78 
WALDEN. 
monly be cheaper to build the whole yourself than to 
convince another of the advantage of the common wall; 
and when you have done this, the common partition, to 
be much cheaper, must be a thin one, and that other 
may prove a bad neighbor, and also not keep his side in 
repair. The only cooperation which is commonly pos¬ 
sible is exceedingly partial and superficial; and what 
little true cooperation there is, is as if it were not, being 
a harmony inaudible to men. If a man has faith he 
will cooperate with equal faith every where; if he has 
not faith, he will continue to live like the rest of the 
world, whatever company he is joined to. To cooperate, 
in the highest as well as 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 plough, the other carrying a 
bill of exchange in his pocket. It was easy to see that 
they could not long be companions or cooperate, 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 
to-day; 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 
