Temperament -
the four biological humours

When determining the energy of an illness, it is helpful to first look at the inherent energy of the person’s body. This is known as the "temperament", or “constitution” and must be taken into account when assessing the potential impact of herbs and foods on that person.

The temperament is inherited, yet it can be affected over time according to the foods eaten, medicines taken, lifestyle habits adopted and mental attitudes maintained. Every person’s constitution is unique. Yet, its energy may be seen on a continuum of hot to cold and moist to dry, according to various attributes in the body.

You will find that individuals show variations in each of these attributes. Yet if you look at the overall picture, you will usually see that we have more attributes on one side or the other of the balance point. This determines whether our constitution is either warm or cool, moist or dry in energy.

Constitutions closer to the balance point usually experience less illness than those close to the extremes - where imbalance occurs more easily. Those with hot or cold constitutions, therefore, tend toward disease more frequently and more easily than those with warm, cool or neutral ones.

The Greek and Roman physicians in the time of Galen described the physical and mental/emotional constitution of people in terms of four “biological humors”:

Which are named:

Phlegmatic

Whose basic qualities are Cold & Moist.

Melancholic

Whose basic qualities are Cold & Dry.

Sanguine

Whose basic qualities are Hot & Moist.

Choleric

Whose basic qualities are Hot & Dry.