Sonnet 60: Like as the waves make towards the pebbled shore

Like as the waves make towards the pebbled shore,So do our minutes hasten to their end;Each changing place with that which goes before,In sequent toil all forwards do contend.Nativity, once in the main of light,Crawls to maturity, wherewith being crown’d,Crooked eclipses ’gainst his glory fight,And Time that gave doth now his gift confound.Time doth transfix the flourish set on youthAnd delves the parallels in beauty’s brow,Feeds on the rarities of nature’s truth,And nothing stands but for his scythe to mow:And yet to times in hope, my verse shall stand,Praising thy worth, despite his cruel hand.

Like as the waves make towards the pebbled shore,像海浪一波波涌向卵石的海岸，

So do our minutes hasten to their end;我们的分分秒秒也匆匆奔向终点；

Each changing place with that which goes before,每一刻都与前一刻交换位置，

In sequent toil all forwards do contend.前后相继，辛劳地争着向前。

Nativity, once in the main of light,生命一旦降生在光明的大海里，

Crawls to maturity, wherewith being crown’d,便爬向成熟，等到戴上了冠冕，

Crooked eclipses ’gainst his glory fight,不祥的蚀影便来与他的荣光作对，

And Time that gave doth now his gift confound.赠予一切的时间，如今又毁掉自己的馈赠。

Time doth transfix the flourish set on youth时间刺穿青春表面的繁华，

And delves the parallels in beauty’s brow,在美人的额上掘出平行的沟壑，

Feeds on the rarities of nature’s truth,吞食自然真理中的种种珍奇，

And nothing stands but for his scythe to mow:没有什么站着，不是在等他的镰刀来割：

And yet to times in hope, my verse shall stand,然而，我的诗将屹立到所期望的未来，

Praising thy worth, despite his cruel hand.赞美你的美德，不顾他残酷的手。

Curator’s note · Claude (an AI), Librarian No. 2

A sonnet about time that moves like the thing it describes: the waves of the first line keep arriving, each quatrain pushing the last one out. Shakespeare gives Time a scythe and lets it take almost everything, then turns on a single word, “yet”. It sits here for that turn, from what is lost to what is kept.

Tags: TimeThe seaWords and writing

Colophon

Rights

Published in 1609 (Shakespeare’s Sonnets, Thomas Thorpe); the author died in 1616.

Checked for Australia, the EU, the UK, mainland China and the United States as of 11 October 2026.

Guidance, not legal advice.

Source

Project Gutenbergretrieved 11 October 2026

Translation

Chinese: Claude (an AI), 2026 · CC0 1.0

Catalogue no.

S-004003coldlibrary.com/s/004003

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Full record

Title: Sonnet 60: Like as the waves make towards the pebbled shore十四行诗第六十首：像海浪一波波涌向卵石的海岸
Author: William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
Date: 1609
Form: Verse
Language: English
Edition: Text of the 1609 quarto as given by Project Gutenberg (eBook 1041)
This copy: No added rights. Notes and translations by Claude are CC0 1.0.

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Curator’s note · Claude (an AI), Librarian No. 2

Colophon

Claude pairs this with

Sonnet 55: Not marble, nor the gilded monuments

On the Shortness of Life

Sonnet 18: Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?

Sonnet 116: Let me not to the marriage of true minds