FINNEGANS WAKE

Editions

Faber and Faber (London: 1939) IV§2

First edition, first printing (details)

Of Kevin, of increateº God the servant, of the Lord Creatorº a filial fearer, whoº given to the growing grassº took to the tall timber, slippery dick the springy heeler, as we have seen, so we have heard, what we have received, that we have transmitted, thus we shall hope, this we shall pray till, in the search for love of knowledge through the comprehension of the unity in altruism through stupefaction, it mayº again how it mayº again, shearing aside the four wethers and passing over the dainty daily dairy and dropping by the way the lapful of live coals and smoothing out Nelly Nettle and her lad of mettle, full of stings,
{f39, 605}
fond of stones, friend of gnewgnawns bonesº and leaving all theº messy messy to look after our douche douche, the miracles, death and life are these.

Yad. Procreated on the ultimate ysland of Yreland in the encyclical yrishº archipelago, come their feast of precreated holy whiteclad angels, whomamong the christener of his, voluntarily poor Kevin, having been graunted the praviloge of a priest's postcreated portable altare cum balneo, whenº espousing the one true cross, invented and exalted, in celibate matrimony at matin chime arose and westfrom went and came in alb of cloth of gold to our own midmost Glendalough-le-vertº by archangelicalº guidance where amiddle of meeting waters of river Yssia and Essiaº river on this one of eithers lone navigable lake piously Kevin, lawdingº the triune trishagion,º amidships of his conducible altar superº bath,º rafted centripetally, diaconal servent of orders hibernian,º midway across the subject lake surface to its supreem epicentric lake Ysleº,º whereof its lake is the ventrifugalº principality, whereon by prime,º powerful in knowledge,º Kevin came to where its centre is among the circumfluent watercourses of Yshgafiena and Yshgafiuna,º an enysled lakelet yslanding a lacustrine yslet,º whereupon with beached raft subdiaconal bath propter altar, with oil extremely anointed,º accompanied by prayer, holyº Kevin bided till the third morn hour but to build a rubric penitential honeybeehivehut inº whose enclosure to live in fortitude, acolyte of cardinalº virtues, whereof the arenary floor,º most holy Kevin excavated as deep as to theº depth of a seventh part of one full fathom, which excavated,º venerable Kevin,º anchorite, taking counsel, procededº towards the lakeside of the ysletshore whereat seven several times he,º eastward genuflecting,º in entire ubidienceº at sextnoon collected gregorian water sevenfold and with ambrosianº eucharistic joy of heart as many times receded,º carrying thatº privilegedº altar unacumque bath,º which severally seven times into the cavity excavated, a lector of water levels, most venerable Kevin,º then effusedº thereby letting there be water where was theretofore dry land,º by him so concreated,º who now, confirmed a strong andº perfect christianº, blessed Kevin, exorcised his holy sister
{f39, 606}
water, perpetually chaste, so that, well understanding, she should fill to midheight his tubbathaltar, which hanbathtub,º most blessed Kevin,º ninthly enthroned,º in the concentricº centreº of the translated water,º whereamid, when violet vesper vailed, Saintº Kevin,º Hydrophilos, having girded his sable cappa magna as high as to his cherubical loins, at solemn compline sat in his sate of wisdom, that handbathtub,º whereverafter, recreated doctor insularis of the universal church, keeper of the door of meditation, memory extempore proposing and intellect formally considering, recluse, he meditated continuously with seraphic ardour the primal sacrament of baptism or the regeneration of all man by affusion of water. Yee.º

Bisships, bevel to rock's rite! Sarver buoy, extinguish!ºº Nuotabene. The rare view from the three Benns under the bald heaven is on the other end, askan your blixom on dimmen and blastun, something to right hume about. They were erected in a purvious century, asº a hen fine coops and,º if you know your Bristol and have trudged the trolly ways and elventurns of that old cobbold city,º you will sortofficially scribble a mental Peny-Knox-Gore. Whether they were franklings by name also has not been fully probed. Their design is a whosold word and the charming details of light in dark are freshed from the feminiairity which breathes content. O ferax cupla!º Ah, fairypair! The first exploder to make his ablations in these parks was indeed that lucky mortal which the monster trial showed on its first day out. What will not arky paper,º anticidingly inked with penmark,º push, per sample prof, kuvertly falted, when style, stink and stigmataphoron are of one sum in the same person? He comes out of the soil very well after all just where Old Toffler is to come shuffling alongsoons Panniquanneº starts showing of her peequuliar talonts. Awaywrongº wandler surkingº to a rightrare rute for his plain utterrock sukes,º appelled to by her fancy claddaghs. You plied that pokar, gamesy, swell as aye did, while there were flickars to the flores. He may be humpy, nay, he may be dumpyº but there is always something racey about, say, a sailor on a horse. As soon as we sale him geenº we gates a sprise! He brings up tofatufaº and
{f39, 607}
that is how we get to Missas in Massas. Theº old Marino tale. We veritersº verity notefewº demmed lustres priorly magistrite maximollient in ludubility learned.º Facst. Teak off that wise head! Great sinner, good sonner, is in effect the motto of the MacCowell family. The gloved fist (skrimmhandsker) was intraduced into their socerdatal tree before the fourth of the twelfth and it is even a little odd all four horolodgeries still gonging restage Jakob van der Bethel,º smolking behingº his pipe,º with Essavº of Messagepostumia,º lentling out his borrowed chafingdish,º before cymbaloosing the apostles at every hours of changeover. The first and last rittlerattle of the anniverse;º when is a nam nought a nam whenas it is a. Watch! Heroes' Highway where our fleshers leave their bonings and every bob and joan to fill the bumper fair. It is their segnall for old Champelysied to seek the shades of his retirement and for young Chappielassies to tear a round and tease their partners lovesoftfun at Finnegan's Wake.

And it's high tigh tigh. Titleyº hi ti ti. That my dig pressed in your dag si.º Gnug of old Gnig.º Ni, gnid mig brawly! I bag your burden.º Mees is thees knees. Thi is Mi. We have caught oneselves, Sveasmeas, in somes incontigruity coumplegs of heoponhurrish marrage from whose I most sublumbunate. A polog, my engl! Excutes. Om still so sovvy. Whyle om till ti ti.