| Arthur Quiller-Couch, ed. 1919. The Oxford Book of English Verse: 1250–1900. |
| |
| William Shakespeare. 1564–1616 |
| |
163. Sonnets
xix |
| |
| TH' 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 despisèd straight; | 5 |
| 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; | 10 |
| 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. | |
|
|
