diff --git a/src/main.cc b/src/main.cc
index 829051c..8aa717e 100644
--- a/src/main.cc
+++ b/src/main.cc
@@ -155,13 +155,25 @@ int main(int argc, char *argv[])
         return 2;
     }
 
-    if (!font.load(argv[1], HEIGHT / 10 * 7 / 10, 0))
+    int font_size = HEIGHT / 10;
+    Font tmp_font;
+
+    if (!tmp_font.load(argv[1], font_size, 0))
     {
         fprintf(stderr, "Error loading font from %s\n", argv[1]);
         return 2;
     }
 
-    if (!outlined_font.load(argv[1], HEIGHT / 10 * 7 / 10, 3 * 64 / 2))
+    /* figure out the font's scaling and reload at our desired line height */
+    font_size = (int)((double)font_size / ((double)tmp_font.get_line_height() / (double)font_size));
+
+    if (!font.load(argv[1], font_size, 0))
+    {
+        fprintf(stderr, "Error loading font from %s\n", argv[1]);
+        return 2;
+    }
+
+    if (!outlined_font.load(argv[1], font_size, 3 * 64 / 2))
     {
         fprintf(stderr, "Error loading font from %s\n", argv[1]);
         return 2;