Colext/Macondo
Cantina virtual de los COLombianos en el EXTerior
--------------------------------------------------
Nostradamus, the French astrologer born in 1503, published his barely
scrutable collection of prophecies, the Centuries, in 1555. Each four-line
verse, or "quatrain," purported to foretell world events far into the
future, and ever since Nostradamus' time the work has been claimed by
devotees to have "accurately" predicted wars, disasters and the rise and
fall of dynasties. But with all due respect to true believers, Nostradamus
composed his prophetic verses in such vague language that his words can be -
and have been - interpreted to apply to almost anything.
I have no doubt that ponderous tracts will be written in the coming weeks
and months asserting that Nostradamus prophesied the World Trade Center and
Pentagon attacks (such exegeses-in-hindsight have followed virtually every
modern catastrophe), but in the meantime there are already a number of
"spooky quatrains" circulating by email that are demonstrably fake. It isn't
a question of whether or not they accurately predict anything - Nostradamus
simply didn't write them.
The first was making the rounds within hours of the attacks. It said:
"In the City of God there will be a great thunder,
Two brothers torn apart by Chaos, while the fortress endures, the great
leader will succumb",
The third big war will begin when the big city is burning"
- Nostradamus 1654
Join the Discussion
"I rode in a cab in 1994 with a guy who explained to me that O.J. Simpson
was clearly outlined by Nostradamus..."
- Join the discussion
Related Stories
. Did Nostradamus Predict Bush Election Win?
. Face of Satan Appears in WTC Crash Photo!
. Canadian Tribute to America
Unfortunately, Nostradamus died in 1566, so it's rather unlikely he wrote
this passage in 1654. The quatrain is not to be found in his published
oeuvre. It's a hoax.
As far as we know, the text originated on a Web page entitled "A Critical
Analysis of Nostradamus," written several years ago by a student named Neil
Marshall. Marshall made up the quatrain to demonstrate - quite ironically,
in light of how it is now being misused - that the writings of Nostradamus
are cryptic enough to be interpreted to mean almost anything.
'Two metal birds would crash into two tall statues'
An interesting variant of the faux prophecy was posted in the newsgroup
soc.culture.palestine under the heading "They followed his prediction":
In the City of God there will be a great thunder, Two brothers torn apart by
Chaos,while the fortress endures, the great leader will succumb''The third
big war will begin when the big city is burning'- Nostradamus 1654 ...on the
11 day of the 9 month that...two metal birds would crash into two tall
statues...in the new city..and the world will end soon after" "From the
book of Nostradamus"
Again, while the text has all the flavor and vagueness of Nostradamus'
writings, it cannot be found in the Centuries. It's a hoax.
The third variant, now circulating by email, is perhaps the spookiest:
Subject: Re: Nostradamus
Century 6, Quatrain 97
Two steel birds will fall from the sky on the
Metropolis. The sky will burn at forty-five degrees
latitude. Fire approaches the great new city
[New York City lies between 40-45 degrees] Immediately
a huge, scattered flame leaps up. Within months,
rivers will flow with blood. The undead will roam
earth for little time.
About Poll
Do you think Nostradamus was a true prophet?
Yes.
No.
Not sure.
Current Results
This, it turns out, is an imaginative revision of an actual verse by
Nostradamus. The original, authentic passage is typically translated this
way:
The sky will burn at forty-five degrees latitude,
Fire approaches the great new city
Immediately a huge, scattered flame leaps up
When they want to have verification from the Normans.
But Nostradamus never mentioned "two steel birds," nor did he write that
"the undead will roam the earth." New York City lies at exactly 40 degrees,
42 minutes, 51 seconds north latitude. While it isn't false to say it lies
"between 40-45 degrees," the claim is imprecise, misleading and an obvious
ploy to make the prophecy seem applicable.
'Third big war will begin'
Variant #4, circulating by email:
Nostradamus' prediction on WW3:
"In the year of the new century and nine months,
>From the sky will come a great King of Terror...
The sky will burn at forty-five degrees.
Fire approaches the great new city..."
"In the city of york there will be a great collapse,
2 twin brothers torn apart by chaos
while the fortress falls the great leader will succumb
third big war will begin when the big city is burning"
- NOSTRADAMUS
He said this will be bigger than the previous two. 2001 is the first year of
the new century and this is the 9th month. New York is located at the 41st
degree Latitude.
In this case, a very few words actually written by Nostradamus - lines drawn
from a couple of different quatrains - have been supplemented with made-up
lines by person(s) unknown to make them seem relevant to the World Trade
Center catastrophe. The end result: pure bunk.
Anyone else want to have a go?
--------------------------------------------------------------
To unsubscribe send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
with UNSUBSCRIBE COLEXT as the BODY of the message.
Un archivo de colext puede encontrarse en:
http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/
cortesia de Anibal Monsalve Salazar
