What Nostradamus's quatrains say in Century X
X 78
Subite ioye en subite tristesse
Sera à Rome aux graces embrassées.
Dueil, cris, pleurs, larm. sang excellent liesse :
Contraires bandes surprinses & troulsées.
Sudden joy to sudden sadness,
It will occur at Rome for the graces embraced:
Grief, cries, tears, weeping, blood, excellent mirth,
Contrary bands surprised and trussed up.
X 79
Les vieux chemins seront tous embellis,
L'on passera à Memphis somentrées,
Le grand Mercure d'Hercules fleur de lys
Faisant trembler terre mer, & contrées.
The old roads will all be improved,
One will proceed on them to the modern Memphis:
The great Mercury of Hercules fleur-de-lis,
Causing to tremble lands, sea and country.
The internet rumor of what it says:
The quatrain to which Dr. Evans refers - Quatrain 78 - is
located in the grouping of stanzas known as Century X.
Originally published in 1555 in Nostradamus' still-popular Les
Prophecies, Quatrain 78 reads in full:
AT THE WAR'S END
THE FEEBLE KEPT-ONE WILL STRIKE DOWN THE NIGHT
AND HIS IMBECILE QUEEN WILL RISE FROM THE SNOW
BEDECKED IN FINERY AND THE PELT OF A WOLF.
While a liberal reading of the quatrain may seem to some to
contain hidden, relevant meaning, many scholars label as
hogwash the idea that Nostradamus was able to see and
predict events that would happen so distantly in the future.
"Whenever current events cough up a notable historic chapter,
like on 9-11, the Nostradamus nuts are right there, twisting
text to make the prediction meet the event," said renowned
skeptic and paranormal debunker Chip Manheim. "Just in terms
of comparison, take a look at the next quatrain from Century
X, Quatrain 79. This, incidentally, was the last quatrain that
Nostradamus ever wrote:
"IN FIVE MOONS, THE FEEBLE KEPT-ONE IS NO MORE
AND HIS IMBECILE QUEEN SEES THE GREAT BEAR
FROM HER BACKYARD, ALRIGHTY, AND FLINGS GIANT POISON ARROWS
AND THE GREAT BEAR RESPONDS IN KIND, AND, WELL, THE END.