When forty winters shall beseige thy brow,
And dig deep trenches¹ in thy beauty's field,
Thy youth's proud livery, so gazed on now,
Will be a tatter'd weed, of small worth held:
Then being ask'd where all thy beauty lies,
Where all the treasure of thy lusty days,
To say, within thine own deep-sunken eyes,
Were an all-eating shame and thriftless praise.
How much more praise deserved thy beauty's use,
If thou couldst answer 'This fair child of mine
Shall sum my count and make my old excuse,'
Proving his beauty by succession thine!
  This were to be new made when thou art old,
  And see thy blood warm when thou feel'st it cold.

当四十个冬天围攻你的朱颜，
在你美的园地挖下深的战壕，
你青春的华服，那么被人艳羡，
将成褴褛的败絮，谁也不要瞧：
那时人若问起你的美在何处，
哪里是你那少壮年华的宝藏，
你说，"在我这双深陷的眼眶里，
是贪婪的羞耻，和无益的颂扬。"
你的美的用途会更值得赞美，
如果你能够说，"我这宁馨小童
将总结我的账，宽恕我的老迈，"
证实他的美在继承你的血统！
　　这将使你在衰老的暮年更生，
　　并使你垂冷的血液感到重温。