My Guide and I, to the bright World attain,
Enter'd this secret path; not took repose.
We leaped up, he first, I foll'wing him;
'Till through a space round formed I beheld
Those beauteous sights which are in Heav'n display'd:
And thence we rose to view again the Stars.
[tr. Rogers (1782), l. 130ff]

Still up the wave-worn cliff the Mantuan press'd,
I follow'd faint, deny'd a moment's rest;
'Till dim and dubious thro' the rocks on high,
A ray of welcome light disclos'd our path;
Joyful we left the shadowy realms of death,
And hail'd the op'ning glories of the sky.
[tr. Boyd (1802), st. 27]

By that hidden way
My guide and I did enter, to return
To the fair world: and heedless of repose
We climbed, he first, I following his steps,
Till on our view the beautiful lights of heav’n
Dawn’d through a circular opening in the cave:
Thus issuing we again beheld the stars.
[tr. Cary (1814)]

To seek return to daylight world sublime
My guide and I that darksome path explored,
And while he first, I second, 'gan to climb,
No care to rest us might our haste afford,
Till through a rounded opening I saw plain
The glorious things in part which heaven doth hoard,
And thence we rose to view the stars again.
[tr. Dayman (1843)]

The Guide and I entered by that hidden road, to return to the bright world; and without caring for any rest,
we mounted up, he first and I second, so far that I distinguished through a round opening the beauteous things which Heaven bears;
and thence we issued out, again to see the Stars.
[tr. Carlyle (1849)]

The leader and myself through pathway hid
Entered, returning to the world that's clear.
Of no reposing had we any care:
We mounted up; he first, the second I.
Through round and hollowed opening, saw afar
The heave, and all the beauteous things it bore;
And then we issued to review the stars.
[tr. Bannerman (1850)]

My chief and I, following this hidden path,
Set forth on our return to the bright world;
Having no thought nor care for any rest,
Upwards we clomb, he first and second I,
Till I at length through a round opening saw
Those beauteous things which with the heavens revolve;
Thence we went forth once more to see the stars.
[tr. Johnston (1867)]

The Guide and I into that hidden road
Now entered, to return to the bright world;
And without care of having any rest ⁠
We mounted up, he first and I the second,
Till I beheld through a round aperture
Some of those beauteous things which Heaven doth bear;
Thence we came forth to rebehold the stars.
[tr. Longfellow (1867)]

Through that hidden road my Leader and I entered to return into the bright world; and without having a care of any rest we mounted up, he first and I second, so far that I had sight of the fair objects which the Heaven bears, through a round opening; and thence we issued to see again the stars.
[tr. Butler (1885)]

My chief and I by that mysterious way
Entered, the world of light again to find:
Nor with the thought of rest did we delay,
But clambered up, he first, and I behind.
Until I witnessed through that rounded bore
The things so fair athwart the heavens that shined,
And issued thence to see the stars once more.
[tr. Minchin (1885)]

My Leader and I entered through that hidden way, to return to the bright world. And without care, to have any repose, we mounted up, he first and I second, till through a round opening I saw of those beauteous things which heaven bears, and thence we came forth to see again the stars.
[tr. Norton (1892)]

My Guide and I went in by that darksome way that we might reach the world of light again; and unconcerned for any thought of rest, we went aloft, he first and I behind, so high that, through a rounded chink, I could behold the beauteous gems which Heaven weareth; and thence came we forth to look once more upon the stars.
[tr. Sullivan (1893)]

My guide and I upon that hidden pathway
Entered to make return to the world of
brightness ; And, without taking thought of any resting,
We mounted up, he first and I the second.
So far that I had sight of things of beauty
Borne on the firmament, through a round loophole:
Thence came we forth to see the starry heavens.
[tr. Griffith (1908)]

The Leader and I entered on that hidden road to return into the bright world, and without caring to have any rest we climbed up, he first and I second, so far that I saw through a round opening some of the fair things that Heaven bears; and thence we can forth to see again the stars.
[tr. Sinclair (1939)]

