Prudence is the Queen of Virtues and one of the four Cardinal Virtues. It’s knowing what’s what, but not only in an abstract way. The philosopher in his ivory tower might have knowledge of first principles and so on, but he might not know how to act upon those principles in a given moment.

Prudence is often called practical wisdom. We need to know the good (for instance, the 10 Commandments), but also be able to do the good, concretely, with confidence. We’re called upon to make a decision, to act — how do we do it well?

Originally published in The School for Housewives. Read original article