Politeness is the origin of the virtues, faithfulness its principle and prudence its condition.
It is one of the four cardinal virtues of antiquity and perhaps the most forgotten.
Intellectual virtue, explained Aristotle, insofar as it has to do with truth, knowledge and reason. It is the disposition that allows one to deliberate correctly about what is good or bad, not in oneself, but in the world, as it is, not in general, but in this or that situation, and to act accordingly. It is what could be called common sense, but in the service of goodwill, or intelligence, but virtuous.
Prudence conditions all the other virtues. Without it, none would know what is to be done, nor how to attain the end or good, which it aims at.
Prudence is what separates action from impulse. It is about having the greatest possible pleasure, suffering as little as possible, taking into account the constraints and uncertainties of the real, intelligently.