The quote I picked out from the book goes like this. "I'd rather not casue pain for you or me. So why this... Useless interrogation? You'll get nothing from me." Tiresias says this, and it's somehow relevant with prophecy because he's the prophet.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nostradamus
There is a lot of speculation on what this Nostradamus guy supposedly predicted, from the 9-11 events to a bunch of other stuff. Personally I think that prophets just make general educated estimations on things to happen in the future based on what they see in the present, I don't think that its anything too crazy.
I think back in the day it was easy for people to buy into prophecies because maybe they were a lot more superstitious, and their strong belief in prophecy affected the way they lived their lives because they were constantly in a state of fear.
