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St. Leon: A Tale of the Sixteenth Century

Chapter 49: FOOTNOTES
By William Godwin
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About This Book

The narrative recounts the life of a European gentleman who acquires a secret that converts base metal to gold and confers extended life, then traces the consequences of that discovery. Early prosperity is offset by isolation, suspicion, and the erosion of intimate bonds as others covet or fear his advantage. Through travel, exile, and encounters at courts, he confronts the moral and social costs of limitless wealth and longevity and reflects on ambition, regret, and human vanity. The tale blends adventure and travel with philosophical digressions, asking whether immortality and absolute riches bring fulfillment or only deepen human sorrow.

FOOTNOTES

[1] To this story, in the book from which I have quoted it, is subjoined the following reference:—“Mémoires Historiques, 1687, tom. i. p. 365.” Being desirous of giving my extract from the oldest authority, I caused the British Museum, and the libraries of Oxford and Cambridge, to be searched for this publication, but in vain. The story and the reference are, not improbably, both of them the fictions of the English writer.

[2] Johnson’s Occasional Prologue on Garrick’s assuming the management of Drury-lane Theatre.

[3] Charles V.

[4] Henry VIII.

[5] Antonio de Leyva.

[6] The constable of Bourbon.

[7] Mistresses of Francis I.

[8] The battle of Cerisolles.

[9] This incident is told, nearly in the words of St. Leon, by Thuanus, Historiæ Sui Temporis, lib. 2. cap. 14.

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