How we cite our quotes: (Paragraph)
Quote #4
He turned down the papal lunches that the penitents brought him, and they never found out whether it was because he was an angel or because he was an old man that in the end he ate nothing but eggplant mush. (8)
The condition of being a geezer is just as confusing to the crowds as the condition of being an angel. Old people, just like angels, have their own way of doing things, including eating kind of nasty food.
Quote #5
The angel was no less standoffish with [the child] than with other mortals, but he tolerated the most ingenious infamies with the patience of a dog who had no illusions. (11)
Here, the angel is kind of like a grandpa who takes a lot of roughhousing from his grandkids. Cute, right? Except that the narrator compares him to an old dog. Not very flattering.
Quote #6
The doctor who took care of the child couldn't resist the temptation to listen to the angel's heart, and he found so much whistling in the heart and so many sounds in his kidneys that it seemed impossible for him to be alive. (11)
The angel, just like a human being, has a body that breaks down with age. This brings him closer to humanity—at least for the doctor.