The Perils of Quoting James Joyce

JOURNEY #21: TO COIN A PHRASE

"A man of genius makes no mistakes. His errors are volitional and are the portals of discovery"

―  Stephen Dedalus in James Joyce's Ulysses

A €10 coin featuring a quote from Ulysses that contains an error

Quoting James Joyce can be a risky business.

The Central Bank of Ireland issued a series of 10,000 commemorative coins featuring a likeness of James Joyce and a quote from Ulysses. Yet, just prior to the coin's release, the Bank sheepishly announced that the €10 coin contained an error - it misquoted Ulysses.  

Whoops!

Here's what Joyce wrote in the opening passage of the third episode of Ulysses:

"Ineluctable modality of the visible: at least that if no more, thought through my eyes. Signatures of all things I am here to read."

The coin included an extra word "that" in the second sentence. The Bank apologized for misquoting Joyce and explained that the design was meant to be an artistic representation of the author and the text "and was not intended as a literal representation."

In defence of the artist who created the design -- and it is a lovely design -- it shouldn't come as a total surprise that someone could misquote Joyce. Unlike other authors who write "quotable" quotes which could fit neatly into fortune cookies, Joyce wasn't known to write snappy soundbites. Joyce's writing often transcended the rules of grammar: he created new words, morphed existing words into portmanteaus and defied the rules of punctuation.

One thing's for sure, whoever selected the coin's text wasn't searching for a quote that would appeal to the masses. While the quote is iconic and brilliant, it's also recognized as one of the most difficult lines in the novel (In a previous post I examined the quote's complex meaning). In fairness, only someone familiar with Aristotelean philosophy could be expected to understand the quote at first glance.

If, perhaps, the designers of the coin had chosen a more accessible quote from Ulysses, the results might have been better. If it were up to me, I would have suggested the mint use the following quote:

"By the way go easy with that money like a good young imbecile."

- James Joyce, Ulysses

In the end, the Bank decided to issue the coins, error and all. The 10,000 coins sold out in a few days and it seems the purchasers made themselves a good investment. The flawed coins, which sold for €46, started turning up on eBay selling for more than triple their original cost.