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。