The Lorem ipsum text is derived from sections 1.10.32 and 1.10.33 of Cicero's De finibus bonorum
et malorum. The physical source may have been the 1914 Loeb Classical Library edition of De
finibus, where the Latin text, presented on the left-hand (even) pages, breaks off on page 34
with "Neque porro quisquam est qui do-" and continues on page 36 with "lorem ipsum ...",
suggesting that the galley type of that page was mixed up to make the dummy text seen today.
The discovery of the text's origin is attributed to Richard McClintock, a Latin scholar
at Hampden–Sydney College. McClintock connected Lorem ipsum to Cicero's writing sometime before
1982 while searching for instances of the Latin word consectetur, which was rarely used in
classical literature.[4] McClintock first published his discovery in a 1994 letter to the editor
of Before & After magazine, contesting the editor's earlier claim that Lorem ipsum had no
meaning.
The relevant section of Cicero as printed in the source is reproduced below
with fragments used in Lorem ipsum underlined. Letters in brackets were added to Lorem ipsum and
were not present in the source text:
Sed ut perspiciatis, unde omnis iste natus error
sit voluptatem accusantium doloremque laudantium, totam rem aperiam eaque ipsa, quae ab illo
inventore veritatis et quasi architecto beatae vitae dicta sunt, explicabo. 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[d] exercitationem ullam corporis suscipitlaboriosam, nisi ut aliquid ex ea commodi
consequatur? Quis autem vel eum iure reprehenderit, qui inea voluptate velit esse, quam nihil
molestiae consequatur, vel illum, qui dolorem eum fugiat, quo voluptas nulla pariatur? [33] At
vero eos et accusamus et iusto odio dignissimos ducimus, qui blanditiis praesentium voluptatum
deleniti atque corrupti, quos dolores et quas molestias excepturi sint, obcaecati cupiditate
non-provident, similique sunt in culpa, qui officia deserunt mollitia animi, id est laborum et
dolorum fuga. Et harum quidem rerum facilis est et expedita distinctio. Nam libero tempore, cum
soluta nobis est eligendi optio, cumque nihil impedit, quo minus id, quod maxime placeat, facere
possimus, omnis voluptas assumenda est, omnis dolor repellendus. Temporibus autem quibusdam et
aut officiis debitis aut rerum necessitatibus saepe eveniet, ut et voluptates repudiandae sint
et molestiae non-recusandae. Itaque earum rerum hic tenetur a sapiente delectus, ut aut
reiciendis voluptatibus maiores alias consequatur aut perferendis doloribus asperiores repellat…
This is H. Rackham's translation as printed in the Loeb Classical Library edition with
underlining added for the translation of the text found in the example of the Lorem ipsum[2]:
But I must explain to you how all this mistaken idea of denouncing of a pleasure and
praising pain was born and I will give you a complete account of the system, and expound the
actual teachings of the great explorer of the truth, the master-builder of human happiness. No
one rejects, dislikes, or avoids pleasure itself, because it is pleasure, but because those who
do not know how to pursue pleasure rationally encounter consequences that are extremely painful.
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? On the other hand, we denounce with righteous indignation and
dislike men who are so beguiled and demoralized by the charms of pleasure of the moment, so
blinded by desire, that they cannot foresee the pain and trouble that are bound to ensue; and
equal blame belongs to those who fail in their duty through weakness of will, which is the same
as saying through shrinking from toil and pain. These cases are perfectly simple and easy to
distinguish. In a free hour, when our power of choice is untrammeled and when nothing prevents
our being able to do what we like best, every pleasure is to be welcomed and every pain avoided.
But in certain circumstances and owing to the claims of duty or the obligations of business it
will frequently occur that pleasures have to be repudiated and annoyances accepted. The wise man
therefore always holds in these matters to this principle of selection: he rejects pleasures to
secure other greater pleasures, or else he endures pains to avoid worse.