8.2 @quotation: Block Quotations

The text of a quotation is processed like normal text (regular font, text is filled) except that:

• both the left and right margins are closer to the center of the page, so the whole of the quotation is indented;
• the first lines of paragraphs are indented no more than other lines; and
• an @author command may be given to specify the author of the quotation.

This is an example of text written between a @quotation command and an @end quotation command. A @quotation command is most often used to indicate text that is excerpted from another (real or hypothetical) printed work.

Write a @quotation command as text on a line by itself. This line will disappear from the output. Mark the end of the quotation with a line beginning with and containing only @end quotation. The @end quotation line will likewise disappear from the output.

@quotation takes one optional argument, given on the remainder of the line. This text, if present, is included at the beginning of the quotation in bold or otherwise emphasized, and followed with a ‘:’. For example:

@quotation Note
This is
a foo.
@end quotation

produces

Note: This is a foo.

If the @quotation argument is one of these English words (case-insensitive):

Caution  Important  Note  Tip  Warning

then the Docbook output uses corresponding special tags (<note>, etc.) instead of the default <blockquote>. HTML output always uses <blockquote>.

If the author of the quotation is specified in the @quotation block with the @author command, a line with the author name is displayed after the quotation:

@quotation
People sometimes ask me if it is a sin in the Church of Emacs to use
vi.  Using a free version of vi is not a sin; it is a penance.  So happy
hacking.

@author Richard Stallman
@end quotation

produces

People sometimes ask me if it is a sin in the Church of Emacs to use vi. Using a free version of vi is not a sin; it is a penance. So happy hacking.

Texinfo also provides a command @smallquotation, which is just like @quotation but uses a smaller font size where possible. See @small….