How we cite our quotes: (Book.Chapter)
Quote #1
From Severus: ... to have conceived the idea of a balanced constitution, a commonwealth based on equality and freedom of speech, and of a monarchy which values above all the liberty of the subject... (1.14)
Marcus is giving props to his family and tutors, who shaped his personality and thinking. It's clear that from the beginning, the idea of personal and political freedom is a high priority for Marcus. It seems unusual that a Roman emperor would be interested in such democratic ideals, but make no mistake: Marcus believes in personal liberty, but within a hierarchy. The scala naturae, or the natural hierarchy of things in the universe, reinforces a belief that lower beings are meant to serve and obey those beings of a higher order.
Quote #2
You embarked, you set sail, you made port. Go ashore now. If it is to another life, nothing is empty of the gods, even on that shore: and if to insensibility, you will cease to suffer pains and pleasures, no longer in thrall to a bodily vessel which is a master as far inferior as its servant is superior. (3.3)
Marcus often speaks of death as something to be welcomed rather than feared, since its immediate effect is to free us of the things that held us back on earth. Note the language of slavery used in the metaphor of the soul and the body. For Marcus and other philosophers, there is a sharp divide between two, with the soul representing a purer, higher existence and the body an earthly, inferior one. Death sets right the unnatural relationship that exists on earth, where the inferior body is often the master of the soul.
Quote #3
... we would not commend the man who shows himself free from the need of them; if these things were truly 'goods,' a man who fails to press for his full share of any of them could not be a good man. But in fact the more a man deprives himself of these or suchlike, or tolerates others depriving him, the better a man he is. (5.15)
Marcus is talking about how essential it is for people to free themselves from dependence on things. Though earthly things (like wealth, prestige, etc.) are often considered "goods," they are not good for the liberty of a human being. The argument here is a bit circular: Marcus tells us that these things are not good because we believe that those who don't possess them are good. At any rate, he means to say that the theoretical value system may be right, even though we crave possessions and fame.