Interpretation of Quatrain III - 19 |
In Nostradamus' 19th quatrain in the chapter named "Centurie Tierce" (in one sense having the meaning, "Group of
One Hundred the Third Part"), he wrote (in Old French):
En Luques sang & laict viendra plouvoir,
Un peu devant changement de preteur:
Grand peste & guerre, faim & soif fera voir
Loing ou mourra leur prince recteur.
Now, it is most important to understand that this quatrain cannot be understood by reading it syntactically, meaning
one cannot race through these four lines as if it were one sentence, even though there is only one period mark
showing. In fact, one cannot run through one line (MUCH LESS combine two lines as one), as if that were one
standard sentence. Each word has the potential to translate (into English) as multiple words, such that in French, one
speaking French may use the same word in multiple expressions, all with different impact of meaning.
For instance, the common irregular verb, "venir," as appearing in this quatrain in the third person future tense
("viendra"), would simply be translated as, "will come"; but, based on practical usage, "viendra" can also translate as,
"will arrive, will approach, will draw near unto; will proceed from, will issue from, will be derived from; will spring, will
prove, will grow; will happen, will chance, and will fall out." These possibilities of translation come from a 1611
French-English dictionary, making these possibilities most relative to the times of Nostradamus. Therefore, when
reading, "laict viendra pluvoir", one has to be open-minded, and consider ALL of these possibilities of translation, since
no one after the fact (i.e., not Nostradamus) knows for certain which use is correct. This is what makes interpreting
Nostradamus much more complex than simple syntactical reading can allow, and is why the French have never
understood the meaning of Nostradamus' words, even though they fully understood (for the most part) the words.
Due to constraints in this forum, I will simply present a translation in English, based on the totality of translation
possibilities, where although there are other words that could be substituted, these make it clearer how one can begin
to interpret this quatrain. That translation, although not the only translation, is as follows:
In the ones of Luke parentage
& milk will issue from to pour down wet,
One small owing
converting to judge:
Great disease
& warfare,
hunger
& thirst will cause to see
Far off where will decay their potentate cleric in charge.
What one has to do at this point is understand that Nostradamus, as a prophet of God, through an encounter with the
Holy Spirit and the apparition of Jesus Christ, produced The Prophecies as a holy document, from a holy source. With
The Prophecies indeed from a divine source of inspiration, it then the equivalent of another book of the Bible. Included
in its verses are then predictive quatrains related to this holiness, explaining how the future is allowed to be seen by
God. Knowing that, one can see the following begin to appear in the words of this quatrain:
Luke - an author of one of the books known as the Gospels (Good News), although not one of the known disciples of
Jesus. Some state he was born Greek, and became a disciple of Paul. Some believe that Luke, as a Greek physician
and historian, wrote the story of Jesus from his mother's (Mary) perspective, as he was not a first-hand witness to that
of which he wrote. This would make line one hint of those who know of Christ from his mother, the blessed Virgin. The
point is not to debate who Luke was, but to see that "the ones of Luke" (Luques, pronounced Lucas*) means
Christians, in general, and thus followers of Christ.
blood - is a word of huge metaphoric meaning, although it still retains the physical element of the flowing of blood
through the veins, assisting life. As such a liquid flow, the ones of Luke share In the belief of Jesus, whose blood was
shed for many. Still, Into the ones of Luke means the bloodline of Christians.
& milk - where the ampersand signifies a level of greater importance to what follows, meaning that the simple
nourishment of milk is not the only meaning. The production of milk, in all mammals, begins after the delivery of a
child, who is the important recipient of important milk. When joined as parentage & milk, one sees a connection of the
mother & child.
will issue from - is then the act of childbirth, which makes a mother's milk drop, in the form of lactation.
to pour down wet - is not only the flow of nourishment to the child, but the rain of blood, as the genetic flow of lineage,
which will issue from one mother.
