton, William Blake, and others; The Age of Dryden (1895); Essays of an Ex-Librarian (1901); a History of Italian Literature; English Literature: An Illustrated Record (with Edmund Gosse); and many articles for encyclopaedias, including the ninth and tenth editions of the Encyclopædia Britannica, and the Dictionary of National Biography.

From Garnett's collection The Twilight of the Gods we have select for our readers The Elixir of Life, a satirical and philosophical tale that explores the human fear of death and the irony of immortality. Set in the ancient city of Balkh, the story follows the aged philosopher Aboniel, a master of chemistry and the occult, as he presents his most significant discovery to his seven chosen pupils.