Your charm so strongly works ’em,

That if you now beheld them,

Your affections

Would become tender.

— Shakespeare, The Tempest, V, 1

Charm and affection, the main ingredients in the soup of temptation. And what a soup it can be too, for like all tasty broths, it’s best served hot and spicy. Ah, delicious temptation.

But be careful, for temptation can lead to disaster. See what happened to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden? They succumbed to temptation and paid a heavy price, of which we are still paying. But temptation can be so powerful, making the person being tempted an unwilling victim of the charms and affections of the tempter. Truth be told, they say that the only way to overcome a temptation is to yield to it. Yield, yield, and enjoy the pleasures of forbidden fruit.

Yet people have been tempted for centuries, with some resisting, but many others yielding and paying the price after. Even so, many who yield say that it was worth it. “Man I couldn’t resist, even though I knew that she was trouble…but I just had to go there.”

Not many people have the strength to say, “Get thee behind me,” and not yield, for alas, the mind is willing but the flesh is not only weak, but succulent too. “What the heck, in for a penny, in for a pound…might as well I do it.”

Temptation, to yield or not, that’s the test today.

Hi Tony,

Regarding ‘Landing a husband’, it is unfortunate that sometimes the woman will carry out all the right fishing manoeuvres, land the man, but he remains still not ripe for the cooking. The relationship will go on for a long time, sometimes becoming very comfortable, but still no proposal. Some men think that there is no need to buy the cow when the milk is free.

Howard

Teerob,

Contrary to what you may say, not every woman wants to land a man. Some of us are quite comfortable being on our own without any man to bring us worries, stress and strife. Why go fishing when I can borrow my neighbour’s Snapper?

Simone

Tony,

Like you, I believe that every single woman alive wants a partner, whether it be male or female. As far as straight women go, they would all love to land a husband, but usually give up when they find that their bait just isn’t palatable. Then they say that they don’t want any man. Haha.

Ronald

I saw this movie titled Temptation at Carib Cinema recently. It was great, as most Tyler Perry movies are. Without giving away the plot, I will say that it took a serious look at how a wife could fall prey to temptation and pay a very high price for yielding.

We are tempted every day of life, some by food, material things, or pleasures of the flesh. Even as far back as Biblical times, mankind was given a set of rules with stipulations that we were not to fall prey to the evils of temptation. Does, “Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, his ox, his ass, or his wife,” ring a bell?

Oh yes, first you look, are tempted, then you touch. You covet, you yield. To make it worse, you not only covet your neighbour’s ass, ox and his wife, but his wife’s ass as well, and that’s where the problems begin. No wonder temptation is frowned upon.

But why are we tempted, why can’t we be satisfied with what we have? Why do we want more, more, more, and especially what does not belong to us? That’s because the grass always seems greener on the other side of the fence. Many times you jump over, only to find out that it’s only weeds. All that glitters is not gold, but that glitter sure is tempting. Usually temptation comes replete with charms and affection, and therein lies the danger.

There you are, a nice, decent wife, minding your own business, with not a shred of temptation dangling before you. Then along comes Joe, smooth walking Joe, slow talking Joe, who fills your head with all the right words. The old saying is, ‘Whispering sweet nothings in your ears.’ And sweet nothings it is too, for it usually has no substance. But it often works.

For the temptation to work though, it has to be compared to something else. The woman sees the temptation, then she thinks of her spouse. She looks at the temptation, then she looks again at her spouse. She sees excitement in the temptation but boredom and routine in her spouse. The temptation offers her spice, romance, glamour and promises. Her spouse has settled into the domain of the mundane, and she compares. So she does what many people do when faced with these comparisons, she yields to the more attractive offer — the temptation.

Men are tempted every day, for goodness knows, the wandering eye is the root of all temptation. A man will have the most beautiful woman in his bed every night, yet he yields to the temptation of the girl next door. Why? Is it the sheer thrill of the conquest and getting away with it, or is it that men are basically weak and are prime candidates for temptation? Men simply cannot say, “Get thee behind me.” I will hazard a guess that more men yield to temptation than women. Or is it that women conceal it better?

Which man among you can truthfully and honestly say that if you were away in some far off land where nobody knows you and a woman looking like Halle Berry or Beyoncé offers up her charms to you, you’ll rebuff those charms and say, “Go away, I am sorry, I’m a married man, I cannot yield to your temptation!” Tough call eh, but it can be done, if you’re really strong. Temptation preys on the weak.

Women are tempted for different reasons, but they are still tempted. For a man it’s mostly visual, a hot, sexy, young woman will grab his attention every time. But for a woman, the temptation may stem from her own low feelings, inadequacies and perceived failures. She longs to be loved and protected.

She’s also tempted by power, for remember, they do say that power is the greatest aphrodisiac. She may have married her high school sweetheart, but sadly, time has taken its toll on the relationship. Unfortunately, his life went nowhere and she felt cheated and shortchanged.

Enter the temptation — her boss. He is everything her husband is not — charming, powerful, self-assured and he can protect her. All those attributes her husband didn’t have. See the comparison again? That makes the temptation even more attractive. At this point there doesn’t even have to be any sex, although that will come later. Right now she’s simply blown away by the things that he has, and compares it to what her husband hasn’t. Temptation wins.

Women love to hear how nice they are and how lovely they look, and sadly many husbands fail to recognise this after a few years have passed. The first man who comes along and fills this need may tempt her to venture down a road that she normally wouldn’t travel on. Such is the power of temptation. She yields, and another one bites the dust.

Temptation is a great evil, and if it wasn’t, there wouldn’t be so many platitudes warning of its dangers. Yet, temptation does bring pleasure, for both the tempter and the temptee (my word) dance a tango of passion, fury, lust and lasciviousness.

Temptation has to be attractive to be successful. Also, to be tempted can be a morale booster, as many persons are flattered to be approached by the tempter. Many feel grateful just to feel alive again when faced with temptation. “I yielded because I thought that I was past it, but he made me feel alive and desirable again.” That’s the excuse many women give.

So, when temptation comes knocking, what will be your response? “Get thee behind me,” or “Come hither, let me yield to thee.” The choice is yours.

More time.

seido1@hotmail.com

Footnote: As usual, Jamaica dominated the Carifta Games, and I was elated. But when I saw Oral Tracy’s Sports Commentary highlighting the terrible interviews by our athletes, I felt saddened. What a shame and disgrace that many of our athletes cannot string two words together to answer a simple question.

And yet, youngsters from other countries came across as bright, articulate and intelligent. The world must view us as being jabbering jocks who can do nothing but run and jump. I hope that those persons pushing patois saw those interviews and felt awash with shame as I was. Chances are they felt pride, as after all, ‘is we dis.’

Oral asked the question, “What’s better, to have great athletes who cannot speak properly, or mediocre athletes who can speak well?” Why have that choice; why can’t we have great athletes who can at least answer a basic question? Even as I applaud their greatness on the field of play, I am distressed by what I saw in the interviews. Thank God for Usain Bolt who can speak well anywhere he goes in the world.