"why can't you beat time?"

(417.24-419.10)  The Gracehoper observes the Ondt on his throne and sees this regal figure "boundlessly blissfilled" and "ameising himself hugely" as he canoodles with the four women whom the Gracehoper once fancied.  Standing in stark contrast to the Ondt is the "impossible" Gracehoper, who is physically inferior to the Ondt and who reeks of sinful despair.  The successful Ondt -- who "makes the melody that mints the money" -- writes off the Gracehoper as phony, self-defeating, and evil.  Still, the sight of his counterpart amuses the Ondt.

Almost a full page of today's reading consists of a song sung by the Gracehoper to the Ondt.  This song recalls themes from earlier in the Wake, including the reconciliation between Shaun and Shem in the first chapter of Book II (in which Shem ultimately defers to Shaun) and the space-time dichotomy explored in the sixth chapter of Book I.  The song begins with the Ondt laughing hysterically at the Gracehoper.  The weeping Gracehoper forgives the Ondt and asks that he take good care of Floh, Luse, Bienie, and Vespatilla.  He realizes that "I once played the piper" and that "I must now pay the count."  The Gracehoper goes on to point out, however, that the two are twins and will not achieve wholeness unless their diametrically opposed natures are united:

Can castwhores pulladeftkiss if oldpollocks forsake 'em
Or Culex feel etchy if Pulex don't wake him?
A locus to loue, a term it t'embarass,
These twain are the twins that tick Homo Vulgaris.

At the conclusion of the song, the Gracehoper concedes that the Ondt's reach is "worldwide" and "sublime," but, he ultimately asks, "why can't you beat time?"  In effect, the Gracehoper concedes that the Ondt's materialistic approach to life will lead to worldly success, but he will not yield in his pursuit of more ephemeral fulfillment (e.g., art, Truth), and believes that time will prove him right.