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No! Time, thou shalt not bost that I doe change,
Thy pyramyds buylt up with newer might
To me are nothing novel, nothing strange,
They are but dressings of a former sight:
Our dates are breefe, and therefor we admire,
What thou dost foyst upon us that is ould,
And rather make them borne to our desire,
Then thinke that we before have heard them tould:
Thy registers and thee I both defie,
Not wondring at the present, nor the past,
For thy records, and what we see both lye,
Made more or les by thy continuall hast:
This I doe vow and this shall ever be,
I will be true by dispight thy syeth and thee.
Commentary
Commentary
Address to Time
Address to Time
Changes to the original text: line 11, 'doth' changed to 'both'.
In the first quatrain, the poet, addressing Time, observes that he (the poet) does not change. The obelisks (pyramids) which were discovered and re-erected in Roma by Pius V, are to him (the poet) nothing new, but rather re-dressings of old things (dressings of a former sight).
In the second quatrain, the poet points out that because our life is brief (our dates are breefe), we have no knowledge of the ancient past, and therefore are impressed by anything apparently old (what thou dost foyst upon us that is ould), and rather think these old things new made (borne to our desire) than believe we have already heard about them. There seem to be two conflicting points of view here. Old / new, impressive / fake, change / no change, it is very difficult to see where this argument stands.
In the third quatrain, the poet says he defies both books of history (thy registers) and the present time (thee), neither wondering at the past nor the present since both historical records (thy records) and the present (what we see) deceive us (both lye), everything being distorted by the passing of time (thy continuall haste).
In the final couplet, the poet claims that, despite time's changefulness (thy syeth and thee), he will remain true.
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