Thy gift, thy tables, are within my brain

　　Full character'd with lasting memory,

　　Which shall above that idle rank remain

　　Beyond all date, even to eternity;

　　Or at the least, so long as brain and heart

　　Have faculty by nature to subsist;

　　Till each to razed oblivion yield his part

　　Of thee, thy record never can be miss'd.

　　That poor retention could not so much hold,

　　Nor need I tallies thy dear love to score;

　　Therefore to give them from me was I bold,

　　To trust those tables that receive thee more:

　　To keep an adjunct to remember thee

　　Were to import forgetfulness in me.

　　你赠我的手册已经一笔一划

　　永不磨灭地刻在我的心版上，

　　它将超越无聊的名位的高下，

　　跨过一切时代，以至无穷无疆：

　　或者，至少直到大自然的规律

　　容许心和脑继续存在的一天;

　　直到它们把你每部分都让给

　　遗忘，你的记忆将永远不逸散。

　　可怜的手册就无法那样持久，

　　我也不用筹码把你的爱登记;

　　所以你的手册我大胆地放走，

　　把你交给更能珍藏你的册子：

　　要靠备忘录才不会把你遗忘，

　　岂不等于表明我对你也善忘?