Eternal youth is the concept of human physical immortality free of aging. The youth referred to is usually meant to be in contrast to the depredations of aging, rather than a specific age of the human lifespan.
So far, achieving eternal youth remains beyond the capabilities of science. However, much research is currently being conducted in the sciences of genetics which may allow manipulation of the aging process at some time in the future.
Eternal youth is common in mythology, and it remains a popular theme in fiction.
Famous quotes containing the words eternal and/or youth:
“Materialism means simply the denial that the moral order is eternal, and the cutting off of ultimate hopes; spiritualism means the affirmation of an eternal moral order and the letting loose of hope.”
—William James (1842–1910)
“Our Indian said that he was a doctor, and could tell me some medicinal use for every plant I could show him ... proving himself as good as his word. According to his account, he had acquired such knowledge in his youth from a wise old Indian with whom he associated, and he lamented that the present generation of Indians “had lost a great deal.””
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)