Sonnet 129

[Verse]

Th' expense of spirit in a waste of shame

Is lust in action; and till action, lust

Is perjured, murd'rous, bloody, full of blame

Savage, extreme, rude, cruel, not to trust

Enjoyed no sooner but despisèd straight

Past reason hunted; and, no sooner had

Past reason hated as a swallowed 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