Add a quote to a blank page centered

Question

I would like to start my thesis with a blank page with a quote of a famous scientist. I however do not find an elegant way to create the following in a estecially pleasing way (a larger font, stylish quotes). Key points: Insert blank page with quote centered both vertically and horizontally.

"Quote" Author 1955

Answer 1

The style chosen will depend heavily on the style you're using for other elements of your document (for example fonts, page layout, sectional units formatting), so it's difficult to produce a "universal solution". Here's one possibility; I chose not to center it vertically but to use the double of space below the quote than the space above it; the width of the \parbox is calculated as the width of the longest line of the quote (stored in the length \longest):

\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{lmodern}

\newlength\longest

\begin{document}

\clearpage

\thispagestyle{empty}
\null\vfill

\settowidth\longest{\huge\itshape just as his inclination leads him;}
\centering
\parbox{\longest}{%
  \raggedright{\huge\itshape%
   A man ought to read \\ 
  just as his inclination leads him; \\
  for what he reads as a task \\ 
  will do him little good.\par\bigskip
  }   
  \raggedleft\Large\MakeUppercase{Samuel Johnson}\par%
}

\vfill\vfill

\clearpage

\end{document}

babrbara beeton suggested to place the author flush right as it's often used in epigraphs:

\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{lmodern}

\newlength\longest

\begin{document}

\clearpage

\thispagestyle{empty}
\null\vfill

\settowidth\longest{\huge\itshape just as his inclination leads him;}
\centering
\parbox{\longest}{%
  \raggedright{\huge\itshape%
   A man ought to read \\ 
  just as his inclination leads him; \\
  for what he reads as a task \\ 
  will do him little good.\par\bigskip
  }   
  \raggedleft\Large\MakeUppercase{Samuel Johnson}\par%
}

\vfill\vfill

\clearpage

\end{document}

Answer 2

This should get you started:

\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{lipsum,csquotes,setspace}
\usepackage[charter]{mathdesign}
\usepackage[a4paper,margin=1in,showframe]{geometry} %%remove showframe in your document
%
\makeatletter
\def\nobottom{%
\def\@texttop{\ifnum\c@page>0\vskip \z@ plus 3fil\relax\fi}
\def\@textbottom{\ifnum\c@page>0\vskip \z@ plus 2fil\relax\fi}}
%
\def\resetopandbottom{%
\def\@texttop{\ifnum\c@page>0\vskip 0pt plus .00006fil\relax\fi}
\def\@textbottom{\ifnum\c@page>0\vskip 0pt plus .00006fil\relax\fi}}
\makeatother
%
\begin{document}
\nobottom
\pagestyle{empty}
\begin{displayquote}[\upshape\bfseries Author 1955][---]
\onehalfspacing\Large\itshape
\lipsum[1]
\end{displayquote}
\clearpage
%
\resetopandbottom
\pagestyle{headings}
%
\lipsum[1-10]
%
\end{document}

Answer 3

Both solutions given worked as a charm, I however chose for the first option, pure for estetical reasons. To implement this in latex is straightforward. To implement this in LyX, is a tad less straightforward, hence the steps needed to achieve this effect:

1. Hit CTRL+L (insert latex code) and add \null\vfill
2. Insert a frameless box and set it's inner box to Parbox by using the settingswindow.
3. In the parbox hit CTRL+L again and insert \raggedright{\huge\itshape%
4. Type your quote
5. CTRL+L:\par\bigskip} \Large{author}\par%}
6. Jump out of the box and below the parbox add these lines (again CTRL+L) \vfill\vfill \clearpage