I got this from Tibor Machan

From Ayn Rand (paperback) p. 43:

"Axiomatic concepts can be transformed only into repetitive or "tautologous" axioms, such as "Existence exists--Consciousness is conscious--A is A"....
"To dismiss these axioms with the claim that they are repetitive, banal, or obvious is simply to miss the point. Of course they are obvious. If they weren't they wouldn't be identifying basic facts. Rand takes philosophy with the utmost seriousness. Its purpose is not to titillate with noverly but to contemplate and appreciate eternal verity. Given this conception of philosphy, repetition is not an impoverished mode of speech, but the highest and deepest. Repetition, moreover, is especially necessary in the current intellectual climate. Rand, like Orwell, thinks that our culture has sunk to such a level of skeptical decadence that it is necessary to identify, repeat, and defend the obvious." (p. 43)