A-Z: General definitions: Temperament

Definition

In ancient and medieval psychology, there were four basic temperaments or humours, which, it was believed, originated in four different organs of the body. These were melancholic (the spleen), sanguine (the liver), choleric (the gall bladder) and phlegmatic (brain or lungs). Dramatic characterisation was often based on stereotypes of the personality traits that the four humours represented. See Spleen.

The four temperaments by Lavater 

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