Alfred Lord Tennyson, ‘Lucretius’

Lucilia , wedded to Lucretius, found 1
Her master cold; for when the morning flush
Of passion and the first embrace had died
Between them, tho' he lov'd her none the less,
Yet often when the woman heard his foot 5
Return from pacings in the field, and ran
To greet him with a kiss, the master took
Small notice, or austerely, for―his mind
Half buried in some weightier argument,
Or fancy-borne perhaps upon the rise 10
And long roll of the Hexameter―he past
To turn and ponder those three hundred scrolls
Left by the Teacher, whom he held divine.
She brook'd it not; but wrathful, petulant,
Dreaming some rival, sought and found a witch 15
Who brew'd the philtre which had power, they said,
To lead an errant passion home again.
And this, at times, she mingled with his drink,
And this destroy'd him; for the wicked broth
Confused the chemic labour of the blood. 20

Relevant guides	Lucretius