“It is better to be alone than in bad company.”
George Washington (1732–1799) first President of the United States
Letter to his niece, Harriet Washington (30 October 1791)
1790s
Variant: It is better to offer no excuse than a bad one.
“Alone, adj. In bad company.”
— Ambrose Bierce, book The Devil's Dictionary
The Devil's Dictionary (1911)
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Ambrose Bierce204
American editorialist, journalist, short story writer, fabu… 1842–1914Related quotes
“872. Better be alone than in bad Company.”
Thomas Fuller (writer) (1654–1734) British physician, preacher, and intellectual
Introductio ad prudentiam: Part II (1727), Gnomologia (1732)
“It is far better to be alone, than to be in bad company.”
George Washington (1732–1799) first President of the United States
“If you're lonely when you're alone, you're in bad company.”
Jean Paul Sartre (1905–1980) French existentialist philosopher, playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and …
“Associate yourself with people of good quality, for it is better to be alone than in bad company.”
Booker T. Washington (1856–1915) African-American educator, author, orator, and advisor
"Associate yourself with Men of good Quality if you Esteem your own Reputation; for 'tis better to be alone than in bad Company." This was a French maxim, late 16th century, as quoted by George Washington in his "Rules of Civility and Decent Behaviour in Company and Conversation," Rule # 56 (ca. 1744) http://gwpapers.virginia.edu/documents/civility/transcript.html <br class="br">Misattributed
George Washington (1732–1799) first President of the United States
This is from a set of maxims which Washington copied out in his own hand as a school-boy: "Rules of Civility and Decent Behaviour in Company and Conversation http://gwpapers.virginia.edu/documents/the-rules-of-civility/" Rule # 56 written out by Washington ca. 1744:<br>: These maxims originated in the late sixteenth century in France and were popularly circulated during Washington's time. Washington wrote out a copy of the 110 Rules in his school book when he was about sixteen-years old... During the days before mere hero worship had given place to understanding and comprehension of the fineness of Washington's character, of his powerful influence among men, and of the epoch-making nature of the issues he so largely shaped, it was assumed that Washington himself composed the maxims, or at least that he compiled them. It is a satisfaction to find that his consideration for others, his respect for and deference to those deserving such treatment, his care of his own body and tongue, and even his reverence for his Maker, all were early inculcated in him by precepts which were the common practice in decent society the world over. These very maxims had been in use in France for a century and a half, and in England for a century, before they were set as a task for the schoolboy Washington.<br>:* Charles Moore in his Introduction to George Washington's Rules of Civility and Decent Behaviour in Company and Conversation (1926) http://gwpapers.virginia.edu/documents/civility/index.html, edited by Charles Moore, xi-xv <br class="br">Misattributed
Andrew S. Grove (1936–2016) Hungarian-born American businessman, engineer, and author
Andy Grove, December 1994; cited in: Albert Yu (1998) Creating the digital future. p. 93 : After the Pentium Processor flaw in December 1994
1980s - 1990s
“Bad company will lead a man to the gallows!”
Niccolo Machiavelli (1469–1527) Italian politician, Writer and Author
Le cattive compagnie conducono gli uomini alle forche.
Act IV, scene vi
The Mandrake (1524)
“Aloneness and selfness are too important to betray for company.”
Sylvia Plath (1932–1963) American poet, novelist and short story writer