That is the first line, which is the main theme that controls all focus of the remaining lines in this quatrain. It can be
summed up as, "In the lineage of the ones found in the book of Luke & milk will nourish a line of offspring." This, my
friends, is a statement confirming a bloodline of Jesus Christ. Line two, the secondary theme, which supports the main
theme, but is allowed the freedom to separate and direct the focus to a new line of thought, based on the main theme,
then states (looking at each word individually):
One - which, as a capitalized word mean an important One, focuses on the first offspring that relates to the main
theme. This is then identifying the secondary theme as relative to the first offspring, which would beget a line of
offspring.
small - or perhaps a better choice would be, "slender company", which indicates the size of a child, or infant, while also
indicating the group of the ones of Luke. The size is intimate, rather than a large group of people bring recognition to
themselves. This mirrors the nativity of Christ, as born in meager surroundings, to a small group of persons
recognizing the greatness of the affair.
owing - where the present participle of the possessive verb, "devoir" (in Old French debvoir), meaning, "to owe, to
have to", states an obligation born to one so small. It indicates a duty possessed by the bloodline, and the
responsibility of those surrounding the one to ensure its protection.
converting - which is a form of "changing," as the word "changement" initially indicates, but with a quatrain bearing a
religious theme, a statement of conversion as being what is owed from the "One", it shows the entirety of Jewish
history, since Jesus, where Jews were faced with the acceptance that Jesus was indeed the promised Messiah. They
had to convert to belief in the New Testament. Along with the Jews, Gentiles were also given the opportunity to convert
their beliefs (pagan views of polytheism) to those of the One God. This is highly supportive of the main theme the
lineage of Jesus Christ, as it indicates the advent of Christianity, as a changing from Judaism (theocracy of priesthood
to teach of the One God) to Christianity (theocracy of all being priests, through the Holy Spirit, to teach of the One
Christ), for the conversion of all humanity.
to judge - where the preposition, de, can mean, "to, from, with, or of", covering all aspects relative to judgment. The
element of judgment cannot be overlooked, particularly as the theme of The Prophecies is the proverbial Judgment
Day, but each individual has to understand that we all have our own judgment, regardless of when Judgment Day
comes. This secondary theme is concluding with the statement that it is up to each and every one of humanity to judge
for themselves how to live. Judgment Day comes when the majority of humanity has turned its back on God. To avoid
that judgment, God sent Jesus, as Christ, to be the One small slither of humanity owing his whole life as service to
God, for the purpose of changing the views of the world, so the world can judge correctly, and avoid "Doomsday". This
secondary theme then explains the need for a bloodline to Jesus, and those who followed His lead.
: - the second line ends with a colon, which means the third line will clarify the secondary theme's statement of One
small owing conversion to judge. Still, as the third line, it additionally adds supporting details to the main theme of holy
blood.
Great - is one of the most repeated words (non-preposition, article) in the quatrains. The capitalization indicates it is
more significant than just a simple statement of superlative. In fact, all uses of the word "great", particularly in the
masculine gender ("grand"), is indicative of a nation, including the people within that nation, who have achieved
greatness. With the focus of the quatrains being the times of the United States of America's rise to power, and
greatness, the United States is referenced by the one word, great. They are not exclusive in this title, although the
USA is undoubtedly the recognized world's greatest, since the collapse of the Soviet Union. The colon is clarifying the
need of these Great nations of the world to uphold the values of Christ, in order to save the world from its predicted
fate; or else the Great will cause the predicted end, due to their inability to judge how to live in peace.
disease - where the word "peste" can equally also mean, "pestilence, infection, plague, contagion, and death", states
that there is a huge flaw that comes with being Great, regardless of how much good the leading nations can do for the
world. The flaw comes from what causes humanity to thrive to achieve greatness, which is far less than altruistic. Man
has a strong tendency to strive for personal gain, and for each Great man of this world, hundreds will try to mimic the
actions that led to that stature. The disease that humanity suffers is its inherent inability to easily shun the trappings of
a material world, for the truly higher rewards of a spiritual home. This disease not only leads to greatness, but it also
leads to ruin. Thus, every historic Great nation has risen and fallen, with no exceptions made.
