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  ...the lowest sense, means to get our living together. I heard it proposed lately that two young men should travel together over the world, the one without money, earning his means as he went, before the mast and behind the plow, the other carrying a bill of exchange in his pocket. It was easy to see that they could not long be companions or co-operate, since one would not operate at all. They would part at the first interesting crisis in their adventures. Above all, as I have implied, The man who goes alone can start today; but he who travels with another must wait till that other is ready, and it may be a long time before they get off.   But all this is very selfish, I have heard some of my townsmen say. I confess that I have hitherto indulged very little in philanthropic enterprises. I have made some sacrifices to a sense of duty, and among others have sacrificed this pleasure also. There are those who have used all their arts to persuade me to undertake the support of some poor family in the town; and if I had nothing to do -- for the devil finds employment for the idle -- I might try my hand at some such...   Thoreau, Henry David

Excerpt from Walden · This quote is tagged Independence · Search on Google Books to find all references and sources for this quotation.

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