We would have a mistaken idea of prudence if we thought it faint hearted
or lacking in daring. Prudence expresses itself as a habit which
inclines us to act well, by shedding light on the end and by helping us
to seek the most suitable means of achieving it.
But
prudence does not stand highest in the scale of values. We should ask
ourselves always: prudence, for what? For there is a false kind of
prudence (cunning would be a better name for it) which is at the service
of selfishness and is expert in using the best means to achieve warped
ends. In such circumstances, cleverness and perspicacity only serve to
worsen one's dispositions and to bring upon oneself the reproach St
Augustine made in one of his sermons: 'Are you trying to bend the heart
of God, which is always upright, so that it may fall in with the
perversity of yours?' This is the false prudence of the person who
thinks his own efforts are quite sufficient to save him. 'Do not seek to
consider yourselves prudent,' says St Paul, 'for it is written, I will
destroy the wisdom of the wise and the prudence of the prudent.'