& warfare, - is stating an important aspect of the disease of the Great. What makes nations the most powerful in the
world, what makes empires out of nations, what makes one nation rise above all others is a nation's abilities, and
willingness to use those abilities, to fight to the death, until only one sits atop them all. The Soviet Union was a Great
from war. The British Empire was Great Britain from war. The United States became Great at the end of World War II.
It is the most important obstacle one must face to be Great, but it is a disease to believe that war keeps one Great
forever.
Following the word "guerre" is a comma, which means the following words are separate from, while still related to
warfare.
hunger - states that the taste for war and the rewards of being Great create a stomach for what it takes to reach ever
higher goals. Significantly, nations that are Great finds ways to feed the people of those nations, which increases their
satiation point, making them increasingly hungry. Meanwhile, a sign of a nation that is far from a world leader is its
inability to feed its people properly. A state of hunger leads to death, or to war.
& thirst - states the need for the most valuable element of life, which is water. Still, the word "soif" can also translate
as drought. This means that the same can be said, as for a hunger for greatness, having been Great once before (the
Ottoman Empire, the Roman Empire, the Egyptian Empire, etc.), but long since in a "power" drought, gives one a thirst
to become Great again.
will cause to see - means that these two desires in the world's nations, hunger & thirst for power, is enough to allow all
who study history to see the repeatability of this course to greatness. Still, seeing is not believing. The word "voir" can
equally translate to mean, "to heed," which takes one's focus back to the main theme statement of divine prophecy,
and the secondary theme of Christianity being due to God's owing mankind a chance for survival on earth, and
redemption in Heaven. In this sense, Jesus was sent to feed the hunger pangs ("take this bread, it is my body" - the
body of Christ - the nourishment of the soul, in how to live, knowing truly what is Great), and to quench the thirst ("drink
this wine, it is the blood of the New Covenant" - with God, where Jesus is the spirit that flows through one, elevating
one to being in touch with God, through the Holy Spirit). The purpose of Christ was to open all eyes; and in the future
we will see the true meaning of these words, hopefully enough to heed the advice.
Far off where will decay their potentate cleric in charge - is a statement of the Roman Catholic Church, which will
take the idea of Christ, and rather than nurture a true bloodline, will make its own quest to become Great. While
Nostradamus did not condemn the Church of his day, the schisms of the original Church of Christ point to some flaws
in the methodology of turning the Great Roman Empire into the Great Church of Rome. The Prophecies were written
in an unintelligible style to protect that Church, because, for all its imperfections, symbolic of all humanity having sins,
that Church would do work for God, despite its disease. However, in the future of which Nostradamus wrote, divinely
inspired by God to write, with no knowledge of the future beforehand, that Church will decay, particularly when their
potentate (or their prince) cleric in charge (or pope), not God's, will perish. This means both the death of the last
pope, having already led the Church to depart this life.
All in all, this quatrain is a general one, one which paints a broad-stroke picture that spans over two thousand years,
while still being predictive of things around the corner to come. As all quatrains, it stands solidly alone as one
prediction, or prophecy. It bears meaning by itself. Still, like all quatrains, it links to other quatrains that expand on
what is said here, specifically the general storyline of the whole of The Prophecies, as far as this quatrain is
concerned. There are other ways to view this quatrain, so that it tells of a specific future event, one involving
someone, or some place named Lucas, and the advent of a milky white rain. Certainly, the stories of the quatrains
focus deeply on the elements represented by the "Four Horsemen" of The Revelation: Famine, Disease, War, and
Death; and all is represented in this quatrain. In such a case, both interpretations would be true; and such is the
power of a divine prophecy. God cannot be limited to one explanation.
I hope this gives you an idea how to read Nostradamus. Every quatrain comes alive with deep meaning, by following
the same format. You simply have to know what was truly written, and then you have to read real slow.
* The Italian city Lucca (in the Tuscany region, near the Tyrrhenian coast) is spelled in French, Lucques (notice an
extra "c"). The name Luke, as in the Gospel of Luke, is spelled Luc in French. The family name Luques showes it as
a variation of Luke and Lucas.
