Advertisment:George Washington, the first president of the U.S., once said,"It is better to be alone than in bad company."Washington did, however, transcribe this maxim into a school copybook as a boy from a written collection of"rules of civility."Associate yourself with Men of good Quality if you Esteem your own Reputation; for 'tis better to be alone than in bad Company.
This quote is well-associated with the first president of the U.S., but he did not author it. Instead, the quote comes from a collection of"Rules of Civility & Decent Behaviour in Company and Conversation" regularly used by school children of that era. AsThese maxims originated in the late sixteenth century in France and were popularly circulated during Washington's time.