Why did Virgil Want to Burn The Aeneid? :: History Historical Papers

Why did Virgil Want to Burn The Aeneid?Publius Vergilis Maro, known to us as Virgil, was born Oct 15, 70 BC in Northern Italy. Octavius, who had always been a friend of Virgil, became Emperor in 27 BC, adopting the name of Augustus. He made Virgil in a sense, a court poet, although Virgil always retained his independence of thought and expression (Milch 7). However it was the Emperors initial idea, and not Virgils own, for him to write the Aeneid. Virgil accepted the project although he later wrote that he thought he must have been just more or less mad to attempt the task (Quinn 73). In the end, after working on the project for 11 years, Virgil thought he had failed in the attempt. He planned a three year trip to Greece and Asia to try to fix what he thought was wrong with the Aeneid. simply he died before he could finish, and on his deathbed Virgil asked for the manuscript to be burned. It is puzzling that the author of such a master human, hailed by many as the best piece of li terature ever written, and certainly one of the most influential, could look upon his work this way. Not just that it hadnt lived up to his expectations, but that it was bad enough that it should be burned. It doesnt expect to me that Virgil would have asked this simply because he didnt want people to read his work unless it was perfect. He must have thought that there was something actually dangerous about the Aeneid in its present form. In order to try to guess why Virgil believed the Aeneid to be such a failure, it is important to first be familiar with what Virgil was severe to accomplish with the story. Augustus wanted it to be an epic which glorified Rome and ultimately himself. Virgil himself had a passion for Italy and the peace, order, and security that could come as a result of the Augustan age. He had grown up in the midst of civil war and experienced first hand the pain and suffering that it caused. Uniting all Italy nether one rule would put an end to civil war and th is was Augustus plan. So in that sense Virgil shared Augustus vision and was an ideal choice to write the epic. save Virgil also had a deep hatred for all wars and battles, a sentiment which is hinted at in the text of the Aeneid many times.