[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"$f1grUeqiRJGFzEJO8UtUovrtl0AqhuG3qalFL6V3d3KE":3,"$fdBJImlsesGg7-n6YIKZLZieAJrGfjFCJR9M7hpnOutE":71},{"author":4,"tags":51},{"author_id":5,"author_name":6,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"bio":9,"short_bio":10,"bio_jsonld":11,"slug":49,"image_url":50},4208,"Agnes Repplier","A",226,"The late nineteenth century saw the personal essay gain a firm foothold in American literary culture, as writers used the form to engage readers on subjects ranging from history and manners to literature and daily life. Agnes Repplier was born in Philadelphia in 1855 and worked within that period as a writer, essayist, and biographer, contributing to a form that rewarded careful observation and a cultivated prose style.\n\nRepplier was educated at the Agnes Irwin School in Philadelphia, and she went on to build a career that spanned an exceptionally long stretch of American literary life, from the nineteenth century well into the twentieth. Among her works, the essay collection In the Dozy Hours, and Other Papers offers a direct example of the kind of writing she produced. She was an American citizen who worked across both essay and biography, and she remained connected to Philadelphia throughout her life, having been born there and having died there in December 1950 at the age of ninety-five.\n\nRecognition for her work came in the form of two honors: the Laetare Medal and the Siena Medal. These awards mark a concrete measure of the regard in which Repplier was held as a writer and essayist. Her death in Philadelphia in 1950 closed a career that had run for decades, and the medals she received stand as the clearest record the facts provide of how her peers and contemporaries assessed her contribution to American letters.","The late nineteenth century saw the personal essay gain a firm foothold in American literary culture, as writers used the form to engage readers on subjects ranging from history and manners to literature and daily life. Agnes Repplier was born in Philadelphia in 1855 and worked within that period as a writer, essayist, and biographer, contributing to a form that rewarded careful observation and a cultivated prose style.",{"@graph":12,"@context":48},[13,25],{"@id":14,"name":6,"@type":15,"sameAs":16,"birthDate":22,"deathDate":23,"description":24},"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4693113","Person",[14,17,18,19,20,21],"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agnes_Repplier","https://viaf.org/viaf/67678996/","https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n50042652","https://openlibrary.org/authors/OL215856A","https://d-nb.info/gnd/134235533","1855-04-01","1950-12-15","American essayist (1855–1950)",{"@type":26,"author":27,"headline":30,"isBasedOn":31,"mainEntity":32,"reviewedBy":33,"articleBody":9,"dateCreated":34,"dateModified":35,"additionalProperty":36,"creativeWorkStatus":47},"Article",{"name":28,"@type":29},"Editorial Team","Organization","Agnes Repplier — biography",[14,17,19,20],{"@id":14},{"name":28,"@type":29},"2026-05-23T01:09:51.771046+00:00","2026-05-23T01:19:14.502227+00:00",[37,41,44],{"@type":38,"value":39,"propertyID":40},"PropertyValue","Q4693113","wikidata",{"@type":38,"value":42,"propertyID":43},"1.000","factscore",{"@type":38,"value":45,"propertyID":46},"claude-sonnet-4-6-r1","draftModel","AI-drafted, auto-published","https://schema.org","agnes-repplier",null,[52,56,60,64,68],{"tag_id":53,"tag_name":54,"tag_count":55},326,"men",10,{"tag_id":57,"tag_name":58,"tag_count":59},56,"thinking",8,{"tag_id":61,"tag_name":62,"tag_count":63},904,"travel",7,{"tag_id":65,"tag_name":66,"tag_count":67},3,"humor",5,{"tag_id":69,"tag_name":70,"tag_count":67},3785,"giving",{"quotes":72,"pagination":136},[73,80,86,92,98,105,111,118,124,130],{"id":74,"quote_text":75,"author_id":5,"source_id":59,"has_image":76,"author":77,"source":78,"quote_tag":79,"commentary":50},4006370,"A villain must be a thing of power, handled with delicacy and grace. He must be wicked enough to excite our aversion, strong enough to arouse our fear, human enough to awaken some transient gleam of sympathy.",false,{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":49,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":50},{},[],{"id":81,"quote_text":82,"author_id":5,"source_id":59,"has_image":76,"author":83,"source":84,"quote_tag":85,"commentary":50},4006347,"A world of vested interests is not a world which welcomes the disruptive force of candour.