We have the authority of Josephus for the continuance of prophetic power in Israel even after the coming of Christ. He tells us of Jesus, the son of Ananus, who ran for seven years and five months through the streets of Jerusalem, proclaiming the coming ruin, and, while crying out "Woe is me!" was struck and instantly killed by a stone from one of the siege engines of the Romans. (Jos., l. vi. c. 31.) Josephus himself passes for a prophet, having predicted the fall of the city of Jotapata forty-seven days in advance, his own captivity, and the imperial dignity of Vespasian as well as of Titus. Of northern prophets, Merlin is probably the most widely known; he was a Celtic bard, called Myrdhin, and his poems, written in the seventh century, were looked upon as accurate descriptions of many subsequent events, such as the exploits of Joan of Arc. In the sixteenth century Nostradamus took his place, whose prophetic verses, _Vraies Centuries et Prophéties_, are to this day current among the people, and now and then reappear in leading journals. He had been a professor of medicine in the University of Montpellier, and died in 1566, enjoying a world-wide reputation as an astrologer. His brief and often enigmatical verses have never lost their hold on credulous minds, and a few striking instances have, even in our century, largely revived his credit. Such was, for instance, the stanza (No. 10): _Un empereur naître près d'Italie, Qui à l'empire sera vendu très cher; Dirònt avec quels gens il se ralliè, Qu'on trouvera moins prince que boucher,_ which was naturally applied to the great Napoleon and his marshals.