- Marcus questions whether or not he will ever be able to live up to all his principles and perfect his soul.
- Marcus observes that he must do whatever satisfies the natures of his body and mind. Since man is a social being, if he follows his nature, all will be well.
- Marcus reminds himself that people can bear anything if they think that they can. Also, people are not given more than they can bear. If something unbearable happens, no worries: you'll just die.
- Marcus reminds himself to help the man who goes wrong by correcting him. If that doesn't work, it's all the emperor's fault for being a poor teacher.
- Marcus on fate: whatever happens in a man's life was destined for him from before his birth and is linked with his existence.
- Marcus remembers that he is but a part of the larger Whole of the universe, which makes everything that happens happen for the good of everything. Therefore, he shouldn't complain of his lot.
- The universe is essentially benign—it can't do anything to harm itself.
- Marcus should be a happy man, since all is right in the universe. He just has to play his part and work always for the common good. He wants to always be a good citizen of the universe.
- All parts of the universe (including Marcus) have to die to maintain the health of the Whole.
- Dissolution brought about by death renews the universe by returning all elements to the Whole, so that the Whole can use them again to fashion new beings.
- Marcus tells us that human bodies and souls are fed by "influx"—food and wisdom—so that the being that presently exists is quite different from what it was at birth.
- Marcus warns himself to live up to his reputation as a good man and to do nothing that will change this. If he keeps up his comportment, he will be able to "live again."
- Marcus advocates living a better life—in accordance with his confessed principles—so that he isn't living a half-life, like a "half-eaten gladiator."
- If Marcus can live within his principles, huzzah. He will be living an ideal life. If not, he needs to retreat and regroup. Or else he can just die without complaint.
- Marcus can help himself succeed in a life of virtue by contemplating the gods and being true to the nature of a rational being, since that is what the gods want.
- Marcus is pretty annoyed with himself: he's clearly not living up to his philosophical principles as much as wishes to. He tells himself to keep practicing and keep breaking things into their component parts in order to understand what they are and how they affect him. External things just aren't worth it.
- Marcus says that all hunters—including himself—are proud of their catch. But in their hearts, they are really just thieves and rogues, stealing things away from their proper places.
- Marcus reminds himself to study change and see it in all things. If he does that, he will be closer to leaving his body behind and focusing only on the purpose of his life as part of the Whole.
- Marcus encourages himself to figure things out for himself, or to ask the counsel of others if he can't figure out what to do. In a pinch, he should go for what is just, since that is the goal of Reason.
- Marcus contemplates the value of external criticism. It's worth nothing if what he does is just and true, so why worry about what other people think?
- It's especially important to look into the minds of these critics and see what they are like. Mostly, they're not great people—so their words are of even less value.
- Marcus concedes that Nature creates everything and takes everything away. His role is to accept that and move on.
- Marcus reminds himself that he's going to die very soon. He should retreat into his mind and consider himself a citizen of the world. In doing so, he won't be attached to external things, but will work for the common good. If others don't like his approach, they can just kill him. He's pretty hardcore.
- Marcus tells himself to quit his whining and just be a good man, for Pete's sake.
- Marcus calls to mind the insignificance of an individual life in view of all time and all existence.
- All things are in a constant state of decay, which, ironically, is a phase of regeneration for the universe.
- Marcus reminds himself to judge the characters of the people around him by observing how they are when they are at home. He has no favorable opinion of them.
- Whatever the universe sends your way is beneficial.
- Marcus puns on the Greek word for "love" (which can also mean "tends toward") and concludes that the "[t]he whole world loves to create futurity."
- Marcus says that he has three choices in life: to continue, to retire, or to die. Whatever he chooses, he's got to quit whining.
- Marcus tells himself that no vacation is as good as the retreat he can build for himself in his mind.
- Marcus is under stress. What is becoming of his reason? He feels that his reason has become too entangled with externals and is moving away from social concerns.
- Marcus reasons that a person who has negative emotions is a fugitive from the law of the universe.
- More about "influx" and how it causes growth and change. Marcus uses the example of sperm in the womb (which becomes a baby) and food eaten by a child (which makes the child grow). To Marcus, this is proof of a higher natural power at work—kind of like gravity, but more transcendent.
- Marcus remarks on the sameness or cyclical nature of all things that happen in time. History repeats itself.
- Marcus sees that humans are given a great gift in that they can choose to submit to fate or kick against it. Of course, he believes that a people should submit with grace.
- Marcus prescribes a way to decide whether or not people should fear death.
- Marcus tells himself that he should consider his own faults when he feels anger at the wrongdoing of another. This should calm him down right quick. He should really be doing whatever he can to set the other person right.
- Marcus imagines the philosophers of his day with their predecessors. In the end, where are they? Well, they're dead. In this way, he learns not to value human life—and not to worry about death. He should be concerned with making his way as best as he can along his given path and understanding as much as he can before he has to leave.
- Marcus reminds himself not to give anyone an excuse to call him a bad man. If he can't be a good person, he should just give up and die.
- It's in Marcus's hands to respond appropriately to any given situation. It's in a human's nature to do so, and he knows he won't be happy till he acts like a human.
- Marcus says that inanimate objects—like a toy on wheels—don't have minds or wills of their own to move themselves. But humans do, and they should use their will to move past impediments to right action.
- It's easy for reason to do what it wills: it's like a wheeled toy on a slope, for instance. If there are more obstacles, they come from ourselves and are powerless to harm us. Marcus says that we can find proof of this by looking at what happens to people when they come up against obstacles: they become better for it, if they are the right sort.
- Nothing can harm man (the citizen) that doesn't injure the city (the universe). And no external obstacle can strike at natural law.
- A philosophical person only needs to remind himself of his principles to lose his fear.
- Marcus specifically mentions the loss of a child or a person's fame, which he likens to leaves that are scattered by the wind. Neither thing matters much, since all will die, and none will have any recollection of either him or his posterity.
- Marcus claims that a "healthy" mind must be ready for everything that life can throw at it, including the horrible possibility of losing one's children.
- It's impossible to move through life without accepting the probability of unpleasant things, and Marcus would argue it's not natural or healthy to do so.
- In a grimly humorous moment, Marcus draws a picture of a man on his deathbed who is surrounded by his colleagues. At least one, he says, will always be wishing him soon dead.
- If this is the case, then it's best not to think anything of death, which takes us away from a society that doesn't want us. Why hang on, anyway?
- Marcus tells himself not to be bitter with his colleagues, though. He should be grateful that this attitude will make it much easier to leave his life behind.
- Marcus advocates a kind of empathy with those around him, so that he can understand where they are coming from. He also warns himself to make sure he knows his own motives.
- Marcus locates the center of man's identity: his will to action, the thing that makes him do all that he does—his directing mind.
- Everything else is just bodily stuff. Personal agency is really the thing.