I. The Human Virtues

From The Catechism of the Catholic Church

1806
Prudence is the virtue that disposes practical reason to discern our true good
in every circumstance and to choose the right means of achieving it; “the
prudent man looks where he is going.”⁶⁵ “Keep sane and sober
for your prayers.”⁶⁶ Prudence is “right reason in
action,” writes St. Thomas Aquinas, following Aristotle.⁶⁷ It is
not to be confused with timidity or fear, nor with duplicity or dissimulation.
It is called auriga virtutum (the charioteer of the virtues); it guides the
other virtues by setting rule and measure. It is prudence that immediately
guides the judgment of conscience. the prudent man determines and directs his
conduct in accordance with this judgment. With the help of this virtue we apply
moral principles to particular cases without error and overcome doubts about
the good to achieve and the evil to avoid.