The expense of spirit in a waste of shame

Is lust in action; and till action, lust

Is perjured, murderous, bloody, 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 bliss 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 shun the heaven that leads men to this hell.

把精力消耗在恥辱的沙漠里，

就是色欲在行動；而在行動前，

色欲賭假咒、嗜血、好殺、滿身是

罪惡，兇殘、粗野、不可靠、走極端；

歡樂尚未央，馬上就感覺無味：

毫不講理地追求；可是一到手，

又毫不講理地厭惡，像是專為

引上鉤者發狂而設下的釣鉤；

在追求時瘋狂，占有時也瘋狂；

不管已有、現有、未有，全不放松；

感受時，幸福；感受完，無上災殃；

事前，巴望著的歡樂；事后，一場夢。

　　這一切人共知；但誰也不知怎樣

　　逃避這個引人下地獄的天堂。