Friend in need is a friend indeed

There is distinct cynicism in this ancient proverb, namely that friends needing our help suddenly become very friendly indeed. This cynicism, however, is completely belied in the abbreviated usage of the proverb. On helping a friend and receiving thanks, we might say self-effacingly, “A friend in need” without completing the entire proverb. In this way, we mean that we would always help a friend in need. If, however, we were to use the full proverb, we would be guilty of the sarcasm or cynicism implicit in the original meaning. The proverb first appears in the writings of Titus Marcus Plautus (254-184 BC), “Nothing is there friendlier to a man than a friend in need.” In its modern form, it first appears in William Hazlitt (1778-1830) English Proverbs.