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":49,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":50},{},[],{"id":87,"quote_text":88,"author_id":5,"source_id":59,"has_image":76,"author":89,"source":90,"quote_tag":91,"commentary":50},4006333,"A puppy is but a dog, plus high spirits and minus common sense.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":49,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":50},{},[],{"id":93,"quote_text":94,"author_id":5,"source_id":59,"has_image":76,"author":95,"source":96,"quote_tag":97,"commentary":50},4006310,"It is impossible for a lover of cats to banish these alert, gentle, and discriminating little friends, who give us just enough of their regard and complaisance to make us hunger for more.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":49,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":50},{},[],{"id":99,"quote_text":100,"author_id":5,"source_id":101,"has_image":76,"author":102,"source":103,"quote_tag":104,"commentary":50},2826523,"Life is so full of miseries, minor and major; they press so close upon us at every step of the way, that it is hardly worthwhile to call one another’s attention to their presence.",6,{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":49,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":50},{},[],{"id":106,"quote_text":107,"author_id":5,"source_id":101,"has_image":76,"author":108,"source":109,"quote_tag":110,"commentary":50},2826520,"Whatever has “wit enough to keep it sweet” defies corruption and outlasts all time; but the wit must be of that outward and visible order which needs no introduction or demonstration at our hands.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":49,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":50},{},[],{"id":112,"quote_text":113,"author_id":5,"source_id":101,"has_image":76,"author":114,"source":115,"quote_tag":116,"commentary":117},2826518,"The great dividing line between books that are made to be read and books that are made to be bought is not the purely modern thing it seems. We can trace it, if we try, back to the first printing-presses...",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":49,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":50},{},[],"**The Backstory**\n\nAgnes Repplier, an American critic and essayist, penned these words in her 1914 essay \"Books and Bookmen\" for _The Atlantic Monthly_. At the time, she was reflecting on the changing landscape of literature and publishing, as the printing press had democratized access to written works. Repplier's observation resonated with her own experiences as a writer navigating the early 20th-century literary scene.\n\n**The Hidden Insight**\n\nRepplier's statement reveals a counter-intuitive truth: that the distinction between books meant to be read and those intended for mere acquisition is not a product of modern times, but rather a fundamental aspect of human nature. By tracing this phenomenon back to the advent of printing presses, she highlights how our desire for possession and prestige has been intertwined with literature since its inception.\n\n**How to Use This**\n\nIn today's digital age, where online publishing and self-publishing platforms have further blurred the lines between readership and ownership, Repplier's insight serves as a reminder that we must critically evaluate why we're engaging with written works. To cultivate meaningful relationships with books, we should prioritize reading over accumulating them, acknowledging that true value lies in the ideas and experiences they offer, not their physical presence on our shelves.",{"id":119,"quote_text":120,"author_id":5,"source_id":101,"has_image":76,"author":121,"source":122,"quote_tag":123,"commentary":50},2826511,"Every misused word revenges itself forever upon a writer’s reputation.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":49,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":50},{},[],{"id":125,"quote_text":126,"author_id":5,"source_id":101,"has_image":76,"author":127,"source":128,"quote_tag":129,"commentary":50},2826508,"Love is a malady, the common symptoms of which are the same in all patients...",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":49,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":50},{},[],{"id":131,"quote_text":132,"author_id":5,"source_id":101,"has_image":76,"author":133,"source":134,"quote_tag":135,"commentary":50},2826504,"Every true American likes to think in terms of thousands and millions. The word ‘million’ is probably the most pleasure-giving vocable in the language.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":49,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":50},{},[],{"currentPage":137,"totalPages":138,"totalItems":8,"itemsPerPage":55},1,23]