This passage in the Meditations starts off by saying death should not be feared. He states departure from the world is nothing to be feared if gods exist because they would not involve you in any harm.

Marcus Aurelius writes further that gods do exist and they do care for mankind. He writes that harn will not befall someone because the gods have provided for this. It must be understood the mindset of religion in the ancient world. There was a lack of understanding of many aspects of the physical world.

The ancients would manifest characteristics of the world with gods. Lightening would be Zeus throwing a thunderbolt. The sun would be Apollo riding his chariot across the sky. The ancients would put their trust in these aspects.

But what happens as time goes on and beliefs change? Science proves aspects of the physical world that were once the threshold of divinity. Individuals have to rely on their own existence to explain their world.