“The prudent man looks where he is going.” – Proverbs 14:15

As we continue with the examination of virtues, our goal is to understand that there is a knowable path of happiness, and that is living life through virtue.

Before we dive into each cardinal virtue, it would be helpful to understand how they relate to one another. The cardinal natural virtues are fertilizer for the spiritual soil in which the three theological virtues grow.

Justice perfects the will and is a rational appetite (the natural tendency toward the good). Fortitude (aka courage) perfects the irascible (repelling) power and is a sense appetite.  Temperance perfects the concupiscible (attracting) power and is a sense appetite. Prudence perfects the practical intellect and crowns, or completes, these virtues by orchestrating their movements.

For St. Thomas, prudence stands as the queen of the moral virtues, for prudence works to perfect every action that we undertake. Yes … every action. Prudence isn’t merely about knowing the good, it’s about doing the good.

What is prudence? Often it helps if we say what it is not. It is not to be confused with timidity or fear, nor with duplicity or dissimulation. Prudence, to modern ears, signals caution or shrewdness in business dealings. For example, if there is a risky business proposition, the prudent board member counsels against the ill-fated course.  

In the Christian tradition, prudence is classically understood as a practical wisdom that empowers one to be good and to act well in daily affairs, both ordinary and extraordinary. Or, as the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) pithily quotes St. Thomas, “right reason in action.”  

Prudence is responsible for sorting out the virtuous desires as it fashions for man a reasonable life. It is prudence that immediately guides the judgment of conscience. The prudent man has had his appetites shaped by the moral virtues. For one to be prudent, one must also be just, courageous and temperate.

What do we mean by action? Father Aquinas Guilbeau, O.P., of the Thomistic Institute, lays out the three steps in action, which prudence supports. This presupposes that our action is directed toward any goal.

“We deliberate about the means necessary to attain the goal, and we distinguish the preferable means from the non-preferable. (This is known as counsel). Then, from among the preferable means, we judge one of them to be the most fitting for attaining our goal given the circumstances at hand. (This is known as judgment). 

“Finally, after judging and choosing the most fitting means, we command ourselves to take up the means and perform it, and thereby achieve our goal. (This is known as command).”

Depending on the circumstances, this process can be instantaneous or deliberative. Ultimately, the prudent person is one who inclines spontaneously to the truth of his life. A prudent person will examine his life before God and man, that reason might perfect his actions.

Needless to say, we do not always act prudently. We are beautiful, wonderfully complex beings subject to a myriad of influences that can distract or thwart us. As you go toward your goal and find that it is not going as you thought or hoped, it might be helpful to stop and try to understand why this is so.

St. Thomas would say that there are “sins” against prudence. Poor counsel is hasty precipitation; poor judgment is thoughtless inconsideration; and poor command is through anemic inconstancy or outright negligence.

Also, because prudence orchestrates the other virtues, the justice, courageous or temperate virtues of your actions might need adjusting.  

Where is God in this? St. Thomas says that grace perfects human nature. In other words, God helps us to be the person we are supposed to be, and this is best accomplished through the sacraments. He says through the supernatural gift of the Holy Spirit of counsel that prudence is brought to perfection. It gives graced access to divine reasons in making prudential judgments.  (See CCC 1831 for a list of the gifts of the Holy Spirit.)

We specially receive this gift through confirmation. Our fruitful reception of Holy Communion strengthens it. Our frequent use of the sacrament of penance heals it when it is damaged.

For examples of prudence in action, read Chapter 8 of the Book of Sirach.