Gemini.Finnegans.Wake.42

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The game old Gunne, they do be saying, (skull!) that was a planter for you, a spicer of them all. Begog but he was, the G.O.G! He’s duddandgunne now and we’re apter finding the sores of his sedeq but peace to his great limbs, the buddhoch, with the last league long rest of him, while the millioncandled eye of Tuskar sweeps the Moylean Main!

This paragraph acts as a concluding eulogy for the fallen giant Finnegan/HCE. The mourners offer a final, complex judgment on his life, acknowledging his flaws before blessing his eternal rest with a grand, mythic image.

## The Flawed Founder 👑

The mourners begin with a final summary of his character, using names that highlight his ambiguous legacy.

  • “The game old Gunne”: “Game” means he was plucky and courageous. “Gunne” suggests power (a gun) and can also refer to the historical Gunn clan, rooting him in real Irish/Scottish ancestry.
  • “(skull!)”: This sudden interjection is a memento mori—a stark reminder that they’re talking about a dead man. It also sounds like Skål, the Scandinavian toast, fitting the wake’s atmosphere.
  • “a planter for you, a spicer of them all”: This is a key paradox. In Ireland, a “planter” was often a controversial English or Scottish colonist. So, he is both a founder and a colonizer. A “spicer” means he was the best, the one who gave flavour to everything, but it can also hint at Christ, the “anointed one.”
  • “the G.O.G!”: This stands for “Game Old Gunne,” but also refers to Gog (of Gog and Magog), a biblical giant. HCE is one of these primordial giants who shape the land.

## Acknowledging the Legacy’s Sores 🙏

After the praise, the eulogy takes a turn towards realism, admitting that the great man was not perfect.

  • “He’s duddandgunne now”: This is a brilliant portmanteau of “dead and gone.” It also contains “dud” (a failure) and “gunne” (his name), suggesting his great power has fizzled out.
  • “we’re apter finding the sores of his sedeq”: This means, “Now that he’s gone, we are more able to see the flaws (‘sores’) in his righteousness (‘sedeq,’ a Hebrew word for justice).” It’s a frank admission that his legacy is complicated and that the negative consequences of his actions are now clear.

## The Giant’s Final Rest 😴

Despite his flaws, the passage ends with a magnificent and peaceful blessing.

  • “peace to his great limbs, the buddhoch”: The “buddhoch” (from the Irish bodach, a rustic or sturdy fellow) is an affectionate, earthy nickname for him.
  • “while the millioncandled eye of Tuskar sweeps the Moylean Main!”: This is the grand finale. It places Finnegan’s resting body into the very landscape of Ireland. Tuskar Rock, with its real-life lighthouse, is off the coast of Wexford. Its powerful beam becomes a “millioncandled eye” keeping an eternal vigil. The “Moylean Main” is the Sea of Moyle, the strait between Ireland and Scotland. The image is of the dead giant’s body being the island of Ireland, watched over forever by the sweeping light of the lighthouse. At this time of morning in Ireland, it’s a powerful image of a nightly watch coming to an end as dawn breaks.

10/09/2025, P25.27, to be continued.