When forty winters shall besiege thy brow,
And dig deep trenches in thy beauty's field,
Thy youth's proud livery so gazed on now,
Will be a tattered weed of small worth held.
Then being asked 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.
當四十個冬天將容顏重創(chuàng),
在你美的田野深挖出溝痕,
眼下萬目羨視的青春盛裝,
變成襤褸的舊服,不值分文;
若有人問及你的美在哪里,
你少壯時的財寶又在何方,
深陷的眼眶只會向人揭示
毀滅的羞愧和無益的贊揚。
為使你擁有的美享譽千古,
你應該說:“我的俊美的后人
因襲于我,將我的遺憾彌補,
我的美質(zhì)已在承繼中重生?!?/p>
唯如此,返老還童才有可能,
一度冷卻的血也能再沸騰。