In natural language, to be “prudent” means that you base your actions on logical, long-term thinking, and fully consider all contingencies. It is very cool-headed, setting aside instant desires and short-term gratification. But while prudence is intellectually driven, it is not devoid of intent – it just seems that way because it is based on substantial, distant and well-considered goals rather than the excitement of the moment.
The spiritual meaning Swedenborg offers for “prudence” in the Bible is similar; it represents acting from ideas that we know to be true, but doing so with an underlying desire for good. So it is action driven by truth, but with good as its end.
“Prudent” can also be used in the negative sense, representing the craftiness and guile that evil can bring to bear when using falsities to attack what is true.
Passages from Swedenborg
Arcana Coelestia (Potts) n. 4638
- Then shall the kingdom of the heavens be likened unto ten virgins.
This signifies the last period of the old church and the first of the new. The church is the Lord’s kingdom on earth. The “ten virgins” are all who are in the church, namely, both those who are in good and truth, and those who are in evil and falsity. “Ten” in the internal sense denotes remains, and also fullness, thus all; and “virgins” denote those who are in the church, as also elsewhere in the Word.
[2] Who took their lamps;
signifies spiritual things in which is the celestial, or truths in which there is good, or what is the same, faith in which there is charity toward the neighbor, and charity in which there is love to the Lord; for “oil” is the good of love, as shown hereafter. But lamps in which there is no oil denote the same in which there is no good.
[3] And went forth to meet the bridegroom;
signifies their reception.
And five of them were prudent, but five were foolish;
signifies a part of them in truths in which there is good, and a part of them in truths in which is no good. The former are the “prudent,” and the latter the “foolish.” In the internal sense “five” denotes some, here therefore a part of them.
They that were foolish, when they took their lamps, took no oil with them;
signifies not having the good of charity in their truths; for in the internal sense “oil” denotes the good of charity and of love.
But the prudent took oil in their vessels with their lamps;
signifies that they had the good of charity and of love in their truths; their “vessels” are the doctrinal things of faith.
[4] And while the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept;
signifies delay, and hence doubt. To “slumber” in the internal sense is to grow sluggish from the delay in the things of the church, and to “sleep” is to cherish doubt – the prudent, a doubt in which there is affirmation; the foolish, a doubt in which there is negation.
But at midnight a cry was made;
signifies the time which is the last of the old church and the first of the new. This time is what is called “night” in the Word, when the state of the church is treated of. The “cry” denotes a change.
Behold the bridegroom cometh, go ye out to meet him;
signifies the same as the judgment, namely, acceptance and rejection.
[5] Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps;
signifies preparation of all; for those who are in truths in which there is no good are equally in the belief of being accepted as are those who are in truths in which there is good, for they suppose that faith alone saves, not knowing that there is no faith where there is no charity.
But the foolish said unto the prudent, Give us of your oil, for our lamps are gone out;
signifies that they desire good to be communicated by others to their empty truths, or to their destitute faith. For in the other life all spiritual and celestial things are mutually communicated, but only through good.
[6] But the prudent answered, saying, Perchance there will not be enough for us and you;
signifies that it cannot be communicated, because the little of truth that they had would be taken away from them. For as to the communication of good in the other life to those who are in truths without good, these as it were take away good from those who have it, and appropriate it to themselves, and do not communicate it to others, but defile it; for which reason no communication of good to them is possible. These spirits will be described from experience at the end of the next chapter [Gen. 37].
[7] But go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves;
signifies the good of merit. They who boast of this are “they that sell.” Moreover, in the other life they who are in truth in which there is no good, above all others make a merit of all they have done which appeared good in the outward form, although in the inward form it was evil, according to what the Lord says in Matthew:
“Many will say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied by Thy name, and by Thy name have cast out demons, and in Thy name done many mighty works? But then will I confess unto them, I know you not; depart from Me, ye workers of iniquity” (Matt. 7:22, 23).
And in Luke:
“When the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, then shall ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, lord, open to us. But he shall answer and say to you, I know you not whence ye are; then shall ye begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets; but he shall say, I tell you I know you not whence ye are, depart from me all ye workers of iniquity” (Luke 13:26, 27).
Such are those who are here meant by the foolish virgins, and the like is therefore said of them in these words: “they also came, saying, Lord, lord, open to us; but he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.”
[8] And while they went away to buy, the bridegroom came.
This signifies their too late application.
And they that were ready went in with him to the wedding;
signifies that they who were in good and thence in truth were received into heaven. Heaven is likened to a wedding from the heavenly marriage, which is the marriage of good and truth; and the Lord is likened to the bridegroom, because they are then conjoined with Him; and hence the church is called the bride.
And the door was shut;
signifies that others cannot enter.
[9] Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, lord, open to us;
signifies that they desire to enter from faith alone without charity, and from works in which there is not the Lord’s life, but the life of self.
But be answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not;
signifies rejection. His not knowing them means in the internal sense that they were not in any charity toward the neighbor and thereby in conjunction with the Lord. They who are not in conjunction are said not to be known.
