Our second virtue is Prudence.  Adam Smith, in his Theory of Moral Sentiments, wrote:

“The prudent man always studies seriously and earnestly to understand whatever he professes to understand, and not merely to persuade other people that he understands it; and though his talents may not always be very brilliant, they are always perfectly genuine.”  Smith goes on to say that “[t]he prudent man is always sincere, and feels horror at the very thought of exposing himself to the disgrace which attends upon the detection of falsehood. But though always sincere, he is not always frank and open; and though he never tells any thing but the truth, he does not always think himself bound, when not properly called upon, to tell the whole truth. As he is cautious in his actions, so he is reserved in his speech; and never rashly or unnecessarily obtrudes his opinion concerning either things or persons.”

When you started this year, did you care about your grades, which gave the appearance that you understood the subject, more than about genuinely understanding what you were learning?  Were you comfortable with telling lies, or perhaps even worse, did you have a tendency to share your opinions at the wrong time and place, thinking you were just being truthful?  Well, what about now?  Proverbs tells us that “Every prudent man acts with knowledge, but a fool flaunts his folly.”  None of us will be perfectly prudent all the time—but what do you know today that you didn’t know at the start of school…and how will you act differently as a result?

Have a wonderful day.