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Translation Comparisons

Ever since the confusion of tongues at Babel, translation has been a necessary part of communication. Truly understanding the writings of other peoples and cultures is difficult work, and scholars have spent millenia refining their skills. While in recent years, AI seems to making parts of this easier, we're not quite ready to trust it—especially for literature, considering the nuances required.

The Bible is certainly the most commonly translated book in the world, with dozens of English translations alone, but editions in most of the world's languages also. For a project of such immensity and importance, modern translations usually involve a panel of scholars and linguists. But it wasn't always that way. Although the Septuagint (the Greek Old Testament) was crafted by dozens of scholars in the 2nd & 3rd centuries, around 382 A.D., St. Jerome first reworked the Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek into Latin, crafting the Vulgate, which was the standard translation of the Roman Catholic Church for a thousand years. Later, as churchmen desired to hear the word in their own tongues, men like John Wycliffe (England, 1382), Martin Luther (Germany, 1522-34 ), William Tyndale (England, 1525-35), and Miles Coverdale (also England, 1535) did the work to translate the Scriptures into the common tongues of their period. That work continues today and has resulted in many favorite versions over the years: the KJV, NASB, NKJV, ESV, NIV, RSV...just to name a few.

This probably seems like an unnecessary tangent in an introduction to literature comparisons, but there is a point. When studying English translations, scholars often use what is called an interlinear Bible, which intersperses lines of original language with lines of the language of which they are more accustomed. Going further, some people use a parallel Bible, which allows them to compare multiple versions of the same text side-by-side. These Classic Comparison pages are an attempt to offer you the same thing for passages of classic lit. Almost all of these pages have two parts: 1) the introduction, which will give some background on the book and summarize the major differences between editions, and 2) the parallel comparison page, which usually will offer 3-6 passages from all the translators we could feasibly add (we continue to update as we can). While that might be extreme thing to attempt for full novels, we think it's really helpful for getting the flavor of translations. 

Please let us know if you have questions, or would like to suggest other translations! 

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20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
Signet Classics
by Jules Verne, translated by Mendor Brunetti, with an introduction by Stephen Baxter and an afterword by Walter James Miller
from Signet Classics
Science Fiction for 10th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$5.06
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
Bantam Classics
by Jules Verne, translated by Anthony Bonner with an introduction by Ray Bradbury
from Bantam Books
Science Fiction for 10th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$5.09
Adventures of Pinocchio
by Carlo Collodi, translated by Geoffrey Brock, with an introduction by Umberto Eco and an afterword by Rebecca West
from New York Review of Books
for 10th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$11.90
Adventures of Pinocchio
by Carlo Collodi, translated by John Hooper & Anna Kraczyna
from Penguin Classics
for 10th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$12.75
Adventures of Sir Gawain the True
The Knights' Tales Book 3
by Gerald Morris
from HMH Books for Young Readers
for 4th-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$5.94
Aeneid
by Virgil, translated by Robert Fitzgerald
from Vintage Classics
Ancient Literature/Epic Poetry for 10th-Adult
in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC)
$14.45
Aeneid
by Virgil, translated by Robert Fagles
from Penguin Putnam
for 9th-Adult
in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC)
$17.00
Aeneid
Penguin Classics
by Virgil, translated by David West
Reissue from Penguin Classics
for 9th-Adult
in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC)
$13.60
Aeneid
by Virgil, translated by Stanley F. Lombardo
from Hackett Publishing Company
for 10th-Adult
in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC)
$15.00
Aeneid
by Virgil, translated by Shadi Bartsch
from Modern Library
for 10th-Adult
in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC)
$18.00
Aeneid
Penguin Classics
by Virgil, translated by Sarah Ruden
Reissue from Yale University Press
for 9th-Adult
in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC)
$15.30
Aeneid - MP Student Guide
by Cody King
from Memoria Press
for 9th-12th grade
in Memoria Press Classical Studies (Location: HISCUR-MP)
$17.43
Aeneid - MP Teacher Guide
by Cody King
from Memoria Press
for 9th-12th grade
in Memoria Press Classical Studies (Location: HISCUR-MP)
$17.43
Aeneid for Boys and Girls
by Alfred J. Church
from Yesterday's Classics
Roman Mythology for 5th-8th grade
$10.16
Aeneid for Boys and Girls
by Alfred J. Church
from Living Book Press
Roman Mythology for 5th-8th grade
$5.94
Aeneid Of Virgil
by Virgil, translated by Allan Mandelbaum
from Bantam Books
for 10th-Adult
in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC)
$5.91
Ascent to Love
by Peter Leithart
from Canon Press
for 9th-Adult
in Classical Literature Guides (Location: LIR-CLA)
$13.60
Beginner's Guide to Dante's Divine Comedy
by Jason M. Baxter
from Baker Academics
for 11th-Adult
in Classical Literature Guides (Location: LIR-CLA)
$24.00
Beowulf
by Anonymous (translation by Frederick Rebsamen)
from HarperCollins
Medieval Poetic Epic for 8th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$8.49 $4.80 (3 in stock)
Beowulf
by Anonymous (translation by Seamus Heaney)
from W. W. Norton and Co.