One Hundred the Third Part"), he wrote (in Old French):
En Luques sang & laict viendra plouvoir,
Un peu devant changement de preteur:
Grand peste & guerre, faim & soif fera voir
Loing ou mourra leur prince recteur.
Now, it is most important to understand that this quatrain cannot be understood by reading it syntactically, meaning
one cannot race through these four lines as if it were one sentence, even though there is only one period mark
showing. In fact, one cannot run through one line (MUCH LESS combine two lines as one), as if that were one
standard sentence. Each word has the potential to translate (into English) as multiple words, such that in French, one
speaking French may use the same word in multiple expressions, all with different impact of meaning.
For instance, the common irregular verb, "venir," as appearing in this quatrain in the third person future tense
("viendra"), would simply be translated as, "will come"; but, based on practical usage, "viendra" can also translate as,
"will arrive, will approach, will draw near unto; will proceed from, will issue from, will be derived from; will spring, will
prove, will grow; will happen, will chance, and will fall out." These possibilities of translation come from a 1611
French-English dictionary, making these possibilities most relative to the times of Nostradamus. Therefore, when
reading, "laict viendra pluvoir", one has to be open-minded, and consider ALL of these possibilities of translation, since
no one after the fact (i.e., not Nostradamus) knows for certain which use is correct. This is what makes interpreting
Nostradamus much more complex than simple syntactical reading can allow, and is why the French have never
understood the meaning of Nostradamus' words, even though they fully understood (for the most part) the words.
Due to constraints in this forum, I will simply present a translation in English, based on the totality of translation
possibilities, where although there are other words that could be substituted, these make it clearer how one can begin
to interpret this quatrain. That translation, although not the only translation, is as follows:
In the ones of Luke parentage
& milk will issue from to pour down wet,
One small owing
converting to judge:
Great disease
& warfare,
hunger
& thirst will cause to see
Far off where will decay their potentate cleric in charge.
What one has to do at this point is understand that Nostradamus, as a prophet of God, through an encounter with the
Holy Spirit and the apparition of Jesus Christ, produced The Prophecies as a holy document, from a holy source. With
The Prophecies indeed from a divine source of inspiration, it then the equivalent of another book of the Bible. Included
in its verses are then predictive quatrains related to this holiness, explaining how the future is allowed to be seen by
God. Knowing that, one can see the following begin to appear in the words of this quatrain:
Luke - an author of one of the books known as the Gospels (Good News), although not one of the known disciples of
Jesus. Some state he was born Greek, and became a disciple of Paul. Some believe that Luke, as a Greek physician
and historian, wrote the story of Jesus from his mother's (Mary) perspective, as he was not a first-hand witness to that
of which he wrote. This would make line one hint of those who know of Christ from his mother, the blessed Virgin. The
point is not to debate who Luke was, but to see that "the ones of Luke" (Luques, pronounced Lucas*) means
Christians, in general, and thus followers of Christ.
blood - is a word of huge metaphoric meaning, although it still retains the physical element of the flowing of blood
through the veins, assisting life. As such a liquid flow, the ones of Luke share In the belief of Jesus, whose blood was
shed for many. Still, Into the ones of Luke means the bloodline of Christians.
& milk - where the ampersand signifies a level of greater importance to what follows, meaning that the simple
nourishment of milk is not the only meaning. The production of milk, in all mammals, begins after the delivery of a
child, who is the important recipient of important milk. When joined as parentage & milk, one sees a connection of the
mother & child.
will issue from - is then the act of childbirth, which makes a mother's milk drop, in the form of lactation.
to pour down wet - is not only the flow of nourishment to the child, but the rain of blood, as the genetic flow of lineage,
which will issue from one mother.
