Unthrifty loveliness why spend,
Upon thyself beauty’s legacy?
Nature’s bequest gives nothing but lend,
And being frank she lends to those are free:
Then beauteous niggard why abuse,
The bounteous largess given to give?
Profitless usurer why use
So great a sum of sums yet canst not live?
For having traffic with thyself alone,
of thyself sweet self deceive,
Then how when nature calls to be gone,
What acceptable audit canst leave?
unused beauty must be tombed with ,
Which used lives th’ executor to be.
Sonnet 4
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Modern spelling for reading. The edition is public domain in the United States. Edition source.