Five Centuries of Nostradamus

This is a moot point if Nostradamus prophecies are of use for mankind or not
Last Sunday, was the 500th birthday of the most popular prophets in the world who forecast all important landmarks in the world history, starting with the Napoleon wars and Russia's October Revolution to President Kennedy killing, the first space flight and the breakup of the Soviet Union. On December 14, 1503 Michel de Nostradame (Nostradamus) was born to a family of a Provence notary public. The man is known as the author of the most mysterious prophecies that mankind has been vainly solving for over 4.5 centuries.

This is strange, but Michel de Nostradame felt no oracular talent within a great part of his life. He graduated from the university, was granted the degree of Master of Arts, traveled and studied astrology. Finally he preferred medicine and became a perfect doctor. The medical talent of Nostradamus was highly appreciated at that period which yielded him much money. The prophet career of Nostradamus started in the 1550s when he moved to Salon-de-Provence, opened a hotel and gave up medicine. 

In 1555, the prophet issued the first book of his prophecies. The prophecies were written in quatrains and one hundred quatrains made up a century. The author believed that the verses described events that were to inevitably happen in the future. When The Prophecies of Master Michelle Nostradamus came out, the book immediately became the best seller as we would call it now, and not popular doctor from Provence in a moment turned into a living classical author. Even the King of France Karl IX appointed Nostradamus his lifeguard doctor.

However, the great foreteller set out the history of the future in such complicated manner that neither during his life nor nowadays his mysterious verses can be correctly interpreted. Like with any other prophet, the language of Nostradamus is high-flown and extremely obscure; the quatrains are full of allegories and innuendo. In a word, even after reading the book of the master's centuries it is still a problem to say for sure what and when is to happen. Prophecies typical of Nostradamus let us interpret the same quatrain differently in various environments. Ideological opponents say Nostradamus is an ordinary cheater and say that his mystical metaphors make no sense at all. They add that imaginative people can find descriptions of President Kennedy killing even in a cookbook.

But despite of the critical remarks in the address of Nostradamus prophecies, hundreds and thousands of researchers are still seeking exact forecast of future historical events and millions of people do believe every word of the master. The authority of the Provence astrologer is still really great; some people even manage somehow to fabricate his quatrains. There is a legend saying that during WWII when Hitler forces attacked France it was rumored that according to Nostradamus prophecies the war would not touch the south of the country.  The civil population of France believed the rumors, immediately rushed to southern France and blocked the roads along which French troops moved.

This is a moot point if Nostradamus prophecies are of use for mankind or not. People have not learnt to use obscure hints of Nostradamus to be ready for coming wars or catastrophes or to avert them. The glory of a great prophet helped Michel de Nostradame even after his death. During the French Revolution, the new regime unsealed the crypt with the remains of Nostradamus in the wall of a church. The remains might have been thrown away, but a resourceful mayor of the place said the remains of the prophet must be respected because the man had allegedly predicted the revolution. It was decided to re-bury the remains of Nostradamus.