WIST Quotations

Repplier, Agnes -- “A Plea for Humor,” Points of View (1891)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

Humor distorts nothing, and only false gods are laughed off their pedestals.

Agnes Repplier (1855-1950) American writer
“A Plea for Humor,” Points of View (1891)
(Source)

Repplier, Agnes -- “A Plea for Humor,” Points of View (1891)

Dave — Sat, 20 May 2023 04:46:26 +0000

If a man be discreet enough to take to hard drinking in his youth, before his general emptiness is ascertained, his friends invariably credit him with a host of shining qualities which, we are given to understand, lie balked and frustrated by his one unfortunate weakness.

Agnes Repplier (1855-1950) American writer
“A Plea for Humor,” Points of View (1891)
(Source)

Offered as a hypothetical sardonic observation by the author William Dean Howells.

Repplier, Agnes -- “A Question of Politeness,” Americans and Others (1912)

Dave — Mon, 24 Apr 2017 22:35:19 +0000

For to be civilized is to be incapable of giving unnecessary offense, it is to have some quality of consideration for all who cross our path.

Agnes Repplier (1855-1950) American writer
“A Question of Politeness,” Americans and Others (1912)
(Source)

Repplier, Agnes -- “Agrippina,” Essays in Idleness (1893)

Dave — Mon, 12 Jun 2023 17:20:02 +0000

A man who owns a dog is, in every sense of the word, its master; the term expresses accurately their mutual relations. But it is ridiculous when applied to the limited possession of a cat. I am certainly not Agrippina’s mistress, and the assumption of authority on my part would be a mere empty dignity, like those swelling titles which afford such innocent delight to the Freemasons of our severe republic. If I call Agrippina, she does not come; if I tell her to go away, she remains where she is; if I try to persuade her to show off her one or two little accomplishments, she refuses, with courteous but unswerving decision.

Agnes Repplier (1855-1950) American writer
“Agrippina,” Essays in Idleness (1893)
(Source)

Repplier, Agnes -- “Agrippina,” Essays in Idleness (1893)

Dave — Thu, 13 Jul 2023 16:53:56 +0000

She has frolicsome moods, in which a thimble, a shoe-buttoner, a scrap of paper, or a piece of string will drive her wild with delight; she has moods of inflexible gravity, in which she stares solemnly at her favorite ball rolling over the carpet, without stirring one lazy limb to reach it. “Have I seen this foolish toy before?” she seems to be asking herself with musing austerity; “and can it be possible that there are cats who run after such frivolous trifles? Vanity of vanities, and all is vanity, save only to lie upon the hearth-rug, and be warm, and think grave thoughts to feed a serious soul.”

Agnes Repplier (1855-1950) American writer
“Agrippina,” Essays in Idleness (1893)
(Source)

Repplier, Agnes -- “Goodness and Gayety,” Americans and Others (1912)

Dave — Wed, 29 Jun 2022 16:09:08 +0000

We cannot really love anybody with whom we never laugh.

Agnes Repplier (1855-1950) American writer
“Goodness and Gayety,” Americans and Others (1912)
(Source)

Note: Though this is usually attributed to Repplier, she precedes the phrase with "It has been wisely said that ..."

Repplier, Agnes -- “The Grocer’s Cat,” Americans and Others (1912)

Dave — Tue, 09 Feb 2021 22:58:32 +0000

The vanity of man revolts from the serene indifference of the cat.

Agnes Repplier (1855-1950) American writer
“The Grocer’s Cat,” Americans and Others (1912)
(Source)

Repplier, Agnes -- “What Children Read,” Books and Men (1888)

Dave — Mon, 14 Oct 2024 22:30:33 +0000

Books that children read but once are of scant service to them; those that have really helped to warm our imaginations and to train our faculties are the few old friends we know so well that they have become a portion of our thinking selves.

Agnes Repplier (1855-1950) American writer
“What Children Read,” Books and Men (1888)
(Source)