This one isn't quite so obscure. I believe that the "i" spelling came to be in the 5th century AD (http://www.bartleby.com/65/ve/Vergil.html), when the Aeneid was used as a sort of magic 8-ball. People would randomly open the Aeneid and interpret the first line upon which their eyes fell. The connection here is with the "virga" or wand, which was somehow used in this practice. Also, it was a symbol of the magician. In my opinion, the "e" is preferrable, being that it is closer to his actual name. For a better explaination, see Pharr's books 1-6 of the Aeneid, Introduction.
The interesting question, which Emma posed, is why we don't use his cognomen. Sam Cole Sophomore, Classics, Reed College ----------------------------------------------------------------------- To leave the Mantovano mailing list at any time, do NOT hit reply. Instead, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the message "unsubscribe mantovano" in the body (omitting the quotation marks). You can also unsubscribe at http://virgil.org/mantovano/mantovano.htm#unsub
