Project Gutenberg 2004-08-30 Public domain in the USA. 118 Balzac, Honoré de 1799 1850 Balzac, Honore de Saint-Aubin, Horace de De Balzac, Honoré Balzac, H. de (Honoré de) Bell, Clara 1834 1927 Waring, James The Elixir of Life Produced by Dagny, and David Widger "The Elixir of Life" by Honoré de Balzac is a philosophical short story written in the early 19th century. The narrative intertwines themes of life, death, and the moral dilemmas associated with immortality. Set against the backdrop of Ferrara, Italy, in the 16th century, the book explores the consequences of seeking eternal life and the ethical ramifications of one’s actions in relation to family and society. The story centers on Don Juan Belvidero, a reckless nobleman throwing a lavish banquet amid the impending death of his father, Bartolommeo. After receiving the grave news, Don Juan grapples with his feelings of guilt and remorse for his past neglect of Bartolommeo while simultaneously encountering a fantastical elixir that promises to restore life. In a moment of desperation, he conducts an experiment with the elixir on his father’s corpse, leading to unintended supernatural consequences. The tale evolves into a commentary on the nature of life, the inevitability of death, and how the pursuit of selfish desires can lead to tragic outcomes, ultimately culminating in a macabre and ironic twist during the supposed resurrection of Don Juan. The story serves as a reflection on the cycle of life and the folly of attempting to escape it. (This is an automatically generated summary.) en French fiction -- Translations into English PQ Text Browsing: Literature Browsing: Fiction 86902 86911 2024-09-01T08:51:57.850413 2023-10-01T08:10:32.687608 text/html text/html 81973 2013-04-04T11:47:32 text/html; charset=us-ascii 31255 2013-04-04T11:47:32 text/html; charset=us-ascii application/zip 74611 2024-09-01T08:52:01.259385 application/epub+zip 73521 2024-09-01T08:51:59.065414 application/epub+zip 73521 2024-09-01T08:51:58.310404 application/epub+zip 165101 2024-09-01T08:52:03.011391 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 156859 2024-09-01T08:52:00.751400 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 156771 2022-09-01T09:57:52.780544 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 73585 73567 2024-09-01T08:51:57.612415 2023-10-01T08:10:32.482591 text/plain; charset=us-ascii text/plain 73455 2010-02-20T16:17:08 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 29779 2010-02-20T16:18:24 text/plain; charset=us-ascii application/zip 19398 2024-09-01T08:52:03.151362 application/rdf+xml 12099 2024-09-01T08:51:58.656392 image/jpeg 3352 2024-09-01T08:51:58.483400 image/jpeg 73741 2024-09-01T08:51:57.859412 application/octet-stream application/zip Archives containing the RDF files for *all* our books can be downloaded at https://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Gutenberg:Feeds#The_Complete_Project_Gutenberg_Catalog en.wikipedia More titles under Marriage, Ellen fr.wikipedia en.wikipedia