--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: ... the friendship of worthless people…" description: "\"... the friendship of worthless people has a bad effect (because they take part, unstable as they are, in worthless pursuits, and actually become bad t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1bb/aristotle-78_admire_the-friendship-of-worthless-people-has-a_470465.png" --- # ... the friendship of worthless people has a bad effect… ![“... the friendship of worthless people has a bad effect (because they take part, unstable as they are, in worthless pursuits, and actually become bad through each other's influence). But the friendship of the good is good, and increases in goodness because of their association. They seem even to…” quote by Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1bb/aristotle-78_admire_the-friendship-of-worthless-people-has-a_470465.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1bb/aristotle-78_admire_the-friendship-of-worthless-people-has-a_470465.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1bb/aristotle-78_admire_the-friendship-of-worthless-people-has-a_470465.png) > “... the friendship of worthless people has a bad effect (because they take part, unstable as they are, in worthless pursuits, and actually become bad through each other's influence). But the friendship of the good is good, and increases in goodness because of their association. They seem even to become better men by exercising their friendship and improving each other; for the traits that they admire in each other get transferred to themselves.” [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Friendships shape character: bad companions corrupt, good companions uplift and foster virtue. **In simple terms:** Good friends make you better; bad friends make you worse. Key Takeaway Seek virtuous friendships. Themes friendship character virtue influence self-improvement Mood reflective optimistic thoughtful Type ethical philosophical When to use this quote - personal growth - team building - mentoring - community leadership - family dynamics Key Concepts reciprocity moral development social contagion Questions to Reflect On - What qualities do you value most in a friend? - How can you nurture positive influence in your circles? A Different Perspective Even good friends can enable vice if shared values are shallow. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Admire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/admire/) [Association](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/association/) [Better man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/better-man/) [Effects](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/effects/) [Ethics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ethics/) [Exercise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exercise/) [Exercising Friendship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exercising-friendship-4067575/) [Friend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friend/) [Friendship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friendship/) [Friendship Good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friendship-good-440605/) [Friendship Improving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friendship-improving-4067574/) [Friendship Worthless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friendship-worthless-4067573/) [Goodness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goodness/) [Improving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/improving/) [Increase](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/increase/) [Influence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/influence/) [Influence Friendship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/influence-friendship-591579/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Pursuit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pursuit/) [Seems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seems/) [Traits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/traits/) [Unstable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unstable/) [Worthless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worthless/) ## Related quotes > [The influence of friendship upon culture differs from that of love, in that it assumes the basic idiosyncrasies of personal taste to be unalterable.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cowper-powys/the-influence-of-friendship-upon-culture-differs-from-that-of-love-in/) [John Cowper Powys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cowper-powys/) > [You love young ones and babes, I know this. The young will always befriend and admire you...all the young ones of the earth belong…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-jacques/you-love-young-ones-and-babes-i-know-this-the-young-will-always/) [Brian Jacques](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-jacques/) > [“The evil never attains to any real friendship, either with good or evil.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/the-evil-never-attains-to-any-real-friendship-either-with-good-or-evil/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [The Secret Of Friendship Is Be A Good Listner..!!..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-secret-of-friendship-is-be-a-good-listner/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If you are forced to choose between a relationship and a friendship, always choose the friendship. 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Sad but true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-i-like-you-but-you-fuck-up-our-friendship-you-re-out-for-good-no/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If any girl do friendship with you after seem your only good things not your bad thingh than she ceares you](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-any-girl-do-friendship-with-you-after-seem-your-only-good-things/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Friendship is a good mixture of yin and yang. On the yang - you have loyalty, trust and love. On yang, you have envy,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinese-proverb/friendship-is-a-good-mixture-of-yin-and-yang-on-the-yang-you-have/) [Chinese Proverb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chinese-proverb/) > [Nothing corrupts a politician quite as much as friendship. Good politicians don't bribe; they make us like them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-parris/nothing-corrupts-a-politician-quite-as-much-as-friendship-good/) [Matthew Parris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-parris/) > [We are committed to the development of friendship and good neighbourly relations with Pakistan. I believe that Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto shares this commitment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajiv-gandhi/we-are-committed-to-the-development-of-friendship-and-good/) [Rajiv Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajiv-gandhi/) > [Friendship can bee good or bad, but trusting each other can turns a bad friendship into good one trust me?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/friendship-can-bee-good-or-bad-but-trusting-each-other-can-turns-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The secret to friendship is being a good listner..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/the-secret-to-friendship-is-being-a-good-listner/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [“Why wasn’t friendship as good as a relationship? Why wasn’t it even better?