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Sonnet 51
Shakespeare's Sonnets Translation Sonnet 52
So am I as the rich whose blessèd key Can bring him to his sweet up-lockèd treasure, The which he will not every hour survey, For blunting the fine point of seldom pleasure . Therefore are feasts so solemn and so rare, Since seldom coming in the long year set, Like stones of worth they thinly placèd are, Or captain jewels in the carcanet. So is the time that keeps you as my chest, Or as the wardrobe which the robe doth hide, To make some special instant special blest By new unfolding his imprisoned pride. Blessèd are you whose worthiness gives scope, Being had, to triumph; being lacked, to hope.
I am like the rich man whose blessed key
Can bring him to his sweet locked-up treasure,
Which he does not look over every hour,
In order not to blunt the fine point of pleasure.
This is why religious festivals are so serious and so infrequent,
Since they arrive so rarely during the long year,
Like expensive jewels they are placed sparingly,
Or the main jewels in a necklace.
The time that keeps you in my chest,
Or a closet in which an expensive robe is kept,
To make a special occasion especially blessed
By once again revealing its concealed splendor.
You are blessed, and your value provides a scope
To have you is to triumph, to lack you is to long for you.
