Helios had a son named Phaeton. He loved him so much that he vowed to give him whatever he wished and could not say, “No”. So his son asked to drive his chariot of winged horses across the sky.
In terror, Helios begged his son to reconsider and wish something else, but he didn’t. Helios, though unwilling, instructed his son not to fly too close to the sky and not too close to the earth.
So Phaeton drove that chariot into the sky, but did not ride as his father entreated him. Consequently, the whole earth was lit ablaze by the speed of the winged horses. Heaven and earth were outraged. So Zeus struck the flying chariot down, and Phaeton fell.
Prudence gathers knowledge as it sees the ignorance within itself. Prudence learns not in part, but in whole. For it may only see dimly now, but desires to see things as they are face to face. It makes no uninformed decision. It takes a step back to assess the situation, and to gather in everything that is happening. It learns what is lacking in its trade, which church to attend, the principles of personal finance, whom to marry. Prudence is a virtue of learning.
The virtue considers. Once knowledge is gathered it weighs options, it examines, it sifts through the wheat and the chaff. Prudence lives with an almost prophetic eye as it determines what is good and bad; choice and poor. It sees into the future by playing out the variables. Famously, Napoleon would draw out his every possible attack and the counter by the enemy. Prudence comes properly prepared to the situation with a well-tested solution. “He who gathers in summer is a prudent son, but he who sleeps in harvest is a son who brings shame.” - Proverbs 10:5
Prudence and diligence intersect at action. One may be able to follow through in an action, but poorly prepared. Another may be properly prepared, but unable to carry out the plan. Prudence and diligence must be mingled. When the consideration has been made, when the options have been weighed, then the execution must occur. For prudence knows the timeliness of the execution and diligence knows its nature.
This is the mother of all virtues; the spring from which they all flow. Prudence is practical wisdom. Without prudence no man has wisdom, no man has virtue. Embrace prudence.
If you like this post, check out this one on diligence.