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hanya-yanagihara/why-wasn-t-friendship-as-good-as-a-relationship-why-wasn-t-it-even/) [Hanya Yanagihara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hanya-yanagihara/) > [So thank you for showing me that best friends can not be trusted and thank you for lying to me, Your friendship, the good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/so-thank-you-for-showing-me-that-best-friends-can-not-be-trusted-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Aristotle > [The knowledge of the soul admittedly contributes greatly to the advance of truth in general, and, above all, to our understanding of Nature, for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/the-knowledge-of-the-soul-admittedly-contributes-greatly-to-the/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [Young men have strong passions and tend to gratify them indiscriminately. Of the bodily desires, it is the sexual by which they are most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/young-men-have-strong-passions-and-tend-to-gratify-them/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [The body is at its best between the ages of thirty and thirty-five; the mind is at its best about the age of forty-nine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/the-body-is-at-its-best-between-the-ages-of-thirty-and-thirty-five/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [The ensouled is distinguished from the unsouled by its being alive. 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Give a man a poisoned fish, you feed him for the rest of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/give-a-man-a-fish-you-feed-him-for-a-day-give-a-man-a-poisoned-fish/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [The man who confers a favour would rather not be repaid in the same coin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/the-man-who-confers-a-favour-would-rather-not-be-repaid-in-the-same/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [The mother of revolution and crime is poverty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/the-mother-of-revolution-and-crime-is-poverty/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [Obstinate people can be divided into the opinionated, the ignorant, and the boorish.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/obstinate-people-can-be-divided-into-the-opinionated-the-ignorant-and/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [Happiness does not consist in pastimes and amusements but in virtuous activities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/happiness-does-not-consist-in-pastimes-and-amusements-but-in-virtuous/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [To learn is a natural pleasure, not confined to philosophers, but common to all men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/to-learn-is-a-natural-pleasure-not-confined-to-philosophers-but/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [Every virtue is a mean between two extremes, each of which is a vice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/every-virtue-is-a-mean-between-two-extremes-each-of-which-is-a-vice/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) [Explore all 1,545 Aristotle quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) ## More Admire quotes > [Everyone will admire you when you do well. What a horrible thing to do to someone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/everyone-will-admire-you-when-you-do-well-what-a-horrible-thing-to-do/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [I admire Serena Williams, because, I mean, who doesn't admire Serena Williams?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johanna-konta/i-admire-serena-williams-because-i-mean-who-doesn-t-admire-serena/) [Johanna Konta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johanna-konta/) > [How proud I am to be compared to Oprah. I really admire her. She's a minority woman and she's done all this by herself...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cristina-saralegui/how-proud-i-am-to-be-compared-to-oprah-i-really-admire-her-she-s-a/) [Cristina Saralegui](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cristina-saralegui/) > [I admire President Obama's ability to trust strangers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-gutfeld/i-admire-president-obama-s-ability-to-trust-strangers/) [Greg Gutfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-gutfeld/) > [I really admire people's interactions with technology that aren't tech-centric but use it as a tool.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-polachek/i-really-admire-people-s-interactions-with-technology-that-aren-t/) [Caroline Polachek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-polachek/) > [During my first years in the Sierra, I was ever calling on everybody within reach to admire them, but I found no one half…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/during-my-first-years-in-the-sierra-i-was-ever-calling-on-everybody/) [John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) > [Shaw's works make me admire the magnificent tolerance and broadmindedness of the english.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/shaw-s-works-make-me-admire-the-magnificent-tolerance-and/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) > [It could be my British need for discipline that makes me admire the American appetite for freedom and passion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-winwood/it-could-be-my-british-need-for-discipline-that-makes-me-admire-the/) [Steve Winwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-winwood/) > [I believe in a world where there are no heroes, and I've read and know humanity a lot. There are moments that I admire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orhan-pamuk/i-believe-in-a-world-where-there-are-no-heroes-and-i-ve-read-and-know/) [Orhan Pamuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orhan-pamuk/) > [I admire machinery as much is any man, and am as thankful to it as any man can be for what it does for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/i-admire-machinery-as-much-is-any-man-and-am-as-thankful-to-it-as-any/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [I think it's really good and helpful to have the people you most admire in some other discipline than what you work in. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whit-stillman/i-think-it-s-really-good-and-helpful-to-have-the-people-you-most/) [Whit Stillman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whit-stillman/) > [Part of what we admire about a painting or a piece of music is the order which the artist has imposed upon what would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-storr/part-of-what-we-admire-about-a-painting-or-a-piece-of-music-is-the/) [Anthony Storr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-storr/) > [I respect and admire the Premier League.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-koeman/i-respect-and-admire-the-premier-league/) [Ronald Koeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-koeman/) > [“Admire and appreciate your man and he will be happy on your side”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-alfiori/admire-and-appreciate-your-man-and-he-will-be-happy-on-your-side/) [Linda Alfiori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-alfiori/) > [“The thing I admire most about you is no matter how hard, or how much the world has tried to beat you, break you,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikita-gill/the-thing-i-admire-most-about-you-is-no-matter-how-hard-or-how-much/) [Nikita Gill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikita-gill/) [Browse all 2,369 Admire quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/admire/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "... the friendship of worthless people has a bad effect (because they take part, unstable as they are, in worthless pursuits, and actually become bad through each other's influence). 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