prudence

In City of God, Augustine redefines prudence, a classical virtue, through a Christian lens, critiquing its misapplication in imperial and pagan contexts. He challenges the “prudence” of Rome’s pursuit of glory, arguing it leads to fragile happiness, likened to broken glass, marred by fear, lust, and bloodshed (Book IV, Chapter 3). Augustine posits that true prudence discerns God’s will, guiding virtues like justice, fortitude, and temperance toward eternal happiness rather than fleeting worldly gains (Book XIX, Chapters 4, 20). He critiques pagan virtues as enslaved to pleasure, reducing prudence to a tool for securing earthly desires (Book V, Chapter 20), and contrasts this with Christian prudence, which navigates moral choices in a fallen world.