[XeTeX] [OT] Free fonts for fontspec examples?
Philip Taylor (Webmaster, Ret'd)
P.Taylor at Rhul.Ac.Uk
Wed Jul 14 14:44:14 CEST 2010
William Adams wrote :
On Jul 14, 2010, at 6:16 AM, François Charette wrote:
>> Still, I cannot refrain from asking: what is exactly the point of
>> such fonts? Any edition of an historical text should be first and
>> foremost legible and intelligible to modern readers, without distracting
>> them. To accurately reproduce an original source, digital color photos
>> do a far better job, no?
> Yes, but such photos aren't searchable or
> indexable --- they're also significantly larger in terms of file size
> and are quite difficult to update and alter to correct errors or reflect
> modern sensibilities.
I agree with all except (possibly) the last part : what exactly
do you mean by "reflect modern sensibilities" ? Would you advocate
changing the wording of a reproduction of a historical document
solely because its original wording might these days be found
offensive by some ? Thomas Bowdler might rejoice, but speaking
personally I would value historical accuracy over political
correctness any day of the week.
> (whose wife purchased a reproduction of The Declaration of Independence
> for him as a Christmas gift last year:
> http://mbelloff.tripod.com/goddardbroadside.html --- we got the first
> edition w/ the original wording, but there's a new one w/ updated, more
> inclusive wording)
Hmmm, with all due respect, "a new one with updated, more inclusive wording"
seems like an oxymoron to me. Surely the Declaration of Independence is
a historical document, and any attempt to tamper with its wording, no matter
how well motivated, will simply result in at best a pastiche and at worst
a pure work of fiction ?
Philip Taylor
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