[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changing the wording of a reproduction of a historical document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a historical document, and any attempt to tamper with its wording, no matter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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