Lorem Ipsum

Lorem Ipsum, that’s how the first paragraph started. Followed by a series of more – still Latin – words full of presence and meaning. Apparently a Latin guideline for the publishing and advertising industries.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Sed a felis at mi scelerisque vulputate vitae at arcu. Proin elementum orci vel enim condimentum faucibus. Etiam id sapien sed eros sodales imperdiet quis quis ligula. Vivamus neque eros, egestas in nisi eu, congue gravida nisl. Nunc tristique, leo sit amet malesuada pharetra, ex turpis mattis diam, non auctor ex nibh ut nulla. Mauris nec molestie ante.

Excerpts from Cicero’s work De finibus bonorum et malorum  (The extremes of good and bad, 45 BC) served as the basis. 

Original version (H. Rackham’s 1914): “Nemo enim ipsam voluptatem, quia voluptas sit, aspernatur aut odit aut fugit, sed quia consequuntur magni dolores eos, qui ratione voluptatem sequi nesciunt, neque porro quisquam est, qui dolorem ipsum, quia dolor sit amet consectetur adipisci[ng] velit, sed quia non numquam [do] eius modi tempora inci[di]dunt, ut labore et dolore magnam aliquam quaerat voluptatem. Ut enim ad minima veniam, quis nostrum exercitationem ullam corporis suscipit laboriosam, nisi ut aliquid ex ea commodi consequatur? Quis autem vel eum iure reprehenderit, qui in ea voluptate velit esse, quam nihil molestiae consequatur, vel illum, qui dolorem eum fugiat, quo voluptas nulla pariatur?”

These arrangement of letters in Latin language may display text in harmony with its surrounding content, meaning, the rest of the layout. However, my first encounter with these words should be one of many.

Today, generators are mixing parts of a coherent text with seemingly strange and surprising words and phrases. The appearance may be tested in a variety of ways. Examples are:

• Slipsum – Generator tailored to the Pulp Fiction character Juels Winnfield
• Blindtextgenerator – Generator with Kafka and Werther text variations
• Bacon Ipsum – Generator specializing in meat
• Loripsum.net – Generator with standardized features (beta)
• Lispum – Generator with a traditional look (multilingual)

Here the translation of the original Cicero text into English: “Nor again is there anyone who loves or pursues or desires to obtain pain of itself, because it is pain, but occasionally circumstances occur in which toil and pain can procure him some great pleasure. To take a trivial example, which of us ever undertakes laborious physical exercise, except to obtain some advantage from it? But who has any right to find fault with a man who chooses to enjoy a pleasure that has no annoying consequences, or one who avoids a pain that produces no resultant pleasure?”

Evaluating the importance and weighting of content for the printed page has been taking place since the 1450s. So, Gutenberg still revolutionizing our world; arrangement and content are two aspects that shall hardly be separated.