Thy gift, thy tables, are within my brain
Full character'd with lasting¹ 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 faculty² by nature to subsist;
Till each to razed³ oblivion yield his part
Of thee, thy record never can be miss'd.
That poor retention⁴ could not so much hold,
Nor need I tallies⁵ 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？