Thirukkural-On Avoiding Vulgarity-Kural-453

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I cannot do better, by way of translation of this Kural, than adopt bodily K Srinivasan"s translation itself:

Men"s perceptions are of their own mind,
But their nature is known by their kind.

A person is very often judged, very rightly too, by the company he keeps.

Psychologists agree that the traits of a human being are only, to a limited extent, inherited, but largely acquired by training, imitation and association. As a matter of fact, in India of recent decades, even film heroes seem to set the pattern for young people"s behaviour, more so than in many other countries.

Under these circumstances, the poet"s stand is that, while a person"s thought processes and emotional experiences may have to do with the mind, he is most often identified by his behaviour, which would be the combined result of attitudes, developed by him in his interactions with his own peer groups.