How we cite our quotes: (Line)
Quote #1
I sadly smiling remember that the flower fades to make fruit, the fruit rots to make earth. (3)
The speaker seems perfectly fine with recognizing the connection between man and the natural world. He's relatively content with that sad smile as he remembers that all things must pass. Even the words themselves look connected as the end of one clause leads to the beginning of the next. Nothing hangs out by itself here, just like man who's never above these natural cycles.
Quote #2
A mortal splendor: meteors are not needed less than mountains: shine, perishing republic. (6)
Giant holes in the earth might not look as pretty as picturesque mountains, but we have to deal with both, folks. There's a purpose for it all and it's impossible to say that one thing is more necessary than the other, especially when you're dealing with nature. Metaphorically, those meteors and mountains represent the empires men build and the forces that eventually destroy the empire. And yet, you never know what may come out of the destruction, which could be even better than what you had before. After all, if it weren't for the extinction of dinosaurs, we wouldn't be here talking about poetry.
Quote #3
Never has been compulsory, when the cities lie at the monster's feet there are left the mountains. (8)
The beautiful thing about mankind is that we all have the power to exercise our free will. No one is pointing a gun at your head and forcing you to act all corrupt and what-have-you. You can either choose to be part of the corrupt business deals or choose to do something else. And when that monster destroys the cities because of all of the corruption, the speaker tells us that there is an opportunity to avoid the mayhem in nature.