Section 8, Pages 135-155 Summary

Clement Roux walks through the rainy night and stops for a moment. He is a seventy-year-old painter, who is suffering from a heart condition. As a way of diverting attention from his pain, he thinks about Rome and how the beauty has gone from it. He has vials of amyl nitrate, which helps calm his heart down long enough for a reprieve.

While waiting for his heart to calm down, he encounters Massimo. Massimo finds a spot for Clement to sit and asks if he has a problem with his heart. As Clement sits with Massimo, he becomes less afraid of dying. He is vaguely aware that there will be another attack probably not too far off in the future. He watches Massimo intently and notices that Massimo is shaking as Massimo tries to light a cigarette. Clement thinks...