Literary Close Calls: How The Aeneid Escaped the Flames

Evan Swensen
November 6, 2024

Only a few people know this, but The Aeneid, one of the greatest epic poems of all time, almost didn’t make it to our bookshelves. Imagine a world without the tale of Aeneas, the hero whose journey from the ruins of Troy to the shores of Italy would inspire countless writers, artists, and dreamers. Well, it came remarkably close to being lost forever, thanks to none other than its creator, the Roman poet Virgil.

Rewind the clock to 19 BC, when Virgil was on his deathbed. Like many writers, he was a perfectionist and didn’t consider The Aeneid complete. It was still a rough draft, with verses here and there that, to his mind, needed polishing. In his final moments, he felt so embarrassed by what he saw as its flaws that he called over a trusted servant and gave a shocking command: he wanted every copy of his manuscript burned.

Yes, burned. That would have been the end of The Aeneid, a work that would later be revered as one of the defining epics of Western literature. Virgil had poured over a decade of his life into this story, weaving together Aeneas’s heroism, love, and destiny in a narrative that bridged Troy and Rome. But like many artists, Virgil was his own worst critic. What he saw as imperfections, history would come to see as brilliance. Yet, in those final moments, all he could think about was the work’s incompleteness.

Enter Caesar Augustus, the first emperor of Rome and a great admirer of Virgil’s work. Augustus was not just an emperor; he was a lover of literature and believed in the power of storytelling to shape the soul of Rome. When he heard of Virgil’s final wish, he was horrified at the idea of The Aeneid vanishing into thin air. Augustus quickly intervened, overriding Virgil’s final command and ensuring his legacy would live on. He ordered the manuscript to be preserved instead of destroyed.

But Augustus didn’t stop there. He understood Virgil’s draft needed some work before being presented to the world. So, he hired Rome’s best poets to review and polish the text. These poets painstakingly edited the manuscript, filling in missing verses, smoothing out transitions, and bringing the epic to a form close to what Virgil had intended.

In the end, Augustus’s decision to preserve The Aeneid proved wise. Today, this epic is celebrated as a masterpiece of Latin literature and a cornerstone of Western literary tradition. The story of Aeneas has influenced everyone from Dante to T.S. Eliot, shaping narratives of heroism, fate, and the founding of civilizations. Imagine if that story had disappeared because of a writer’s anxiety over imperfections!

There’s something both humbling and humorous in this story. It’s a reminder that even the most brilliant minds experience self-doubt. Despite his genius, Virgil couldn’t see the masterpiece he had crafted. His hesitation almost erased one of literature’s great works, and it took an emperor’s intervention to save it.

For readers and writers alike, the near loss of The Aeneid is a tribute to the endurance of stories and a gentle nudge to all perfectionists. Perhaps it’s better to share our stories, flaws and all, rather than hide them out of fear. After all, who knows which story might go on to inspire generations to come?

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