That is the first line, which is the main theme that controls all focus of the remaining lines in this quatrain. It can be
summed up as, "In the lineage of the ones found in the book of Luke & milk will nourish a line of offspring." This, my
friends, is a statement confirming a bloodline of Jesus Christ. Line two, the secondary theme, which supports the main
theme, but is allowed the freedom to separate and direct the focus to a new line of thought, based on the main theme,
then states (looking at each word individually):
One - which, as a capitalized word mean an important One, focuses on the first offspring that relates to the main
theme. This is then identifying the secondary theme as relative to the first offspring, which would beget a line of
offspring.
small - or perhaps a better choice would be, "slender company", which indicates the size of a child, or infant, while also
indicating the group of the ones of Luke. The size is intimate, rather than a large group of people bring recognition to
themselves. This mirrors the nativity of Christ, as born in meager surroundings, to a small group of persons
recognizing the greatness of the affair.
owing - where the present participle of the possessive verb, "devoir" (in Old French debvoir), meaning, "to owe, to
have to", states an obligation born to one so small. It indicates a duty possessed by the bloodline, and the
responsibility of those surrounding the one to ensure its protection.
converting - which is a form of "changing," as the word "changement" initially indicates, but with a quatrain bearing a
religious theme, a statement of conversion as being what is owed from the "One", it shows the entirety of Jewish
history, since Jesus, where Jews were faced with the acceptance that Jesus was indeed the promised Messiah. They
had to convert to belief in the New Testament. Along with the Jews, Gentiles were also given the opportunity to convert
their beliefs (pagan views of polytheism) to those of the One God. This is highly supportive of the main theme the
lineage of Jesus Christ, as it indicates the advent of Christianity, as a changing from Judaism (theocracy of priesthood
to teach of the One God) to Christianity (theocracy of all being priests, through the Holy Spirit, to teach of the One
Christ), for the conversion of all humanity.
to judge - where the preposition, de, can mean, "to, from, with, or of", covering all aspects relative to judgment. The
element of judgment cannot be overlooked, particularly as the theme of The Prophecies is the proverbial Judgment
Day, but each individual has to understand that we all have our own judgment, regardless of when Judgment Day
comes. This secondary theme is concluding with the statement that it is up to each and every one of humanity to judge
for themselves how to live. Judgment Day comes when the majority of humanity has turned its back on God. To avoid
that judgment, God sent Jesus, as Christ, to be the One small slither of humanity owing his whole life as service to
God, for the purpose of changing the views of the world, so the world can judge correctly, and avoid "Doomsday". This
secondary theme then explains the need for a bloodline to Jesus, and those who followed His lead.
: - the second line ends with a colon, which means the third line will clarify the secondary theme's statement of One
small owing conversion to judge. Still, as the third line, it additionally adds supporting details to the main theme of holy
blood.
Great - is one of the most repeated words (non-preposition, article) in the quatrains. The capitalization indicates it is
more significant than just a simple statement of superlative. In fact, all uses of the word "great", particularly in the
masculine gender ("grand"), is indicative of a nation, including the people within that nation, who have achieved
greatness. With the focus of the quatrains being the times of the United States of America's rise to power, and
greatness, the United States is referenced by the one word, great. They are not exclusive in this title, although the
USA is undoubtedly the recognized world's greatest, since the collapse of the Soviet Union. The colon is clarifying the
need of these Great nations of the world to uphold the values of Christ, in order to save the world from its predicted
fate; or else the Great will cause the predicted end, due to their inability to judge how to live in peace.
disease - where the word "peste" can equally also mean, "pestilence, infection, plague, contagion, and death", states
that there is a huge flaw that comes with being Great, regardless of how much good the leading nations can do for the
world. The flaw comes from what causes humanity to thrive to achieve greatness, which is far less than altruistic. Man
has a strong tendency to strive for personal gain, and for each Great man of this world, hundreds will try to mimic the
actions that led to that stature. The disease that humanity suffers is its inherent inability to easily shun the trappings of
a material world, for the truly higher rewards of a spiritual home. This disease not only leads to greatness, but it also
leads to ruin. Thus, every historic Great nation has risen and fallen, with no exceptions made.