Medieval Poetic Epic for 8th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$13.56
Beowulf
Dover Thrift Editions
by Anonymous, translated by R. K. Gordon
from Dover Publications
Medieval Epic for 8th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$3.40
Beowulf
by Anonymous, translated by Seamus Heaney
from W. W. Norton and Co.
Medieval Poetic Epic for 9th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$21.21
Beowulf
by Anonymous, translated by Douglas Wilson
from Canon Press
for 7th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$11.90 $6.40 (1 in stock)
Beowulf (retold)
by Michael Morpurgo
from Candlewick Press
for 3rd-8th grade
$7.64 $4.00 (1 in stock)
Beowulf - A Graphic Novel Adaptation
by Gareth Hinds
from Candlewick Press
for 5th-9th grade
in Comic Books & Graphic Novels (Location: FIC-COMIC)
$14.44
Beowulf - Coloring Book
Dover Coloring Books
by John Green
from Dover Publications
for 2nd-6th grade
in Literary & Fantasy Coloring Books (Location: COL-LIT)
$4.24
Beowulf - Progeny Press Study Guide
by Michael Poteet
from Progeny Press
for 9th-12th grade
in Progeny Press Literature Guides (Location: LITSG-PP)
$23.79
Beowulf - Study Guide CD
by Michael Poteet
from Progeny Press
for 9th-12th grade
in Progeny Press Interactive CDs (Location: LITSG-PPCD)
$13.00
Beowulf the Warrior
by Ian Serraillier
from Bethlehem Books
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for 4th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$10.16 $5.60 (1 in stock)
Beowulf the Warrior - Student Guide
by David M. Wright
2nd edition from Memoria Press
for 8th-9th grade
in Memoria Press Literature & Poetry (Location: LITSG-MP)
$11.86 $8.50 (1 in stock)
Beowulf the Warrior - Teacher Guide
by David M. Wright
2nd edition from Memoria Press
for 8th-9th grade
in Memoria Press Literature & Poetry (Location: LITSG-MP)
$11.86
Beowulf: A New Telling
by Robert Nye
from Laurel-Leaf Books
for 6th-10th grade
$5.09
Beowulf: A Translation and Commentary
by Anonymous (translation by J. R. R. Tolkien)
from Houghton Mifflin
for 9th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$27.20
Black Ships Before Troy
by Rosemary Sutcliff & Alan Lee
from Frances Lincoln
Greek Mythology for 3rd-8th grade
$21.24
Black Ships Before Troy
by Rosemary Sutcliff
from Laurel-Leaf Books
Greek Mythology for 4th-8th grade
$7.64
Boys of Blur
by N. D. Wilson
from Random House Books for Young Readers
for 5th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$6.79
Boys' and Girls' Herodotus
by John S. White
from American Home-School Publishing
Ancient History Reference for 4th-8th grade
in Ancient Greece (Location: HISW-ANGR)
$23.99
Brit. Lit. Volume 1
by Douglas Wilson
from Logos School
for 10th-12th grade
in Logos Brit. Lit. (Location: LITCUR-LOG)
$10.99
Canterbury Tales
Penguin Classics
by Geoffrey Chaucer (edited by Nevill Coghill)
from Penguin Classics
Medieval Poetry for 8th-12th grade
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$9.35
Canterbury Tales
by Geoffrey Chaucer (edited by Peter Beidler)
from Bantam Books
for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$5.09
Canterbury Tales
by Geoffrey Chaucer
2nd edition from Memoria Press
for 9th grade
in Memoria Press Literature & Poetry (Location: LITSG-MP)
$11.94 $8.50 (1 in stock)
Canterbury Tales
by Geoffrey Chaucer, translated by David Wright
from Oxford University
for 9th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$7.61
Canterbury Tales
by Geoffrey Chaucer, edited by Donald Howard
from Signet Classics
for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$5.91
Canterbury Tales (retold)
Puffin Classics
by Geoffrey Chaucer, retold by Geraldine McCaughrean
from Puffin Books
Epic Poetry for 7th-9th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$5.94
Canterbury Tales - Student Guide
by Geoffrey Chaucer
2nd edition from Memoria Press
for 8th-12th grade
in Memoria Press Literature & Poetry (Location: LITSG-MP)
$11.86 $8.00 (1 in stock)
Canterbury Tales - Teacher Guide
by Geoffrey Chaucer
2nd edition from Memoria Press
for 8th-12th grade
in Memoria Press Literature & Poetry (Location: LITSG-MP)
$11.86 $9.00 (1 in stock)
Chanticleer and the Fox
by Barbara Cooney
from HarperCollins
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for 1st-3rd grade
1959 Caldecott Medal winner
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.49
Chaucer for Children
by Mrs. H.R. (Mary) Haweis
