Editing Prudence (section)

== As the "mother" of all virtues ==
[[File:DSCN2047.JPG|thumb|Allegory of Prudence on the [[tomb of Francis II, Duke of Brittany]] The female face depicts Francis' daughter [[Anne of Brittany]].]]

Prudence was considered by the [[Ancient Greece|ancient Greeks]] and later by [[Christian philosophy|Christian philosophers]], most notably [[Thomas Aquinas]], as the cause, measure, and form of all virtues. It is considered to be the {{lang|la|auriga virtutum}} or the charioteer of the virtues. It is mentioned in the fifth of the [[Principal Doctrines]] of [[Epicurus]], and in his Letter to Menoeceus, where he says: "Prudence is the foundation of all these things and is the greatest good. Thus it is more valuable than philosophy and is the source of every other excellence."<ref>{{cite book|author=[[Epicurus]]|chapter=Epicurus to Menoeceus|editor-last=Laërtius|editor-first=Diogenes|editor-link=Diogenes Laërtius|chapter-url=https://standardebooks.org/ebooks/diogenes-laertius/the-lives-and-opinions-of-eminent-philosophers/c-d-yonge/text/book-10|url=https://standardebooks.org/ebooks/diogenes-laertius/the-lives-and-opinions-of-eminent-philosophers/c-d-yonge|title=The Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers|date=25 November 2024 |publisher=Standard Ebooks }}</ref>

Prudence is foundational to virtues, which are understood to be perfected abilities of the human spirit. This perfection is achieved when virtues are founded on prudence, or the ability to make the right decisions. For instance, a person can live [[Temperance (virtue)|temperately]] when he has acquired the habit of deciding correctly the actions to take in response to his instinctual cravings.

Prudence provides guidance on the appropriate course of action in specific situations. It does not ''will'' the good that it discerns. Prudence has a directive capacity with regard to the other virtues. It lights the way and measures the arena for their exercise. Without prudence, bravery becomes foolhardiness, mercy sinks into weakness, free self-expression and kindness into censure, humility into degradation and arrogance, selflessness into corruption, and temperance into fanaticism. The purpose of prudence is to consider the circumstances of time, place, and manner that are relevant in any given situation, known as ''medium rationis'' in the Scholastic tradition. So while it qualifies the intellect and not the will, it is nevertheless a moral virtue.<ref name="delany">{{cite book| url=https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12517b.htm|last=Delany|first=Joseph|chapter=Prudence|title=The Catholic Encyclopedia|volume=12|location=New York|publisher=Robert Appleton Company|year=1911}}</ref>

Prudence provides a model of ethically good actions. "The work of art is true and real by its correspondence with the pattern of its prototype in the mind of the artist. In similar fashion, the free activity of man is good by its correspondence with the pattern of prudence." ([[Josef Pieper]])<ref name=":0" />

According to Greek and Scholastic philosophy, 'form' is the unique characteristic of a thing that makes it what it is. In this sense, prudence gives other virtues their specific character as virtues, by providing a standard against which they can be judged. For example, not all acts of telling the truth are considered virtuous, but those that are done with prudence would be considered expressions of the virtue of honesty.