& warfare, - is stating an important aspect of the disease of the Great. What makes nations the most powerful in the
world, what makes empires out of nations, what makes one nation rise above all others is a nation's abilities, and
willingness to use those abilities, to fight to the death, until only one sits atop them all. The Soviet Union was a Great
from war. The British Empire was Great Britain from war. The United States became Great at the end of World War II.
It is the most important obstacle one must face to be Great, but it is a disease to believe that war keeps one Great
forever.
Following the word "guerre" is a comma, which means the following words are separate from, while still related to
warfare.
hunger - states that the taste for war and the rewards of being Great create a stomach for what it takes to reach ever
higher goals. Significantly, nations that are Great finds ways to feed the people of those nations, which increases their
satiation point, making them increasingly hungry. Meanwhile, a sign of a nation that is far from a world leader is its
inability to feed its people properly. A state of hunger leads to death, or to war.
& thirst - states the need for the most valuable element of life, which is water. Still, the word "soif" can also translate
as drought. This means that the same can be said, as for a hunger for greatness, having been Great once before (the
Ottoman Empire, the Roman Empire, the Egyptian Empire, etc.), but long since in a "power" drought, gives one a thirst
to become Great again.
will cause to see - means that these two desires in the world's nations, hunger & thirst for power, is enough to allow all
who study history to see the repeatability of this course to greatness. Still, seeing is not believing. The word "voir" can
equally translate to mean, "to heed," which takes one's focus back to the main theme statement of divine prophecy,
and the secondary theme of Christianity being due to God's owing mankind a chance for survival on earth, and
redemption in Heaven. In this sense, Jesus was sent to feed the hunger pangs ("take this bread, it is my body" - the
body of Christ - the nourishment of the soul, in how to live, knowing truly what is Great), and to quench the thirst ("drink
this wine, it is the blood of the New Covenant" - with God, where Jesus is the spirit that flows through one, elevating
one to being in touch with God, through the Holy Spirit). The purpose of Christ was to open all eyes; and in the future
we will see the true meaning of these words, hopefully enough to heed the advice.
Far off where will decay their potentate cleric in charge - is a statement of the Roman Catholic Church, which will
take the idea of Christ, and rather than nurture a true bloodline, will make its own quest to become Great. While
Nostradamus did not condemn the Church of his day, the schisms of the original Church of Christ point to some flaws
in the methodology of turning the Great Roman Empire into the Great Church of Rome. The Prophecies were written
in an unintelligible style to protect that Church, because, for all its imperfections, symbolic of all humanity having sins,
that Church would do work for God, despite its disease. However, in the future of which Nostradamus wrote, divinely
inspired by God to write, with no knowledge of the future beforehand, that Church will decay, particularly when their
potentate (or their prince) cleric in charge (or pope), not God's, will perish. This means both the death of the last
pope, having already led the Church to depart this life.
All in all, this quatrain is a general one, one which paints a broad-stroke picture that spans over two thousand years,
while still being predictive of things around the corner to come. As all quatrains, it stands solidly alone as one
prediction, or prophecy. It bears meaning by itself. Still, like all quatrains, it links to other quatrains that expand on
what is said here, specifically the general storyline of the whole of The Prophecies, as far as this quatrain is
concerned. There are other ways to view this quatrain, so that it tells of a specific future event, one involving
someone, or some place named Lucas, and the advent of a milky white rain. Certainly, the stories of the quatrains
focus deeply on the elements represented by the "Four Horsemen" of The Revelation: Famine, Disease, War, and
Death; and all is represented in this quatrain. In such a case, both interpretations would be true; and such is the
power of a divine prophecy. God cannot be limited to one explanation.
I hope this gives you an idea how to read Nostradamus. Every quatrain comes alive with deep meaning, by following
the same format. You simply have to know what was truly written, and then you have to read real slow.
* The Italian city Lucca (in the Tuscany region, near the Tyrrhenian coast) is spelled in French, Lucques (notice an
extra "c"). The name Luke, as in the Gospel of Luke, is spelled Luc in French. The family name Luques showes it as
a variation of Luke and Lucas.
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