" Associate yourself with men of good quality if you esteem your own reputation; for 'tis better to be alone than in bad company. " ~ George Washington

What this quote trying to say that be friends with good quality people because they leads us to a path of success and wont cause harm. However, its a lot better than being alone than with bad company because they dont really care about you all they want is some on by their side. For example, being with bad people they pressure you to be like them which is not good. Yet, with good people you become who you really are.