The Swerve Summary
Stephen Greenblatt

The Swerve Overview

A papal scribe who was obsessed with finding manuscripts from antiquity comes across a forgotten poem written by a little known Roman philosopher named Lucretius who penned the lyrical poem in beautiful Latin. The scribe was initially enchanted with the discovery that was written nearly 1,500 years before. On closer inspection, the scribe who was the secretary to the pope realized that the work was a doctrine in support of atheism. The scribe could have put the poem back in hibernation to protect the Church but he decided that the world should have the chance to read the poem and that the world should make its own judgment about it.