“Who can understand sins? from my secret ones cleanse me, O Lord” Psalm 18:3

Progress in the virtues requires a certain degree of self-reflection. To that end, the classical understanding of the temperaments is a helpful tool. The theory of the four temperaments first appeared in the writings of Hippocrates(fifth century B.C.), who associated characteristics of personality with the four bodily humors: blood(sanguine), bile from the liver(choleric), phlegm(phlegmatic), and bile from the kidneys(melancholic). Over the centuries, this theory became a common element of Christian ethics. For example, St. Thomas remarks in the Summa Theologica that “some of the soul’s powers are stronger in one man than in another, on account of the different bodily temperaments.”(ST I-II.82.4ad.1) The temperaments also receive mention in Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, and many other Medieval works associate health problems with different personality traits.

The temperaments denote natural dispositions, i.e. unbridled emotional tendencies, before the restraint of virtue or the influences of education and upbringing. Needless to say, a child’s temperament is more easily discerned than that of an adult. Alacrity, strength and duration of reactions distinguish the temperaments from one another. Cholerics and sanguines react quickly, while melancholics and phlegmatics react slowly; in cholerics and melancholics, reactions are strong and enduring, while in sanguines and phlegmatics, the effect is more shallow and passing. Naturally, the different temperaments are disposed to different vices and virtues.

In our day, this theory of the temperaments is often overlooked, superseded by personality tests like the Myer-Briggs Type Indicator. Departing from the medieval perspective, modern society proposes personality tests as a measure of occupational potential or dating compatibility, rather than spiritual growth. However, there is a pamphlet published by a Catholic priest in 1934 which observes the classical and medieval tradition. The Four Temperaments, by Reverend Conrad Hock, offers a summary of the four temperaments and the potential combinations, a temperament questionnaire, suggestions for raising children of various temperaments and a list of beneficial spiritual practices for each of the temperaments. There is also an interesting overview available on the Fisheaters site. The temperaments theory is a valuable aid to recognizing your own strengths and weaknesses and understanding those of others.  Every Catholic family should be familiar with it.

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