Milne, A. A. -- When We Were Very Young, “Halfway Down,” st. 1 (1924)

Dave — Tue, 10 Feb 2026 21:31:34 +0000

Halfway down the stairs
Is a stair
Where I sit.
There isn’t any
Other stair
Quite like
It.
I’m not at the bottom,
I’m not at the top;
So this is the stair
Where
I always
Stop.

A. A. Milne (1882-1956) English poet and playwright [Alan Alexander Milne]
When We Were Very Young, “Halfway Down,” st. 1 (1924)
(Source)

Joubert, Joseph -- Pensées [Thoughts], ch. 4 “De la Nature des Esprits [On the Nature of Minds]” ¶ 19 (1850 ed.) [tr. Calvert (1866)]

Dave — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 12:09:58 +0000

Some find activity only in repose, and others repose only in movement.

[Les uns ne peuvent trouver d’activité que dans le repos, el les autres de repos que dans le mouvement.]

Joseph Joubert (1754-1824) French moralist, philosopher, essayist, poet
Pensées [Thoughts], ch. 4 “De la Nature des Esprits [On the Nature of Minds]” ¶ 19 (1850 ed.) [tr. Calvert (1866)]
(Source)

(Source (French)). Alternate translation:

There are some who can only find activity in repose, and others who can only find repose in movement.
[tr. Lyttelton (1899), ch. 2, ¶ 11]

WIST Quotations

Milne, A. A. -- When We Were Very Young, “Halfway Down,” st. 1 (1924)

Joubert, Joseph -- Pensées [Thoughts], ch. 4 “De la Nature des Esprits [On the Nature of Minds]” ¶ 19 (1850 ed.) [tr. Calvert (1866)]