from Cheapest Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$14.99
Chaucer for Children
by Mrs. H.R. (Mary) Haweis
from Yesterday's Classics
for 3rd-6th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$18.66
Chaucer for Children
by Mrs. H.R. (Mary) Haweis
from Living Book Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$8.49
Chaucer Story Book
by Geoffrey Chaucer, retpld by Eva March Tappan
Ill from CreateSpace
for 5th-8th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$7.61
Chaucer's Stories Simply Told
by Mary Seymour, illustrated by E.M. Scannell
from Hillside Education
for 5th-8th grade
in Classics Retold (Location: FIC-RET)
$12.71
Children's Homer
by Padraic Colum & Willy Pogany
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Greek Mythology for 3rd-8th grade
$9.34 $4.80 (3 in stock)
Confessions of Saint Augustine
Penguin Classics
by Augustine of Hippo (introduction & translation by R.S. Pine-Coffin)
from Penguin Classics
Autobiography/Devotional Material for 11th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$8.50
Confessions of Saint Augustine
Penguin Classics
by Augustine of Hippo (translation by John K. Ryan)
from Image
Autobiography/Devotional Material for 11th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$14.45
Confessions of Saint Augustine
Penguin Classics
by Augustine of Hippo (translation by Maria Boulding)
from Vintage Classics
Autobiography/Devotional Material for 11th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$12.71
Confessions of Saint Augustine
Penguin Classics
by Augustine of Hippo (translation by Garry Wills)
from Penguin Classics
Autobiography/Devotional Material for 11th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$13.60
Confessions of Saint Augustine
by Augustine of Hippo (translation by Sarah Ruden)
from Modern Library
Autobiography/Devotional Material for 11th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$14.45
Confessions of Saint Augustine
by Augustine of Hippo (translation by Thomas Williams)
from Hackett Publishing Company
Autobiography/Devotional Material for 11th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$13.00
Confessions of St. Augustine
by St. Augustine (translation by Philip Burton)
from Everyman's Library
for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$18.70
Confessions of St. Augustine
by Saint Augustine (translation by Henry Chadwick)
from Oxford University
for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$6.76
Dante's Inferno
by Dante Alighieri (translation by Anthony Esolen)
from Modern Library
for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$13.60
Dante's Paradise
by Dante Alighieri (translation by Anthony Esolen)
from Modern Library
for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$15.30
Dante's Purgatory
by Dante Alighieri (translation by Anthony Esolen)
from Modern Library
for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$13.60
Divine Comedy
by Dante Alighieri (translation by John Ciardi)
from New American Library
for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
Divine Comedy
by Dante Alighieri, translated by Robin Kirkpatrick
Reprint from Penguin Classics
for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$24.65
Divine Comedy
by Dante Alighieri, translated by Allan Mandelbaum
from Everyman's Library
for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$29.75
Divine Comedy
by Dante, translated by Joe Carlson
from Roman Roads Media
for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$29.95
Divine Comedy - MP Quizzes
from Memoria Press
for 10th-12th grade
in Memoria Press Literature & Poetry (Location: LITSG-MP)
$6.20
Divine Comedy - MP Student Guide
from Memoria Press
for 10th-12th grade
in Memoria Press Literature & Poetry (Location: LITSG-MP)
$20.50
Divine Comedy - MP Teacher Guide
from Memoria Press
for 10th-12th grade
in Memoria Press Literature & Poetry (Location: LITSG-MP)
$20.50
Divine Comedy I
Penguin Classics
by Dante Alighieri, translated by Dorothy Sayers
from Penguin Classics
Medieval Allegory/Poetic Epic for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$14.45
Divine Comedy II
Penguin Classics
by Dante Alighieri, translated by Dorothy Sayers
from Penguin Classics
Medieval Allegory/Poetic Epic for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$14.45
Divine Comedy III
Penguin Classics
by Dante Alighieri, translated by Dorothy Sayers & Barbara Reynolds
from Penguin Classics
