Heart of Darkness 5

• “Ave! Old knitter of black wool. Morituri te salutant. Not many of those she looked at ever saw her again - not half, by a long way.” (p. 46)

The Latin phrase, Ave! … Morituri te salutant, translates into “Hail … Those who are about to die salute you.” Before the Roman gladiators entered a match, they would salute the emperor with this phrase. Conrad is drawing a parallel between the two situations; before entering the doctor's office and shipping off into the sea, the two old knitters would be a few of the last people one would see before never returning - similar to saluting the emperor before dying in the arena.

(Works Cited)
"Moritui te Salutant." Wikipedia. Web. 20 Aug. 2009. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morituri_te_salutant.

(Photo Credit)
Morituri te Salutant. Photograph. Flickr. Web. 13 Sept. 2009. http://farm1.static.flickr.com/82/215205130_d483e9f04a_o.jpg.