So how did the classical Latin become so incoherent? According to McClintock, a 15th century typesetter likely scrambled part of Cicero’s De Finibus in order to provide placeholder text to mockup various fonts for a type specimen book.

It’s difficult to find examples of lorem ipsum in use before Letraset made it popular as a dummy text in the 1960s, although McClintock says he remembers coming across the lorem ipsum passage in a book of old metal type samples.

Nunc nec neque. Vestibulum ullamcorper mauris at ligula. Aliquam erat volutpat. Aliquam erat volutpat. Sed cursus turpis vitae tortor. Donec sodales sagittis magna. Etiam ultricies nisi vel augue. Morbi ac felis. Etiam imperdiet imperdiet orci. Maecenas nec odio et ante tincidunt tempus.Nunc nec neque. Vestibulum ullamcorper mauris at ligula. Aliquam erat volutpat. Aliquam erat volutpat…

So far he hasn’t relocated where he once saw the passage, but the popularity of Cicero in the 15th century supports the theory that the filler text has been used for centuries.

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