QuoteProject
Company, villainous company, hath been the spoil of me.
William Shakespeare
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

The influence of detrimental companions has led to my downfall.

In this quote from Shakespeare, the speaker reflects on how toxic or negative relationships, referred to as 'villainous company', have corrupted and harmed them. It highlights the profound impact that one's associations and friendships can have on a person's character and life trajectory, suggesting that surrounding oneself with bad influences can lead to personal ruin.

Themes

CompanyInfluenceRelationshipsToxicFriendship

In practice

Example use cases

In a speech about the importance of choosing friends wisely.

More from William Shakespeare

As honour, love, obedience, troops of friends, / I must not look to have; but, in their stead, / Curses, not loud but deep, mouth-honour, breath, / Which the poor heart would fain deny, and dare not" (5.3.25-28).
William ShakespeareRead
Love bears it out even to the edge of doom.
William ShakespeareRead
Good company, good wine, good welcome, can make good people.
William ShakespeareRead
Absence doth sharpen love, presence strengthens it; the one brings fuel, the other blows it till it burns clear.
William ShakespeareRead
Lord, Lord, how this world is given to lying!
William ShakespeareRead
Give it an understanding, but no tongue.
William ShakespeareRead

Similar quotes

It seems essential, in relationships and all tasks, that we concentrate only on what is most significant and important.
Soren KierkegaardRead
Every black American is bilingual. All of them. We speak street vernacular and we speak 'job interview.'
Dave ChappelleRead
My father was born on Christmas Day in 1934. He grew up in what is now part of North Korea. When the Korean War began, my father was 16, and he found passage on an American refugee ship,thinking he'd be gone for just a few days, but he never saw his mother or his sister again.
Min Jin LeeRead
I think, really, that the only way a person can open their heart to someone who is so much another is really by knowing them... whether that's in a classroom, or a soccer team, or a food pantry, or any of those things. I mean, we're kind of more alike than we are different.
Elizabeth StroutRead
Listening is everything. Listening is the whole deal. That's what I think. And I mean that in terms of before you work, after you work, in between work, with your children, with your husband, with your friends, with your mother, with your father. It's everything. And it's where you learn everything.
Meryl StreepRead
The names of persons and living creatures demand respect, because when we speak to them we touch their heart and become a part of thier life force.
Isabel AllendeRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.