A Man Is Known By The Company He Keeps!

Man is known by the company he keeps is a very old and well-known proverb. It means that any person's reputation depends upon his/hers association or friends he has. Though its also said that a man is known by his deeds, yet at times the good deeds are marred by bad company. Moreover, if a person is good but his company is bad, then a time comes when the bad company starts influencing the good deeds.

Good company is also important for the image of a person in a society. If a person has a bad company of bad friends, the people around him will avoid him because of the image which is created by the bad company. On the other hand people always like themselves and their children to intract with good people. If someone is good and has good company, others will always welcome him and will like to be friends.

There are numerous examples around us and in the history which proves this point. The Prophet Muhammad(S.A.W) is the biggest example. He was a beacon for the humanity and the people would admire him for his deeds and anyone in his company was recognised in good words. Similarly, our poet, The Poet Of The East, his associates and friends are even known and remembered today.

In the present times also our parents want us to have a good company, we should spend time with good friends and interact with good people. It just clears the point that man is really known by the Company He Keeps.

I think, these lines just indicate the fact that people judge you from your company. For example, a person in a group of criminals is most probably be a criminal or at least does not have problems with their criminal activities. If there is any exception, it is very difficult for an outsider to know the character of each of them. So the easiest way is to label the whole group as criminal, unless the one (who do not share their trait) do something that can be easily observed by everyone (for example, leaving the group or openly criticizing their activities) and indicates that he is different.

It is a well-known proverb.If a man have a bad company then ,he will also be reffered as bad...so we must have a good company or friends.

It mean that on the one hand people are quick  to judge, therefore it is a warning to choose your friends and companions carefully, lest people judge you wrongly based on who you hang with, but on the other it is a recommendation, if you have to make a choice yourself about a person, keep in mind the type of people he or she associates with and befriends. But be not quick to judge... It is a warning to exercise caution in friendship and companionship, and advice in how to associate with better people.

Some people say that you can tell what a person is like by who their friends are-for example-If someone hangs around with criminals,that means he is a criminal.It basically means that people should be judged by who they keep company with.I think it depends on the situation.People do not always agree with those they keep company with-in many cases,they do,But they could keep company with them for other reasons-because they were dragged into it,because circumstances required them too,because they had nobody else to talk to...You must anylise the individual situation before you make a judgement on this.It could be entirely wrong.Take,for example,the Baudelaire orphans,Violet,Klaus,and Sunny.In book 8,they kept company with the Volunteers Fighting Disease,but they weren't really one of them.And in book 12,they kept company with count Olaf and helped him burn down the hotel,but they certainly weren't his henchmen.I myself keep company with my classmates,but am actually very different to them.So,although it is often accurate, this saying can also be entirely wrong,and you definitely shouldn't hold it infallible.

You have asked a beautiful question. Not that the quotation is not known to anyone but the fact that you want it to be elaborated in depth. General interpretation is that birds of a feather flock together. But I feel that the human mind is the most unstable entity created by God. It gets moulded by situations and environment. Our company, be it parents, friends, colleagues etc all influence us and our mind gets moulded like that. We must have heard our parents instructing us during our childhood to become friends with the most studious child in the class so that we take those traits and our mind gets moulded to become studious. I have personal experience in life, when I was with "regular" people, I used to do "regular" stuff like loose talk, politics, some studies, bickering etc etc. But when I came in contact with friends who had a "saintly" outlook in life, I felt that I changed and started retrospectively introspecting my life and my actions in the past and how they negatively affected me and my loved ones. I was suggested to read a beautiful book by a saint. I am reading this book slowly tendering to each word and feeling of this saint. The book is called "Autobiography of a Yogi". I think you will find a better insight into your question and your life. All the best.

It is easy to be brave from a safe distance

Hi, I think it means, if it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck it is a duck. Your friends an associates are a reflection of you.

I think it means that, the type of friends you have is the person you are. If you hang out with a bunch of lowlifes, you are known as a lowlife. If you are part of a group of intellectuals, than you are one as well.
That's my interpretation

According to me it means that a persons character depends on the group of friends he be with.