How we cite our quotes: (Book.Chapter)
Quote #1
Similarly the ears of corn nodding down to the ground, the lion's puckered brow, the foam gushing from the boar's mouth, and much else besides—looked at in isolation these things are far from lovely, but their consequence on the processes of Nature enhances them and gives them attraction. So any man with a feeling and deeper insight for the workings of the whole will find some pleasure in almost every aspect of their disposition, including the incidental consequences. (3.2.2-3)
Marcus uses his philosophy as a platform to define himself and to learn what type of person he is. In this passage, he also shows the value of being able to really look at the things and people around us—and to find the value in each thing. His choice to focus on "unlovely" things illustrates Marcus's desire to get down to the substance of the things around him, without making value judgments on what he sees. To be able to do this with other people allows him more readily to do this in an assessment of himself.
Quote #2
Further, let the god that is within you be the champion of the being you are—a male, mature in years, a statesman, a Roman, a ruler: one who has taken his post like a soldier waiting for the Retreat from life to sound, and ready to depart, past the need for any loyal oath or human witness. (3.5)
Marcus makes a philosophical exercise of defining who he is. Note that he doesn't put particular emphasis on his state position; he gives equal billing to his citizenship and to his profession. He's just a regular guy, really, trying to do the right thing in his life until it is time to die. Which, by the way, he will do without ceremony. In this way, the Meditations is a remarkable piece of work. We have the leader of one of the mightiest empires on earth insisting on a generic human identity so that he can stay in harmony with his role as a citizen of the global city.
Quote #3
He is a fugitive if he runs away from social principle; blind, if he shuts the eye of the mind; a beggar, if he needs for life; a tumour on the universe, if he stands aside and separates himself from the principle of our common nature in disaffection with his lot...a social splinter, if he splits his own soul away from the soul of all rational beings, which is a unity. (4.29)
Marcus sees humans as essentially social creatures who must participate in the life of their communities and of the universe if they is to fulfill their designated roles. To kick against fate, to blame the gods or to separate yourself from other people is to deny your humanity and to turn yourself into something monstrous (like a tumor). It's a denial of rational nature, and it's something that Marcus will later speak of as a sin against both the self and the gods.