And the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play. – Bible, Exodus XXXII

Still, it is customary to keep pupils sitting too long at once. They ought to stand occasionally, or march around the room; and they should be required to exercise a few minutes in the open air, once an hour, at least. – American Annals of Education and Instruction, April 1832

How vain it is to sit down to write when you have not stood up to live! – Henry David Thoreau, journal, 1851 August 19th

Throughout the illness the most obviously exciting cause of the attacks was posture, stopping over a writing-desk; and he ultimately had to do such work either kneeling or at a standing desk. – Lawson Tait, 1882