Hitler #4-68 Original French In the place very near not far from Venus, The two greatest ones of Asia and of Africa, From the Rhine and Hister they will be said to have come, Cries, tears at Malta and the Ligurian side. This is one of the more popular quatrains; it is said to describe Hitler (Hister) at a meeting with Mussolini in which they made plans for Italy for formally enter the Second World War. The problem here is that Hister is a term used in the time of Nostradamus to describe the Danube river. It does seem to describe a war that has some relation to Germany, but there is no way of connecting this to Hitler or the Second World War. 3. Louis Pasteur #1-25 Original French Lost, found, hidden for so long a time, the pastor will be honored as a demigod: Before the Moon finishes its full period he will be dishonored by other winds. This is often cited as a prediction for the coming of Louis Pasteur and his work with microbes. The confusion is partly exacerbated by the fact that the French word for Pastor was Pasteur, but as Nostradamus never quoted anyone by name from the future, it is unlikely that he did so here – and the reference to a demigod in the same sentence suggests the religious interpretation of a religious Pastor. It is possible that Nostradamus may have been accurate with the date, however: Roussat, a Jewish Astrologer who work was known to Nostradamus put the end of the Moon cycle at 1887 – by which time Pasteur was applying his immunization technology. 4. Henry II of France #1-35 Original French The young lion will overcome the old one on the field of battle in single combat: He will put out his eyes in a cage of gold: Two fleets one, then to die a cruel death. Four years after Nostradamus wrote this prophecy, King Henry II of France was killed by a lance in the eye at a match with the younger Captain Montgomery. However, the match was not a battle, it was held at a party to celebrate a peace-treaty (quite the opposite of a field of battle). Many people say that this quatrain made Nostradamus famous in his own time, but it was not until 48 years after his death that this was first printed. 5. Conquering of the Balkan Peninsular #1-49 Original French Very much before such intrigues those of the East by virtue of the Moon: the year 1700 they will cause great ones to be carried off, almost subjugating the Aquilon corner. This is supposed to predict the Turkish taking of the majority of the Balkan Peninsular which was finally repelled by Peter the Great of Russia. They say that the Moon is a reference to the crescent moon – the symbol of Islam. Aquilon was a term known in the time of Nostradamus to mean the North wind. The biggest problem here? The Balkans are in the Southeast of Europe.
