1. To help yourself, and to be a good member here, the first thing to do is to say what this is: that it is taken from page 1 of chapter 1 of the Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin. This will give the context for the benefit of all tutors and students alike. You should have stated the source. 2. Secondly, you should quote the larger context. This is the second half of paragraph 2. You should quote the entire para. 2. Otherwise, "this repetition" will remain a mystery to readers, as it refers to the preceding sentence. 3. This is only page 1, and you have already raised this question about half of paragraph 2 as well as another question about the opening sentence of paragraph 3. It is obvious that this book is too difficult for you. My advice to you is to give it up and read something more useful and comprehensible at your level as suggested, for example, by your English teacher, or from your official school reading list. 4. To help you attempt this question once more, so that you may put forward a fresh attempt for us to review, here is a hint, as follows. The structure is "That which is A, is B". Example: That which irked Margaret Thatcher most was being contradicted by members of her Cabinet. In your sentence, "that" functions as a pronoun and is the subject of the clause, which in turn has a subordinate clause initiated by "which". 5. You do not seem to understand what "the repetition" is and why it is not expected. So you should work this out and state it clearly before you tackle the question you raise. A hint: do not link "expected" to the clause beginning "that which" when you are analysing the structure. ~~~~~ If you try again and write a cogently reasoned answer, we would be happy to review it, and if necessary, correct it for you. There is no point us writing a perfect answer for you without yourself making a really serious attempt first. It is that same philosophy of giving you the fishing rod and not the fish.