Keep close behind me. Let them say their say.
Stand straight, a mighty tower unwavering,
its height unshaken by such breaths of wind.

[Vien dietro a me, e lascia dir le genti:
sta come torre ferma, che non crolla
già mai la cima per soffiar di venti.]

Dante Alighieri the poet
Dante Alighieri (1265-1321) Italian poet
The Divine Comedy [Divina Commedia], Book 2 “Purgatorio,” Canto 5, l. 13ff (5.13-15) [Virgil] (1314) [tr. Kirkpatrick (2007)]
    (Source)

Virgil scolding Dante for slowing down when other spirits are pointing and murmuring about him having a shadow, unlike them.

(Source (Italian)). Alternate translations:

Can murmurs move you? Let them whisper on,
And bid your Reason firmly keep its throne,
and o'er the fortress of the mind preside.
[tr. Boyd (1802), st. 2]

Come after me, and to their babblings leave
The crowd. Be as a tower, that, firmly set,
Shakes not its top for any blast that blows!
[tr. Cary (1814)]

Come thou behind me, let the people talk;
Stand like a steadfast tower, whose lofty crest
Ne'er quaked obedient to the rocking blast.
[tr. Bannerman (1850)]

Come after me, and let the people talk;
Stand like a steadfast tower, that never wags
Its top for all the blowing of the winds;
[tr. Longfellow (1867)]

Come behind me, and let the folk talk; stand like a firm tower which never shakes its top for blast of winds.
[tr. Butler (1885)]

Follow thou me, and let the people talk:
Stand like a solid tower, that doth not bow
Its crest at any time, though wild winds stalk.
[tr. Minchin (1885)]

Come after me, and let the people talk. Stand as a tower firm, that never wags its top for blowing of the winds.
[tr. Norton (1892)]

Follow me and let the people talk; stand thou as a firm tower which never shakes its summit for blast of winds.
[tr. Okey (1901)]

Come after me and let the people talk. Stand like a firm tower that never shakes its top for blast of wind.
[tr. Sinclair (1939)]

Follow behind me and let them talk their fill:
Stand like a tower whose summit never shakes
For the wind's blowing, and stays immovable.
[tr. Binyon (1943)]

Follow thou me, and let the people chatter;
Stand as a tower stands firm in time of trouble,
Nor bends its head, though winds may bawl and batter.
[tr. Sayers (1955)]

Follow my steps, though all such whisper of you:
be as a tower of stone, its lofty crown
unswayed by anything the winds may do.
[tr. Ciardi (1961)]

Follow me and let the people talk.
Stand as a firm tower which never
shakes its summit for blast of winds.
[tr. Singleton (1973)]

Keep up with me and let the people talk!
Be like a solid tower whose brave height
remains unmoved by all the winds that blow.
[tr. Musa (1981)]

Come on behind me, let those people talk:
Stand like a solid tower which does not shake
Its top whatever winds are blowing on it.
[tr. Sisson (1981)]

Come, follow me, and let these people talk:
stand like a sturdy tower that does not shake
its summit though the winds may blast.
[tr. Mandelbaum (1982)]

Come after me, and let the people talk:
be like a strong tower whose top never falls,
however hard the winds may blow.
[tr. Durling (2003)]

Follow me close behind, and let the people talk: stand like a steady tower, that never shakes at the top, in the blasts of wind.
[tr. Kline (2002)]

Just follow me and let the people talk.
Why can't you be like a sturdy tower
that does not tremble in the fiercest wind.
[tr. Hollander/Hollander (2007)]

Just follow me and let the people talk:
Stand steady as a tower, which doesn't shake
Its top whenever the winds decide to blow.
[tr. Raffel (2010)]

Karl Marx paraphrased the first line of this tercet in the conclusion of his Author's Preface to the First Edition of Das Kapital (1867), crediting Dante:

Every opinion based on scientific criticism I welcome. As to the prejudices of so-called public opinion, to which I have never made concessions, now as aforetime the maxim of the great Florentine is mine: "Segui il tuo corso, e lascia dir le genti."

Which reads something like "Follow your own course, and let the people talk." The phrase is given in Italian even in the original German edition.