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    CURRENT PLUTO PERIHELION:

    Renaissance or Perish

    by Bill Hansen

    Page 2

    The ubiquitous changes of the period were created not only by war, but also by genius. Jean-Jacques Rousseau, one of the most versatile and influential Frenchman of the time, was 30 years old in 1742; he inspired many leaders of the French Revolution. A great Humanist Renaissance in France, Britain, and Germany was underway. Great personages effectively changed social conditions that had existed for centuries. Democratic thought was born; individual freedom emerged. A few of the notable included Luigi Galvani, James Watt, J.S. Bach, George Frederick Handel, Francois Voltaire, Thomas Paine, George Washington, David Hume, Immanuael Kant, Franz Anton Mesmer, and Catherine the Great. Benjamin Franklin invented a lightning conductor in 1752, proving that lightning is a form of electricity. This led, of course, to the harnessing of electrical power. Two other significant inventions of the time included the gyroscope stabilizer for ships, and the Franklin stove. Called the "Age of Enlightenment," it was truly a transitional time of Plutonian dimension.
    Pluto was perihelion in 1494 when Columbus sailed the Americas. The period of Pluto's inner orbit of Neptune (1481-1501) was called the Italian Renaissance. Superstars of history appeared in this period too: Michelangelo, Leonardo Da Vinci, Nicolaus Copernicus, Martin Luther, and Niccolo Machiavelli.

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