[10] Watch therefore, for ye know not the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh;
signifies an assiduous application of life in accordance with the precepts of faith, which is “to watch.” The time of acceptance, which is unknown to man, and the state, are signified by their not knowing the day nor the hour in which the Son of man is to come. Elsewhere also in Matthew he who is in good, that is, he who acts according to the precepts, is called “prudent;” and he who is in knowledges of truth and does them not is called “foolish:”
Everyone that heareth My words and doeth them, I will liken him unto a prudentman; and everyone that heareth My words and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man (Matt. 7:24, 26).
Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 6655
- ‘Come, let us use prudence with them’ means guile. This is clear from the meaning of ‘prudence’ – when that word is used by the evil who are alienated from truth and goodness – as guile, for the evil speak of what they accomplish by the use of guile, and also of deceit, as prudence. Let something about the guile meant by ‘prudence’ be mentioned here. All who are under the influence of evil speak of guile as prudence and do not consider intelligence and wisdom to consist in anything else. People who are like this in the world become worse in the next life, where by the use of guile they constantly act in opposition to whatever is good and true. And those among them are thought of as the intelligent and wise who are able, as they themselves see it, to employ falsities to break down and demolish truths, behaving in any artful or malicious way they can to accomplish this. From this one can see what people within the Church are like when they identifyprudence with guile; one can see that such people are in touch with the hells.
Arcana Coelestia (Potts) n. 8255
- That to do what is good is to worship the Lord, is evident from the Lord’s words in Matthew: “Everyone who heareth My words, and doeth them, I will compare to a prudent man; but everyone that heareth My words, and doeth them not, shall be compared to a foolish man” (7:24, 26).
Apocalypse Explained (Tansley) n. 187
[4] In Matthew:
“The kingdom is like ten virgins; five were prudent, and five were foolish. While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. But when the bridegroom came, they all trimmed their lamps.” And when the foolish came, which had no oil in their lamps, and said, “Lord, Lord, open to us,” the Lord said, “I say unto you, I know you not. Watch, therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh” (xxv. 1-13).
By the ten virgins are meant all those who belong to the church; by five are meant some of them, this being the signification of that number; by lamps are signified the things of faith, and by oil those of love. By the five prudent virgins therefore are meant those who are in love and thence in faith; but by the five foolish virgins are meant those who are not in love, but in faith alone; and because the latter have no spiritual life, therefore, because these are shut out of heaven, the Lord said to them “I say unto you, I know you not”; for those only have spiritual life who are in love and charity, because these are they who possess faith; hence it is quite clear that the words,
“Watch, therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh,”
signify that they may receive spiritual life, which pertains to those who are in love and thence in faith. (These things may be seen more fully explained in Arcana Coelestia, n. 4635-4638.)
Apocalypse Explained (Tansley) n. 411
[11] Besides also in other passages: as in the Evangelists:
“Everyone who heareth my words, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a prudent man, who built his house upon a rock; and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; yet it fell not; for it was founded upon a rock” (Matt. vii. 24, 25; Luke vi. 48).
By the house founded upon a rock are meant the church, and the men of the church, who have founded their doctrine and life upon the Divine truth which is from the Lord, thus upon those things that are in the Word, [and] who, consequently, are in truths from good from the Lord. It is said, who are in truths from good, because the Divine truth is received only by him who is in good. To be in good is to be in the good of life, which is charity, therefore it is said, “He who heareth my words and doeth them”; to do the Lord’s words is the good of life. For truth, when a man does it, becomes good, because it enters the will and love, and that which becomes of the will and love, is called good. The temptations, in which such a man of the church does not fall but conquers, are signified by, “the rain descended, the floods came, the winds blew and beat upon the house; and yet it fell not; for it was founded upon a rock”; for in the Word, by floods of waters, and showers, and also by whirlwinds, are signified temptations; it is indeed a comparison, but it should be known, that all comparisons in the Word are equally from correspondences, as are the things not said comparatively (as may be seen above, n. 69, and in Arcana Coelestia, n. 3579, 8989). From these things it is now quite clear, that by a rock in the Word is signified the Lord as to Divine truth, or Divine truth from the Lord.
Apocalypse Explained (Tansley) n. 581
[9] That serpents, in the Word, signify the craft, and also the prudence of sensual men, is evident from the words of the Lord in Matthew:
“Be ye prudent (wise) as serpents, and harmless as doves” (x. 16).
Those who are in good are called prudent, and those who are in evil, are called crafty, for prudence is of truth from good, and craftiness is of falsity from evil; and since these words were spoken to those who were in truths from good, therefore by serpents, in this place, is meant prudence. Because the craftiness of the evil is diabolical, therefore those who practise it are said to eat the dust.
Apocalypse Explained (Tansley) n. 840
[3] In Matthew:
The prudent virgins said to the foolish, “Go rather to them that sell, and buy” oil “for yourselves”; “but whilst they went to them to buy, the bridegroom came” (xxv. 9, 10).
By the prudent virgins are signified those in the church with whom faith is conjoined to charity and by the foolish are signified those in the church with whom faith is separated from charity; for lamps signify the truths of faith, and oil signifies the good of love.