The expense of spirit in a waste of shame
Is lust¹ in action; and till action, lust
Is perjured², murderous, bloody³, full of blame,
Savage, extreme, rude, cruel, not to trust,
Enjoy'd no sooner but despised straight,
Past reason hunted, and no sooner had
Past reason hated, as a swallow'd bait
On purpose laid to make the taker mad;
Mad in pursuit and in possession so;
Had, having, and in quest to have, extreme;
A bliss⁴ in proof, and proved, a very woe;
Before, a joy proposed; behind, a dream.
  All this the world well knows; yet none knows well
  To shun⁵ the heaven that leads men to this hell.

 

 把精力消耗在耻辱的沙漠里，
就是色欲在行动；而在行动前，
色欲赌假咒、嗜血、好杀、满身是
罪恶，凶残、粗野、不可靠、走极端；
欢乐尚未央，马上就感觉无味：
毫不讲理地追求；可是一到手，
又毫不讲理地厌恶，像是专为
引上钩者发狂而设下的钓钩；
在追求时疯狂，占有时也疯狂；
不管已有、现有、未有，全不放松；
感受时，幸福；感受完，无上灾殃；
事前，巴望着的欢乐；事后，一场梦。
　　这一切人共知；但谁也不知怎样
　　逃避这个引人下地狱的天堂。