"Facilis descensus Averno Noctes atque dies patet atri ianua Ditis; Sed revocare gradum superasque evadere ad auras, Hoc opus, hic labor est."
— Virgil

January 1, 1970

Quote Details

Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Added on April 10, 2026
Unverified quote
0 likes
Poets from RomeVirgilPeople from Lombardy
Original Language: English

Sources

Lines 126–129 (as translated by John Dryden) — Variant translation: — : It is easy to go down into Hell; Night and day, the gates of dark Death stand wide; But to climb back again, to retrace one's steps to the upper air— There's the rub, the task. — Compare: — Long is the way And hard, that out of Hell leads up to Light. — John Milton, Paradise Lost, Book II, line 432