What is the meaning of the quote A man is known by the company he keeps?

Answer 1

I heard this one as "A man is known by the company he keeps and how well he keeps it." Basically, people know what kind of person you are by the friends that you have and how good of friends you are with those people. Assuming that people who are alike will hang out together.

In my humble opinion this means that a man becomes what his or her friends are, if we keep good company we become good if we have bad friends then we will surely adopt their bad habits. If you want to know about a man just find out who are his friends. An example of this is that if you go and stay in a perfume shop your clothes with aquire good smell but instead if you go to and iron smith's shop your clothes will smell like iron, even better a man who works in fish market smells like fish. So stay with good and pious people you will automatically become pious.

Answer 2

Birds of a feather flock together. A smart man surrounds himself with smart people. If you hang around with trash, you will be seen as trash. You are only as good as the company you keep. These are all similar to the question. It basically means that choose your friends wisely for you will be judged by others to whom the company you keep. To me, I dont really care what other people think anyways, but it is a good reflection on your personality as to the calibre of the company you keep. A good story for this is : A man and boy were walking down the wharf looking for some seafood to buy. They passed two barrels. One was marked 'LOBSTERS-$5 EACH.' the other was marked 'LOBSTERS-$10 EACH.' While they were standing there, a lobster fell out of the $5 barrel and climbed into the $10 barrel. The young boy looked up to his father for an answer. He responded 'Only in America!'

Answer 3

Yes, whether or not it is accurate, one is known by the company one keeps. While it doesn't always mean you do the same things or approve of everything a person does--or are even aware of it---you are judged by your company. Unfortunately, you must snub your shadier friends or run the risk of sharing their reputations. I agree that isn't always your preference, but people love to talk, especially negatively.

Answer 4

A man certainly is known by the company he keeps. This man gains a reputation based on how he treats the employees and runs the business.