Chapter 16 "The Centuries" and the French Revolution

In 1789, the French Revolution broke out.This revolution is like a flame that has been brewing for many years. Once it burns, it will irresistibly swallow up the Bourbon dynasty that has ruled France for hundreds of years, and the thousand-year-old autocratic monarchy system has been completely overturned.The great significance of the French Revolution lies in that it was not only an event in France, but also affected the whole of Europe and even the whole world, and successfully promoted the spread of Enlightenment ideas around the world. However, such a long-standing revolution has been predicted more than 200 years before its outbreak.

The starting point of the French Revolution was the storming of the Bastille by the masses with great courage.But how could this heavily guarded prison be captured so easily?It is said that the leaders of the uprising masses had read the greatest prophecy book "The Centuries" before they acted. Won the final victory of the Great Revolution. Questions followed one after another, what exactly was described in the book "The Centuries" that doubled the confidence of the rebels?Or there are some shocking secrets hidden in this book, which made the rebels find the way to victory.

If you follow the clues, if you open "The Centuries", you will find that Nostradamus, the author of this book, successfully predicted the occurrence of the Great Revolution a hundred years ago, and the victory in 1789 only verified the accuracy of the prediction. Of the series of verses in The Centuries about the French Revolution, the most famous is this one: The chariot was overturned by the whirlwind, The face is hidden by a mask, At this time the new republic will make its own people miserable, Red and white are reversed, and the country has no peace. When French capitalism developed rapidly, many capitalists became the wealthiest class at that time by virtue of their rapidly accumulated capital.But because France was still in the old and backward feudal regime at that time, the newly emerging classes could not get their own interests and needs in the old regime.Especially after Louis XVI came to power, the contradictions between them became more acute.

Therefore, a change, or revolution, is imminent. On the night of July 14, 1789, the rebels stormed into the Bastille. After successfully occupying this feudal fortress, the wave of the French Revolution began to sweep across the country.In the end, Louis XVI was defeated by the rebel army and became a prisoner.With the support of the people, in early 1793, the Jacobins headed by Robespierre stepped onto the political stage. During their rule, French King Louis XVI was sent to the guillotine. This is all about the French Revolution. Look back at the poems mentioned in "The Centuries": the first and second sentences describe the scene where the feudal king was overthrown and stepped down.At that time, the nobles traveled in luxurious carriages, so "the chariot was blown over by the whirlwind" means that the storm of the Great Revolution overturned the chariots of the feudal nobles. "The face is hidden by a mask" symbolizes that the overthrown nobles are like rats crossing the street. They dare not even show their true colors. In order to save their lives, they have to cover their cheeks with cloaks and masks.

Starting from the third sentence, it makes people feel sad.The new republic is not even satisfied with its own people, which seems to indicate that the process of the Great Revolution is not going very smoothly, and the new political system is bound to encounter setbacks.The "red and white reversed" in the last sentence means that the red revolution finally overthrew the white Bourbon dynasty.It is also said that this sentence implies that there was a dispute between the Jacobins of the red party and the Girondists of the white party in the Great Revolution on the issue of the execution of Louis XVI.

Not only that, "The Centuries" also made accurate predictions about many small details in the Great Revolution.For example, the final fate of Louis XVI, the author Nostradamus described in detail the whole process from his imprisonment to his escape abroad to his arrest and execution.It is written in the book: Night will pass through the woods of Wren A couple walking on a winding mountain road like a white stone Monk in gray clothes in Warren Chosen to cause riot, fire, blood and cutting Louis XVI and the Queen wore gray and white clothes respectively when they absconded, and they were finally caught in Varennes.At that time, because of Louis XVI's weakness and incompetence, the people jokingly called him "Monk Emperor".The last four words "turmoil, fire, blood, and cutting" clearly describe the scene of Louis XVI being sent to the guillotine.

And in "The Centuries", the details of Louis XVI's execution are described incisively and vividly: With excessive discord, The horn also started to vibrate, Coordination is broken, "Look up to the blue sky", The bloody mouth swims in the sea of ​​blood, A face smeared with milk and honey, lying on the ground. The "discord" in the first sentence implies the disagreement between the Jacobins and the Girondins.The second sentence expresses the fierce struggle between the two.The more amazing thing is in the third sentence. When Louis XVI was taken to the execution ground, he recited a verse casually because he was feeling his own actions. .So in the last few verses, the author began to describe the tragedy of Louis XVI after he was beheaded.

This is the precise prediction made by Nostradamus about the French Revolution in the magical book "The Centuries".Surprisingly, it not only predicted the outbreak of the Great Revolution and the subsequent differences in the new regime, but also described the tiny details of the revolution as if they had witnessed it with their own eyes. Some people think that it is inevitable that some of the records in "The Centuries" were added after the French Revolution.But no amount of side details can conceal the accuracy and weirdness of the prophecies in this book.How the truth is, may become a permanent mystery.