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.

• 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.
• And anyways, as Cecil Adams reasoned
• “[Do you really] think graphic arts supply houses were hiring classics scholars in the 1960s?”
• Perhaps. But it seems reasonable to imagine that there was a version in use far before the age of Letraset.

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.

• 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.
• And anyways, as Cecil Adams reasoned
• “[Do you really] think graphic arts supply houses were hiring classics scholars in the 1960s?”
• Perhaps. But it seems reasonable to imagine that there was a version in use far before the age of Letraset.