Post by malxscfc on Jan 5, 2007 19:02:38 GMT
The Temperaments (Choleric, Melancholic, Sanguine and Phlegmatic) were the '10 Commandments' of Medicine - the absolute guiding principle of Medical theory - from about 400BC until the Mid-19th Century. The likes of Chaucer, Shakespeare and Jane Austen would all have been subjected to the theory's overwhelming influence when they were ill, and treated by a Doctor.
It's now clearly anathema in the modern world, in light of our knowledge of cellular Biology, but unlike (the bunkum of) tabloid Astrology, say, the theory is based on a guttural, if unproven logic which we all instinctively know to hold some measure of truth.
Anyway, have a read of this: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_humours and see what you come up with. It's worth reading all the way down.
Also check out the other links like: www.waldorfresources.org/readroom/pearls/temperaments.php
and
www.uta.fi/FAST/AK11/SPE/ph-poten.html
To start the ball rolling, I'm appallingly Choleric by nature, with very little balance (a state called "dyscrasia"), which ain't healthy, and explains a lot....
I'm also Melancholic in a large part, which tends to act when the Choleric bit isn't functioning. I have the other temperaments too, certainly, but all too often they are not allowed to come out in the presence of the first two. I suspect I'm overly Sanguine when I drink, for example...
Unfortunately, if you want a balanced temperament you do need to work on encouraging all 4 to live in harmony, and not 'mask' your true nature, as external circumstances so frequently make you do. (See the Wikipedia explanation of 'Masking' en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masking_%28personality%29 .)
However, it's EQUALLY bad to suppress your predominant Temperament.
Hope this post hasn't sent you to sleep. If you can spend 5 minutes, all this really can be a very interesting and revealing insight into your own Psyche, I promise!!
There's also a tuppeny ha'penny test you can do:
www.aceviper.net/get_quiz.php?cat=Personality+Tests&id=199&rat=1
I haven't tried it though, as I don't like giving away personal information or private details on anonymous websites....
[P.S. If nothing else, it's nice to see an American spell the word "humour" properly ]
It's now clearly anathema in the modern world, in light of our knowledge of cellular Biology, but unlike (the bunkum of) tabloid Astrology, say, the theory is based on a guttural, if unproven logic which we all instinctively know to hold some measure of truth.
Anyway, have a read of this: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_humours and see what you come up with. It's worth reading all the way down.
Also check out the other links like: www.waldorfresources.org/readroom/pearls/temperaments.php
and
www.uta.fi/FAST/AK11/SPE/ph-poten.html
To start the ball rolling, I'm appallingly Choleric by nature, with very little balance (a state called "dyscrasia"), which ain't healthy, and explains a lot....
I'm also Melancholic in a large part, which tends to act when the Choleric bit isn't functioning. I have the other temperaments too, certainly, but all too often they are not allowed to come out in the presence of the first two. I suspect I'm overly Sanguine when I drink, for example...
Unfortunately, if you want a balanced temperament you do need to work on encouraging all 4 to live in harmony, and not 'mask' your true nature, as external circumstances so frequently make you do. (See the Wikipedia explanation of 'Masking' en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masking_%28personality%29 .)
However, it's EQUALLY bad to suppress your predominant Temperament.
Hope this post hasn't sent you to sleep. If you can spend 5 minutes, all this really can be a very interesting and revealing insight into your own Psyche, I promise!!
There's also a tuppeny ha'penny test you can do:
www.aceviper.net/get_quiz.php?cat=Personality+Tests&id=199&rat=1
I haven't tried it though, as I don't like giving away personal information or private details on anonymous websites....
[P.S. If nothing else, it's nice to see an American spell the word "humour" properly ]