Shakespeare's Sonnet 129

The expense of spirit in a waste of shameIs lust in action: and till action, lustIs perjur’d, 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 propos’d; behind a dream.All this the world well knows; yet none knows wellTo shun the heaven that leads men to this hell.

Lust in action spends our vital energy in a shameful waste. Until it reaches action, lust is full of lies, murderous, bloody, guilty, savage, excessive, brutal, cruel, and untrustworthy. The moment it is enjoyed, it is despised. It is hunted beyond all reason, and once obtained, hated beyond all reason, like swallowed bait deliberately laid to drive whoever takes it mad. It is madness in pursuit and madness in possession; extreme after having it, while having it, and while seeking to have it. It is bliss in the experience and, once experienced, sheer misery. Beforehand, it promises joy; afterward, it is a dream. The whole world knows all this, yet no one knows well enough how to avoid the heaven that leads people into this hell.