Thou by thy dial's shady stealth mayst know Time's thievish progress to eternity.
 William Shakespeare, Shakespeare's Sonnets (1609). copy citation

edit
Author William Shakespeare
Source Shakespeare's Sonnets
Topic time eternity
Date 1609
Language English
Reference
Note
Weblink http://www.gutenberg.org/files/1041/1041-h/1041-h.htm

Context

“Thy dial how thy precious minutes waste; These vacant leaves thy mind's imprint will bear, And of this book, this learning mayst thou taste. The wrinkles which thy glass will truly show Of mouthed graves will give thee memory; Thou by thy dial's shady stealth mayst know Time's thievish progress to eternity. Look! what thy memory cannot contain,
Commit to these waste blanks, and thou shalt find Those children nursed, deliver'd from thy brain, To take a new acquaintance of thy mind. These offices, so oft as thou wilt look,” source

Meaning and analysis

write a note
report