Nothing is there more friendly to a man than a friend in need.

The line praises the practical, tested value of friendship: the most “friendly” (i.e., beneficial, supportive) thing a person can have is someone who remains loyal when circumstances turn difficult. In Plautus’s comic world—full of reversals of fortune, debts, schemes, and social vulnerability—need is the moment when relationships reveal their true character. The sentiment also anticipates the later proverb “a friend in need is a friend indeed,” emphasizing that friendship is not merely pleasant companionship but a moral and social resource that proves itself through aid, solidarity, and reliability under pressure.