Three dots in a quotation can make a long passage fit into a paragraph. They can also hide the connection that made the original argument intelligible. When reading a shortened quotation, pause at the omission rather than letting your mind supply a smooth bridge.
Establish who omitted the words
Read the edition’s conventions and the writer’s note. A modern author shortening a passage is not the same as an editor indicating damaged or missing text. The mark alone may not tell you which situation applies. Use the explanation attached to the particular source.
Reopen the surrounding passage
Find the quotation in the edition cited and read across both sides of the omission. Look for a change of speaker, a qualification, an example or an objection. You do not need to reproduce the full passage in your own notes; record the relationship that the shortened version leaves less visible.
For an invented example, removing “if the account is accurate” can turn a conditional statement into an apparently unconditional one. That is a change in the claim, not merely a saving of space.
Quote only what the context can support
When making your own excerpt, choose a shorter continuous passage if that preserves the point more faithfully. If an omission is necessary, ensure that the joined parts still represent the source’s relationship and follow the quotation conventions you are using.
The guide to brackets in translations addresses another visible editorial mark. Here the practical question is what the reader can no longer see. A helpful note names the edition and passage, then explains what was left out without pretending the dots are self-explanatory.