THREE PROPHECIES OF OLD TIME.
That Troy should triumph in Rome—
That America should be discovered—
French Revolution, 1788-89, predicted in 10th Century.
“Des le Xᵉ siècle, Albumasar avait calculé que l’année mil sept cent quatre-vingt-neuf serait féconde en révolutions sociales, à cause de l’une des grandes conjonctions de Saturne. L’astrologie est vanité, erreur, mensonge, tout ce que vous voudrez; mais enfin voilà une prédiction d’une authenticité irrécusable.”—Albumasar, De Magnis Conjunctionibus Tract. ii., Different. 8. Vide Migné, Dict. des Prophéties,
Translation.
The Revolution (la dechassée), repressed in 1816, shall again obtain the government. Its enemies will be treated as conspirators, and it will be stronger than ever. Seventy-three years are assured to its death-like rule. I give this as M. le Pelletier does, but I see no reason whatever to think that it is correct. Garencières makes it apply to Charles II. of England, and the seventy-three put to death are those who abetted the murder of his father. This is very vague. Garencières reads Le dechassé. Here we may remark that Napoleon himself [p. 289] dates his nobility from [228]the battle of Montenotte, 1797. Seventy-three years added to this yields us the remarkable date of the fall of his dynasty at Sedan, 1870.
Century I.—Quatrain 3. (September 22, 1792.) [I. 162.]
Translation.
This means that the royalists (les blancs) and the republicans (les rouges) will judge of everything from utterly opposed points of view. What was top will become bottom, when the blast blows the litter over; and, new men rising to power, the rest will cover their faces with hypocrisy, as men do with their cloaks in a storm. Compare the phrase à l’envers with
Century II.—Quatrain 30. [I. 163.]
Translation.
The meaning is, Napoleon shall arise, who will reawaken the solemn curse on Rome uttered by Hannibal, when he called the infernal gods to witness his hatred to her, to the terror of all mortals. Not Babel at the dispersion brought on the world more horror, nor days of more evil-ploughing for the present or seed-sowing for the future than shall fall upon the Roman world by him. This is much better than to limit it to an ecclesiastical area merely. We shall see that Charles V. is a sort of prototype of Napoleon, and Garencières adduces Charles V. as fulfilling this prophecy. Hannibal is also a prototype of Napoleon in attacking Italy by crossing the Alps.
