The four temperaments
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Wellcome collection
Story of the object
Image taken from Lavater J.C. Essays on physiognomy; designed to promote the knowledge and the love of mankind/ ... Illustrated by more than eight hundred engravings accurately copied; and some duplicates added from originals. Executed by, or under the inspection of Thomas Holloway. Translated from the French by Henry Hunter, 1789.
The basis of the Hippocratic medicine was built upon the theory of the four humours (blood, yellow bile, phlegm and black bile). Galen in his works expressed his respect to Hippocrates and of course shared his view on the humoral-pathological theory. Nevertheless, he based his medical system on the four elemental qualities (hot, cold, humid and dry) without totally abstaining from references to mixtures with the predominance of a humour. Furthermore, he attributes physical and moral qualities to the mixtures without though developping in full such a relationship. The latter may be traced many centuries later. One of the first texts is attributed to John of Damascus (ca. 650-750 AD), where the man is made of four humours and the predominance of a humour characterizes the temperament of men. For example, the sanguine temperament is joyful and friendly, the bilious one is courageous and quick-tempered, the melancholic one is indolent and prone to sickness, while the phlegmatic one is despodent and forgetful. Avicenna (10th century AD) applied the four temperaments to “emotional aspects, mental capacity, moral attitudes, self-awareness, movements and dreams”, while Culpeper (17th century AD) considered temperaments as acting agents on physiognomy and personality.
- Jouanna J., Allies N. (2012). THE LEGACY OF THE HIPPOCRATIC TREATISE THE NATURE OF MAN: THE THEORY OF THE FOUR HUMOURS. In: Van der Eijk P. (Ed.), Greek Medicine from Hippocrates to Galen: Selected Papers (pp. 335-360). LEIDEN; BOSTON: Brill.
- KUPREEVA I. (2014). GALEN'S THEORY OF ELEMENTS. Bulletin of the Institute of Classical Studies. Supplement, (114), 153-196.
- VAN DER EIJK P. (2014). GALEN ON THE NATURE OF HUMAN BEINGS. Bulletin of the Institute of Classical Studies. Supplement, (114), 89-134.
The basis of the Hippocratic medicine was built upon the theory of the four humours (blood, yellow bile, phlegm and black bile). Galen in his works expressed his respect to Hippocrates and of course shared his view on the humoral-pathological theory. Nevertheless, he based his medical system on the four elemental qualities (hot, cold, humid and dry) without totally abstaining from references to mixtures with the predominance of a humour. Furthermore, he attributes physical and moral qualities to the mixtures without though developping in full such a relationship. The latter may be traced many centuries later. One of the first texts is attributed to John of Damascus (ca. 650-750 AD), where the man is made of four humours and the predominance of a humour characterizes the temperament of men. For example, the sanguine temperament is joyful and friendly, the bilious one is courageous and quick-tempered, the melancholic one is indolent and prone to sickness, while the phlegmatic one is despodent and forgetful. Avicenna (10th century AD) applied the four temperaments to “emotional aspects, mental capacity, moral attitudes, self-awareness, movements and dreams”, while Culpeper (17th century AD) considered temperaments as acting agents on physiognomy and personality.
- Jouanna J., Allies N. (2012). THE LEGACY OF THE HIPPOCRATIC TREATISE THE NATURE OF MAN: THE THEORY OF THE FOUR HUMOURS. In: Van der Eijk P. (Ed.), Greek Medicine from Hippocrates to Galen: Selected Papers (pp. 335-360). LEIDEN; BOSTON: Brill.
- KUPREEVA I. (2014). GALEN'S THEORY OF ELEMENTS. Bulletin of the Institute of Classical Studies. Supplement, (114), 153-196.
- VAN DER EIJK P. (2014). GALEN ON THE NATURE OF HUMAN BEINGS. Bulletin of the Institute of Classical Studies. Supplement, (114), 89-134.
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The four temperaments, from Lavater, Essays on physiognomy, 1789. Credit: Wellcome Collection. Public Domain Mark
