The First Cardinal Virtue: Prudence

Prudence is the first of the four cardinal virtues.  To have prudence is to know the Good and to live according to the Truth^[i].  Prudence is another name for wisdom.  It includes making wise judgments and decisions and is not to be confused with intelligence, for even the simple can be wise^[ii].  It is the first of the cardinal virtues because without knowing the Good we cannot act with virtue.  "All just and courageous action, all good action at all, is just and courageous and good, because it corresponds to the divinely created truth in real things."^[iii]  Therefore, it is always prudent to be just and true.

 

The Old Testament scriptures have much to say about prudence, from the wisdom literature and the Law of Moses given to make us wise, to the lives of the patriarchs, kings, and prophets given for our instruction.  In the New Testament we have the revelation of the Wisdom of God Himself who was made flesh and walked among us, Christ the Lord.  Christ and the apostles were also teachers of wisdom through their lives, sermons, letters, and parables.  From them we learn that the truly wise are those who imitate God Himself.  Even the creation is a great feast of wisdom for those with eyes to see:  Consider the ant^[iv], the deer^[v], the lilies of the field^[vi], and the mustard seed^[vii] and be wise.  As a great Christian teacher of the fourth century said, "Recognize everywhere the wisdom of God; never cease to wonder."^[viii]

 

Ultimately, all wisdom is from God and is a gift of His goodness.  "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith..."^[ix]      

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[i] John 3:21

[ii] Psalm 19:7

[iii] The Christian Idea of Man by Josef Pieper

[iv] Proverb 6:6

[v] Psalm 42

[vi] Matthew 6:28

[vii] Luke 13:19

[viii] The Hexaemeron by Basil the Great

[ix] James 1:5-6

The Cardinal and Theological Virtues

The best of the ancient Greeks and Romans held that the ideal man would possess certain virtues or perfections.  In order for one to be considered good, one had to embody the ideals of prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance.  These four were known as the cardinal virtues.  The word "cardinal" means hinge, and these virtues were the hinge or doorway to all of the other virtues. 

 

With the coming of Christ, the early Christians took up the use of this language of virtue, but shaped it in accordance with the Truth that had been revealed in Christ.  Taking the language of the Apostle Paul, these Christians crowned the cardinal virtues with three more virtues; those of faith, hope, and love.  These three additional virtues became known as the theological virtues. 

 

Throughout ancient and medieval times, the seven virtues, along with humility, formed the ideal of the Christian man. In fact, many of the great Christian educators of the past believed that the true goal of education was the attainment of wisdom and virtue.  Over the course of the next few weeks we'll explore each of these virtues in turn so that we might be drawn to imitate the only truly good and virtuous man - The Lord Jesus Christ.

The first in a series of articles done for Coram Deo Academy.

The Battle of the Books

Which writers have the greater share of wisdom - the moderns or the ancients? In the late 17th century a literary tempest raged in France and England over the question. Near the end of the controversy, Jonathon Swift wrote a short satire of the affair titled A Full and True Account of the Battle Fought Last Friday, Between the Ancient and the Modern Books in St. James's Library. A fun romp for lovers of ancient literature. Read it here.

The Tyranny of Testing

"Multiple choice tests penalize the deep student, dampen creativity, foster intellectual dishonesty, and undermine the very foundations of education"

"It is not the presence of defective questions that makes multiple-choice tests bad. Such questions merely make them worse. Even if all the questions were impeccable, the deep student would see more in a question than his more superficial competitors would ever dream was in it, and would expend more time and mental energy than they in answering it. That is the way his mind works. That is, indeed, his special merit. But the multiple-choice tests are concerned solely with the candidates choice of answer, and not with the reasons for his choice. Thus they ignore that elusive yet crucial thing we call quality."

The Education of Children

In the education of children, love is first to be instilled, and out of love obedience is to be educed.  Then impulse and power should be given to the intellect, and the ends of a moral being be exhibited. - Samuel Taylor Coleridge

On Translations

"Translations at their best still are like tapestry seen from the wrong side" - Gustav Emil Mueller in Plato: The Founder of Philosophy as Dialectic

John Behr on Education and the Early Church

These lectures are pure gold for those who wish to understand the relationship of the early church and learning.