Better be alone than in bad company.

Meaning: Solitude preserves your integrity better than compromising yourself through associations with those who corrupt or harm you.

Origin: From 'A Dictionary of English Proverbs and Proverbial Phrases' (1870). Public domain.

Translations

Spanish: Mas vale solo que mal acompañado (literally: Better be alone than in bad company)

He that cannot abide a bad market deserves not a good one. — Profiting from favorable conditions requires enduring the inevitable downturns with patie…
Make the best of a bad bargain. — When stuck with an unfavorable deal, focus energy on maximizing what value remains rather…
Barley straw's good fodder when the cow gives water. — When resources are scarce, even poor substitutes become valuable for survival.
Better to be beaten than be in bad company. — Physical hardship endures briefly; corrupting influences from vice seep into character pe…
Brag's a good dog, but Holdfast is a better. — Boasting accomplishes nothing; actually keeping what you have through persistence and rel…
Brag's a good dog, but that he hath lost his tail. — Boasting loses you the respect that makes bragging worthwhile in the first place.

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