Gemini.Finnegans.Wake.17

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Jute. - ‘Stench!
Mutt. - Fiatfuit! Hereinunderlyethey. Llarge by the smal an’ everynight life olso th’estrange, babylone the greatgrandhotelled with tit tit tittlehouse, alp on earwig, drukn on ild, likeas equal to anequal in this sound seemetery which iz lee bez luv.

This short exchange is a powerful conclusion to the dialogue between the cynical modern man, Jute, and the ancient historical consciousness, Mutt.

The Stench of History

Jute’s one-word reaction to Mutt’s grand, poetic speech about the landscape being a tomb for all of history is blunt and cynical:

‘Stench!

For him, the past is not a noble prize; it’s simply the smell of decay. It’s a complete deflation of Mutt’s romantic vision.

The Acceptance of Everything

Mutt’s reply is not an argument but a sweeping, philosophical acceptance of Jute’s point—and everything else. He begins with Fiatfuit!, a mix of Latin words meaning “Let what was, be.” He agrees that all the dead are buried here (Hereinunderlyethey), and then he describes the nature of this great grave.

In this burial mound, all opposites are reconciled and lie together in a state of ultimate equality:

  • The large lie by the small (Llarge by the smal).
  • The grand city of Babylon (babylone the greatgrandhotelled) is next to the humble outhouse (tittlehouse).
  • The massive mountain rests on the tiny earwig (alp on earwig).

The Sound Cemetery

Mutt calls this place a sound seemetery, which is a brilliant pun. It is a cemetery, but it is also a place of sound symmetry, where all of life’s contradictions and conflicts are finally balanced.

He concludes that this ultimate equality, where everything is reconciled, iz lee bez luv (“is, lie beside love” or “is the best love”). The final state is not a stench, but a form of universal, peaceful love where all distinctions are erased. Mutt’s final word transforms Jute’s cynical “Stench!” into a profound vision of peace.

Jute. - ‘Zmorde!
Mutt. - Meldundleize! By the fearse wave behoughted. Despond’s sung. And thanacestross mound have swollup them all. This ourth of years is not save brickdust and being humus the same roturns. He who runes may rede it on all fours. O’c’stle, n’wc’stle, tr’c’stle, crumbling! Sell me sooth the fare for Humblin! Humblady Fair. But speak it allsosiftly, moulder! Be in your whisht!
Jute. - Whysht?
Mutt. - The grant Forficules with Amni the fay.
Jute. - Howe?
Mutt. - Here is viceking’s graab.
Jute. - Hwaad!
Mutt. - Ore you astoneaged, jute you?
Jute. - Oye am thonthorstrok, thing mud.

This is the final exchange between the cynical Jute and the ancient Mutt, and it ends with a moment of profound revelation for Jute.

Murder and Decay

The dialogue picks up with Jute’s cynical response to Mutt’s idea of love-in-the-grave:

Jute. - ‘Zmorde!

This is from the German for “murder” or “suicide.” Jute sees only the violence and horror of the past.

Mutt agrees, describing how the thanacestross mound (the death-ancestors mound) has swallowed everyone, and how all of history’s castles are crumbling!. He then issues a sudden, sharp command:

Mutt. - But speak it allsosiftly, moulder! Be in your whisht!

He tells Jute, the “moulder” (one made of mould/earth), to be quiet.

The Sacred Grave

Jute asks why, and Mutt gives him the cryptic reason for his demand for silence. They must be quiet because they are in the presence of the primal parents:

Mutt. - The grant Forficules with Amni the fay.

This means “The great Earwig (HCE) with Anna the fairy (ALP).” They are standing on holy ground, the very grave of the original father and mother. He clarifies further:

Mutt. - Here is viceking’s graab.

They are on the viceking's graab (the viceroy’s/Viking king’s grave). This is the tomb of the ruler of Dublin.

The Epiphany

Mutt sees that Jute is finally beginning to understand and teases him:

Mutt. - Ore you astoneaged, jute you?

“Are you astonished / stone-aged, do you get it?”

Jute’s response shows that his cynicism has finally been broken, replaced by awe. He is humbled:

Jute. - Oye am thonthorstrok, thing mud.

“I am thunderstruck, you thing of mud.”

This is the climax of their encounter. Jute, the modern man who began as a detached and mocking observer, is finally “thunderstruck.” He recognizes the sacredness of the spot and, in calling Mutt a thing mud, he acknowledges that he, too, is just a creature of the earth, a part of the same cycle of life and decay. His journey from cynical observer to humbled participant is complete.

16/08/2025, P.18.16, to be continued.