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？