They called him The Deathless One, The Immortal Count and The Man Who Would Not Die. Those who knew him intimately swore he never aged. The Count of Saint-Germain appeared exactly the same near the start of the 1700’s as he did near the century’s end, a span of over eighty years. But how is that possible? He was always described as a handsome, charismatic gentleman, between 30-40 years of age, of medium height and a fit build. Those, however, were the only ordinary attributes of a truly extraordinary man. Ladies beat their fans in his presence, saying he possessed ‘a rare perfection of form’ and ‘soft, penetrating eyes.’ Gentlemen admired his wealth, ‘intellectual countenance’ and ‘princely liberality.’
He was independently wealthy, though no one could ascertain from where it came. He never divulged his true name, his date of birth, or his country of origin. Many tried and failed to uncover his carefully guarded secrets, assuming he’d lived for centuries. European courts hailed him as a learned Alchemist, a musical savant, a trusted Mason, and an astute diplomat. His enemies were far less flattering, denouncing him as a common charlatan, a devious rogue, or even an enemy spy, worthy of arrest and execution.
Estimates of his age range from a hundred to over a thousand years!
The secret of his longevity was coveted by many and scoffed at by others. Was he a Time Traveler? A Vampyre? A Wizard? Regardless of the truth, the Count was somehow able to, by either natural or unnatural means, slow the human clock and extend his lifespan. The Fountain of Youth, Philosopher’s Stone, or the Elixir of Eternal Youth – all means were both suspected and coveted. If we consider, just for a moment that it was somehow true, did such an amazing feat ultimately become a blessing … or a Curse? Image everyone you knew, every family member, every friend, every lover, growing old and dying while you watched and lived on.
We hear accounts of Saint-Germain’s adventures across continents and centuries. In London, he composed operas and spied for the Scottish Rebellion. In Calcutta, he helped the British East India Company defeat the Mughal Empire. For French King Louis XV, he performed alchemy in the fabulous Chateau Chambord. For Catherine the Great, he plotted the her coup d’etat in St. Petersburg against husband Tzar Peter III. In between these grand adventures, he vanishes from sight, sometimes for a decade or more, leaving only mystery in his wake. His last known sighting was in the streets of Paris during the bloody French Revolution in 1789.
The Count’s contemporaries documented his escapades in their memoirs and letters: colorful figures like the philosopher Voltaire, Madame Pompadour and Marie Antoinette. Through these rare accounts, we raise the veil of mystery and witness the enigmatic Count in action. We hear of him entertaining the French court with his violin at Versailles, or performing alchemy in the cellars of Chateau Chambord. A year later, he is at the Hague in the Netherlands negotiating peace treaties for France to end the Seven Years War. Blink again and he narrowly escapes imprisonment as a Scottish Jacobite spy in London. It may all sound like a Masterpiece Theater program, but it is not.
Le Comte de Saint Germain is not fiction
He was (is?) a true historical adventurer with exploits that spanned both the globe and the 18th century. Unfortunately, like footprints on a beach, most records of the Count have been washed from history. The unknowns regarding this enigma of a man far eclipse the knowns. A dossier of Saint-Germain, kept by a wary French court, was mysteriously destroyed in a suspicious fire in Paris’ Hotel de Ville.
Saint-Germain was, by no stretch of the imagination, a real-life Count of Monte Cristo. In the 19th Century, the Count’s legend lived on thanks to the infamous mystic Madame Helena Blavatsky. Even today, the international Theosophical Society, the I AM Activity, and the Summit Lighthouse Church refer to him as The Violet Flame. They count him among their revered “Ascended Masters,” living on in another astral plane, still attainable through their religion.
In other blogposts, are detailed the research behind a historical novel on the Count, THE MAN WHO WOULD NOT DIE. It traces his adventures across 18th century Europe and the Far East. Somewhere buried within all the many anecdotes and tales, lies a trail of truth behind the mysterious Count of Saint-Germain. They allow us to pull back the curtain, if only for a moment, and see him for who he truly was.
I have found St Germain. He is alive forevermore. He has the keys. Anyone want to talk to him? He’s waiting in the desert. 928 263 0602
Tom Slemen came to the same conclusion as you twenty years ago.
Thanks Emma, was not aware. Tom has a lot of interesting books out. Which ones discusses Count Saint Germain?
Tom is a very prolific writer about haunted Liverpool.
Nice to see an individual composing concerning summary
of the book alchemist