Wasn’t there an old saying about doing something meant your life ended by Mercury ?
The saying was something like, “One night with Venus, a lifetime with Mercury”
The saying was a play on the fact that Mercury was one of the only effective treatments for Syphilis in Victorian times.
Mercury and Venus were Gods within the ancient Roman Mythical pantheon, and Venus was, of course, the Goddess of Love.
I was expecting a connection/reference to Freddie Mercury which wouldn’t have been entirely off-base given his circumstances, but thanks for the explanation.