Prudence, Sense, Caution – The Virtues Recommended not only to the Poles. On Ethical and Pedagogical Works of Wincenty Kadłubek

Abstract

Due to the rare reception of the literary output of Wincenty Kadłubek, a medieval thinker and chronicler, the author of this article examines those literary achievements of Kadłubek’s that relate to axiology and arethology. Such categories as “prudence”, “sense” and “caution”, apart from their ethical provenance, are also closely connected to pedagogics and some of its sub-disciplines. The significant meaning of these categories manifests itself in the spheres of theoretical and practical pedagogics. Therefore, beside containing a sketch of the specific features of the epoch, in which this outstanding Polish intellectual lived and created, and alongside a concise study of the chronicle and the biographical facts, this article also addresses several research problems: how does Wincenty Kadłubek perceive prudence, sense and caution? How does he understand the “origin”/genesis of the human prudence, sense and caution? What significance does the chronicler assign to personification of prudence, sense and caution? What conditions does he consider to be necessary in order to achieve prudence? What factors, in his opinion, hinder these values, and what are their antonyms? How does he propose to overcome all that thwarts prudence, sense and caution, and what advice does he have for educational shaping of these values? The author undertakes a hermeneutic interpretation of the lesser known output of Wincenty Kadłubek in the belief that it belongs to the Polish cultural capital and treasury of tradition, and that it continues to offer much not only to Polish researchers but also to individual recipients.