Foresight, restraint, and disdain for popularity
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καὶ τὸ πόρρωθεν προνοητικὸν καὶ τῶν ἐλαχίστων προδιοικητικὸν ἀτραγῴδως· καὶ τὸ τὰς ἐπιβοήσεις καὶ πᾶσαν κολακείαν ἐπ’ αὐτοῦ συσταλῆναν καὶ τὸ φυλακτικὸν ἀεὶ τῶν ἀναγκαίων τῇ ἀρχῇ καὶ ταμιευτικὸν τῆς χορηγίας καὶ ὑπομενετικὸν τῆς ἐπὶ τῶν τοιούτων τινῶν καταιτιάσεως· καὶ τὸ μήτε περὶ θεοὺς δεισίδαιμον μήτε περὶ ἀνθρώπους δημοκοπικὸν ἢ ἀρεσκευτικὸν ἢ ὀχλοχαρές, ἀλλὰ νῆφον ἐν πᾶσι καὶ βέβαιον καὶ μηδαμοῦ ἀπειρόκαλον μηδὲ καινοτόμον·
He looked far ahead and provided even for the least details, and all without theatrics; he curbed the acclamations and every flattery aimed at himself; he guarded without fail whatever the empire required, husbanded its resources with care, and bore patiently the blame certain men laid on him for such measures. He was neither superstitious toward the gods nor, in his dealings with men, a demagogue, a flatterer, or a courter of crowds, but sober in all things, steadfast, never tasteless and never chasing after novelty.
This fragment continues Marcus's catalogue of the virtues of his adoptive father Antoninus Pius begun in Meditations 1.16, moving from his administrative foresight and restraint under praise to his freedom from superstition and crowd-pleasing.
This fragment continues the inventory of virtues Marcus draws up for Antoninus Pius, and the items here are administrative rather than intellectual: foresight that reaches down into small matters, careful stewardship of imperial funds, and the patience to absorb blame that others, not he, had actually earned. That last item — ὑπομενετικὸν τῆς ἐπὶ τῶν τοιούτων τινῶν καταιτιάσεως — describes a ruler who lets criticism land on himself rather than pass it downward, a practical form of the endurance Marcus elsewhere asks of himself toward difficult people.
The second half turns from competence to character: no superstition toward the gods, no courting of the crowd. δημοκοπικόν, ἀρεσκευτικόν, and ὀχλοχαρές pile up as near-synonyms for pandering, as if Marcus wants no ambiguity that Antoninus never needed applause to function. The portrait's real subject is self-sufficiency — a man sober (νῆφον) and steadfast (βέβαιον) with or without an audience, the same indifference to outside judgment that Marcus elsewhere tries, less effortlessly, to cultivate in himself.
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Meditations 1.16.3 — The Great Library Project interlinear edition · greatlibraryproject.com/book/meditations-greek/1.16.3/