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Who really said it

Associate yourself with men of good quality if you esteem your own reputation, for it is better to be alone than in bad company

Copied by Washington — not composed by him A French Jesuit “Rules of Civility” maxim (trans. Francis Hawkins) Composed c. 1595 at the Jesuit Collège de La Flèche; English translation by Francis Hawkins, c. 1640; copied by Washington c. 1744
Disputed Free to reuse

The wording is real and even in Washington’s own hand: it is Rule 56 of the “Rules of Civility & Decent Behaviour in Company and Conversation,” which the teenage Washington transcribed into his school notebook around 1744. But he did not write it. The maxim descends from a French Jesuit courtesy manual of c. 1595, Englished by Francis Hawkins about 1640 ↗. Washington was the copyist, not the author — which is why Snopes rates the attribution “Misattributed” ↗.

Last verified 8 Jul 2026 · how we verify · spot an error?

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Disputed credit — copy with the correction

“Associate yourself with men of good quality if you esteem your own reputation, for it is better to be alone than in bad company” Rule 56 of the "Rules of Civility & Decent Behaviour," copied by George Washington c. 1744 — a French Jesuit maxim (c. 1595), not composed by him.

The slide-ready mistake: crediting this to George Washington. Use the credit shown above instead.

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In context

Evoking the world of George Washington — First U.S. president; copied the maxim as a schoolboy. Theme: "Associate yourself with men of good quality if you esteem your own reputation, for it is better to be alone than in bad company". Atmospheric and restrained, cinematic directional light, a muted period-appropriate palette, fine grain and texture. Compose with generous empty space for the quote and a small credit line. No lettering in the image itself.

Minimalist

Minimalist editorial slide for the quote "Associate yourself with men of good quality if you esteem your own reputation, for it is better to be alone than in bad company". Clean background, a single muted accent color, generous negative space, subtle paper or linen texture, no literal illustration — let the words carry it. Reserve clear space for a serif quote and a small credit line. No lettering in the image itself.

Provenance

The source

Source
Rules of Civility & Decent Behaviour in Company and Conversation
Rule
No. 56 of 110, in Washington’s school copybook (c. 1744)
Origin
French Jesuit maxims, Collège de La Flèche, c. 1595
Translation
English version by Francis Hawkins, c. 1640

56th Associate yourself with Men of good Quality if you Esteem your own Reputation; for ’tis better to be alone than in bad Company.

Rule 56 as it appears in Washington’s manuscript, in the original 18th-century spelling. Today it is usually modernized to “Associate yourself with men of good quality if you esteem your own reputation, for it is better to be alone than in bad company.”

Read all 110 Rules of Civility on Wikisource

How we traced it

Public domain

The wording is far older than any copyright: the maxim was composed c. 1595 and translated by Francis Hawkins c. 1640, and Washington’s manuscript copy dates to the 1740s. All of these are centuries before the 1931 U.S. threshold, so the text is firmly public domain.

Fact-check

Why it’s tagged to Washington

This is not a fabricated quote — the words really are in Washington’s handwriting. But crediting him as their author gets the story wrong.

George Washington Misattributed

Washington transcribed Rule 56 as a schoolboy copying exercise; he did not compose it. Snopes rates it “Misattributed” ↗, noting the rules were “regularly used by school children of that era.”

George Washington

The line is often clipped to just “It is better to be alone than in bad company” and pinned to Washington on quote sites — a fragment of Rule 56 detached from its French-maxim origin, as the Washington Papers ↗ make clear.

The true origin is a French Jesuit courtesy manual composed c. 1595 and translated into English by Francis Hawkins around 1640 ↗; Washington simply copied it out as a boy.

Context

A copybook, not a creed

In the mid-1740s a Virginia schoolboy filled a notebook with 110 rules of good conduct. Rule 56 told him to keep good company. The exercise was ordinary for the period — the maxims had circulated in England for a century, and in France for a century and a half before that.

Because those rules seemed to describe the grown Washington so well, later admirers began quoting them as Washington. The sentiment fits him; the authorship does not.

The handwriting is his. The wisdom he borrowed.

The lineage of Rule 56

c. 1595 — Pupils at the Jesuit Collège de La Flèche compile ‘Bienséance de la conversation entre les hommes.’

c. 1640 — Francis Hawkins publishes an English translation, which runs through many editions.

c. 1744 — An unknown hand selects and simplifies 110 rules; the teenage George Washington copies them into his school notebook, including Rule 56.

Explore

Filed under

More provenance-checked quotes on the same theme, each with its reuse status.

Friendship Character

Go further

Dig deeper

Trusted places to keep pulling the thread — primary archives, fact-checks, and scholarship. We show how we used each one before you leave.

Washington’s Rules of Civility (full text)Wikisource

The complete 110 rules in Washington’s copybook, including Rule 56 verbatim.
Did George Washington Say ‘It Is Better To Be Alone’?Snopes

Fact-check rating the attribution “Misattributed” and explaining Washington copied the rules.
The Rules of Civilitywashingtonpapers.org

Scholarly account of the French Jesuit origin, Hawkins translation, and Washington’s schoolboy copy.
The Rules of Civility and Decent Behaviourmountvernon.org

Mount Vernon’s encyclopedia entry on the copybook and its formative influence on Washington.
Rules of Civility and Decent Behaviour In Company and ConversationWikipedia

Overview of the text Washington copied as a 110-rule penmanship exercise and its lineage.

About the copyist

George Washington

George Washington

1732–1799 · First U.S. president; copied the maxim as a schoolboy

George Washington (1732–1799) commanded the Continental Army and became the first President of the United States. As a teenager, around 1744, he copied out 110 “Rules of Civility & Decent Behaviour” into his school notebook as a handwriting and character exercise — a set of maxims he inherited, not invented. Biographers have long treated the rules as formative for his conduct, which is exactly why the lines are so often misread today as Washington’s own aphorisms.

For writers & researchers

Cite this

Rules of Civility, Rule 56

George Washington, “Rules of Civility & Decent Behaviour in Company and Conversation” (school copybook, c. 1744), Rule 56; text descending from ‘Bienséance de la conversation entre les hommes’ (Jesuit Collège de La Flèche, 1595), trans. Francis Hawkins (London, c. 1640).

This verification page

Quotle.info. “Who really said ‘Associate yourself with men of good quality if you esteem your own reputation, for it is better to be alone than in bad company’?” Last verified 8 Jul 2026. https://quotle.info/who-said/associate-yourself-with-men-of-good-quality-if-you-esteem

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