How we cite our quotes: (Line)
Quote #4
And down in lovely muck I've lain,
Happy till I woke again. (35-36)
This line really captures the deceptive happiness of getting drunk. Instead of making Terence actually happy, the beer just made a fool out of him. It made him think that muck was "lovely," which is obviously not true. Slowly but surely, Terence works to convince us that this isn't the right path to happiness.
Quote #5
Mithridates, he died old. (l76)
Now this is the way to go, at least according to Terence. Mithridates died old because he prepared himself. He didn't pretend that everything in the world was perfect, and all the people around him were his friends. Instead, he took a realistic view of things, and it saved his life. But was he happy when he died, or just old? Importantly, Terence doesn't say. Maybe, in the end, it's easier to die a happy fool than a happy wise man.