The Guide and I, entering that secret road,
Toiled to return into the world of light.
Nor thought on any resting-place bestowed.
We climbed, he first, I following, till to sight
Appeared those things of beauty that heaven wears
Glimpsed through a rounded opening, faintly bright;
Thence issuing, we beheld again the stars.
[tr. Binyon (1943)]

By that hid way my guide and I withal,
Back to the lit world from the darkened dens
Toiled upward, caring for no rest at all,
He first, I following; till my straining sense
Glimpsed the bright burden of the heavenly cars
Through a round hole; by this we climbed, and thence
Came forth, to look once more upon the stars.
[tr. Sayers (1949)]

My Guide and I crossed over and began
to mount that little known and lightless road
to ascend into the shining world again.
He first, I second, without thought of rest
we climbed the dark until we reached the point
where a round opening brought in sight the blest
and beauteous shining of the Heavenly cars.
And we walked out once more beneath the stars.
[tr. Ciardi (1954)]

My leader and I entered on that hidden road to return into the bright world; and caring not for any rest, we climbed up, hie first and I second, so far that through a round opening I saw some of the beautiful things that Heaven bears; and thence we issued forth to see again the stars.
[tr. Singleton (1970)]

My guide and I entered that hidden road
to make our way back up to the bright world.
We never thought of resting while we climbed.
We climbed, he first and I behind, until,
through a small round opening ahead of us
I saw the lovely things the heavens hold,
and we came out to see once more the stars.
[tr. Musa (1971)]

My guide and I came on that hidden road
to make our way back into the bright world;
and with no care for any rest, we climbed
he first, I following -- until I saw,
through a round opening, some of those things
of beauty Heaven bears. It was from there
that we emerged, to see -- once more -- the stars.
[tr. Mandelbaum (1980)]

My guide and I started out on that road,
Through its obscurity to return to the bright world;
And not worrying about taking any rest,
We mounted up, he first and I second,
So that I saw some of the lovely things
That are in the heavens, through a round opening;
And then we emerged to see the stars again.
[tr. Sisson (1981)]

To get back up to the shining world from there
My guide and I went into that hidden tunnel;
And following its path, we took no care
To rest, but climbed: he first, then I -- so far,
Through a round aperture I saw appear
Some of the beautiful things that Heaven bears,
Where we came forth, and once more saw the stars.
[tr. Pinsky (1994)]

My leader and I entered on that hidden path to return to the bright world; and, without taking care for rest at all,
up we climbed, he first and I second, until I saw the beautiful things the heavens carry, through a round opening.
And thence we came forth to look again at the stars.
[tr. Durling (1996)]

The guide and I entered by that hidden path, to return to the clear world: and, not caring to rest, we climbed up, he first, and I second, until, through a round opening, I saw the beautiful things that the sky holds: and we issued out, from there, to see, again, the stars.
[tr. Kline (2002)]

My guide and I began that hidden route
to journey back into the world of light;
and caring not for rest, but resolute,
we climbed and climbed until we caught a sight,
beyond a rounded opening, of store on store
of things of Heavenly delight;
and we emerged to see the stars once more.
[tr. Carson (2002)]

Into that hidden passage my guide and I
entered, to find again the world of light,
and, without thinking of a moment's rest,
we climbed up, he first and I behind him,
far enough to see, through a round opening,
a few of those fair things the heavens bear.
Then we came forth, to see again the stars.
[tr. Hollander/Hollander (2007)]

My leader and I followed that unknown road,
Which showed us how to return to the shining world,
Nor did we stop for a moment, needing no rest,
Climbing steadily, he in the lead, I next,
Ascending so far that through a circular hole
I could see a few of the beautiful things in Heaven.
And then we came out, and saw the stars again.
[tr. Raffel (2010)]

My Guide and I were on the hidden road
That leads back out to where the world is bright.
No need for rest. We bore an easy load:
The task of getting back to the sweet light.
And up we went, he first, I second, to
The point where I could see an opening.
And it was there I saw, when I looked through,
A sight more wonderful than anything --
some of the loveliness revealed to men
By Heaven. We could see the star again.
[tr. James (2013), l. 153ff]