Genre and place in the book. A brief imperative-exercise: "look through (διάβλεπε) into the TERMruling principles of men." The passage belongs to Marcus's running cluster "penetrate into the ἡγεμονικόν of others" (Med. 8.61; 9.18; 9.22; 9.34).

Looking into the ἡγεμονικόν. διάβλεπε — "to see through," to discern past the outward. To understand a person is to see his TERMruling faculty and what he pursues and flees (διώκει / φεύγει — the language of ὄρεξις and ἔκκλισις, the material of the discipline of desire). Not deeds and words but the structure of one's desires and aversions betrays the true state of the ruling part: what a man is shows in what he counts good (pursues) and evil (avoids).

"Even the wise" (τοὺς φρονίμους). Long reads καὶ τοὺς φρονίμους as "even those of the wise": look even into those reputed prudent — they too often chase and flee externals. Hence the practical fruit (per the 9.18 cluster): neither to fear their judgement nor to crave their approval — for "what kind of judges are they of themselves?" (Rogovin renders the phrase generically — "what occupies them…" — dropping the "even the wise" contrast that the Greek and Long carry.)

Why this exercise. To understand people through their ruling faculty is the ground of a right relation to them: neither anger at those who err, nor dependence on their praise (cf. 8.61 — "enter into every man's ruling faculty, and let every man enter into thine"; 9.22 — examine the ruling faculty of yourself, your neighbour, and the Whole).

The disciplines. The principal one is action: a right relation to other rational beings rests on understanding them from within. The secondary is assent: the looking itself (διάβλεπε) is an act of clear discernment — to see the ruling faculty and the true worth of others' judgements.

Parallels. Penetrate the ruling faculty of others — Med. 8.61; 9.22 (cf. TERMhegemonikon). What they pursue and flee betrays them — Med. 9.34; 9.18. Pursuit and avoidance (ὄρεξις/ἔκκλισις) as the root of character — Epictetus Disc. 3.2.1–2.