Integral Parts of Prudence
"Integral parts" of virtues, in Scholastic philosophy, are the elements that must be present for any complete or perfect act of the virtue. The following are the integral parts of prudence:
- Memoria — Accurate memory; that is, memory that is true to reality
- Intelligentia — Understanding of first principles
- Docilitas — The kind of open-mindedness that recognizes the true variety of things and situations to be experienced, and does not cage itself in any presumption of deceptive knowledge; the ability to make use of the experience and authority of others to make prudent decisions
- Shrewdness or quick-wittedness (solertia) — sizing up a situation on one's own quickly
- Discursive reasoning (ratio) — research and compare alternative possibilities
- Foresight (providentia) — capacity to estimate whether a particular action will lead to the realization of our goal
- Circumspection — ability to take all relevant circumstances into account
- Caution — risk mitigation
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Famous quotes containing the words integral, parts and/or prudence:
“An island always pleases my imagination, even the smallest, as a small continent and integral portion of the globe. I have a fancy for building my hut on one. Even a bare, grassy isle, which I can see entirely over at a glance, has some undefined and mysterious charm for me.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“Rice and peas fit into that category of dishes where two ordinary foods, combined together, ignite a pleasure far beyond the capacity of either of its parts alone. Like rhubarb and strawberries, apple pie and cheese, roast pork and sage, the two tastes and textures meld together into the sort of subtle transcendental oneness that we once fantasized would be our experience when we finally found the ideal mate.”
—John Thorne, U.S. cookbook writer. Simple Cooking, “Rice and Peas: A Preface with Recipes,” Viking Penguin (1987)
“Datta: what have we given?
My friend, blood shaking my heart
The awful daring of a moment’s surrender
Which an age of prudence can never retract
By this, and this only, we have existed”
—T.S. (Thomas Stearns)