Medieval Allegory/Poetic Epic for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$14.45
Divine Comedy Volume 1: Inferno
by Dante Alighieri, translated by Robert Pinsky
Revised from Farrar & Rinehart
for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$11.90
Divine Comedy Volume 2: Purgatory
by Dante, translated by Mark Musa
from Penguin Classics
for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$13.60
Divine Comedy Volume 3: Paradise
by Dante, translated by Mark Musa
Revised from Penguin Classics
for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$15.30
Don Quixote
by Miguel de Cervantes, translated by John Rutherford
from Penguin Putnam
for 10th-Adult
in 17th Century Literature (Location: LIT4-17)
$14.45
Don Quixote
by Miguel de Cervantes, translated by Edith Grossman
Reprint from Harper Perennial
for 10th-Adult
in 17th Century Literature (Location: LIT4-17)
$16.99
Don Quixote
by Miguel de Cervantes, translated by Tom Lathrop
from Signet Classics
for 10th-Adult
in 17th Century Literature (Location: LIT4-17)
$8.46
Don Quixote (abridged)
by Miguel de Cervantes, translated by Walter Starkie
from Signet Classics
for 10th-Adult
in 17th Century Literature (Location: LIT4-17)
$6.76
Epic of Gilgamesh
Penguin Classics
by Anonymous (translation by Andrew George)
from Penguin Classics
Ancient Poetic Epic for 10th-Adult
in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC)
$13.60
Epic of Gilgamesh
Penguin Classics
by Anonymous (translation by N. K. Sandars)
from Penguin Classics
Ancient Poetic Epic for 10th-Adult
in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC)
$11.90
Gilgamesh
by Anonymous (translation by David Ferry)
from Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Ancient Poetic Epic for 7th-Adult
in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC)
$13.60
Gilgamesh (retold)
by Bernarda Bryson
from CreateSpace
for 4th-8th grade
in Classics Retold (Location: FIC-RET)
$26.87
Gilgamesh the Hero
by Geraldine McCaughrean
from Eerdmans
for 4th-8th grade
$17.00 $9.60 (1 in stock)
Gilgamesh the King
by Ludmila Zeman
from Tundra Books (NY)
for 1st-4th grade
$8.49
Gilgamesh: A New English Version
by Anonymous (translation by Stephen Mitchell)
1st edition from Free Press
for 10th-Adult
in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC)
$14.45
Grendel
by John Gardner
from Vintage Classics
for 11th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$12.95 $8.00 (1 in stock)
Heidi
by Johanna Spyri, translated by Helen B. Dole and illustrated by William Sharp
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Realistic Fiction for 4th-8th grade
$17.00
Herodotus and the Road to History
by Jeanne Bendick
from Bethlehem Books
for 4th-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$11.86
Heroes of the City of Man
by Peter Leithart
from Canon Press
for 9th-Adult
in Classical Literature Guides (Location: LIR-CLA)
$22.09
Histories
Penguin Classics
by Herodotus (translation by Aubrey De Sélincourt)
from Penguin Classics
Historical Non-Fiction for 10th-Adult
in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC)
$11.90
Histories
Penguin Classics
by Herodotus (translation by Robin Waterfield)
from Oxford University
Historical Non-Fiction for 10th-Adult
in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC)
$9.31 $4.80 (1 in stock)
Histories
Penguin Classics
by Herodotus (translation by David Grene)
from University of Chicago
Historical Non-Fiction for 10th-Adult
in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC)
$13.60
Iliad
by Homer (translation by Robert Fagles)
from Penguin Putnam
for 10th-Adult
in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC)
$17.85
Iliad
by Homer (translation by Robert Fitzgerald)
from Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Ancient Literature for 11th-Adult
in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC)
$14.45
Iliad
by Homer (translation by Robert Fagles)
from Penguin Putnam
for 11th-Adult
in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC)
$15.30
Iliad
by Homer (translation by Caroline Alexander)
from Ecco Press
for 10th-Adult
in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC)
$16.99
Iliad
Signet Classics
by Homer (translation by W.H.D. Rouse), Afterword by Adam Nicolson
from Signet Classics
Ancient Literature for 9th-Adult
in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC)
$6.76
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