“Associate yourself with men of good quality if you esteem your own reputation; for ‘tis better to be alone than in bad company”

This quote means that it  is always better to be alone than with people who will do no good to you. It’s saying that with good people or alone it is always better because that way you won’t end up in bad steps if you hang out with the wrong crowd. With bad people you end up doing bad stuff. If you have good people surrounding you, you won’t be doing bad stuff. If you worry about yourself and not other people you will be successful and do what you want to do. For example, if you hang out with people that are in gangs or aren’t willing to be successful in life, you shouldn’t hang out with those people because they won’t lead you to a good path. On the other hand if you hang out with people who are successful and are something in life, you should choose that group. You should never follow bad steps even if someone is forcing you to. You should depend on yourself and worry about how you’re not going to be in bad paths. Everyone has a different life and everyone chooses their life.