The Four Temperaments: A Rediscovery of the Ancient Way of Understanding Health and Character

by Randy Rolfe, Robert Rayevsky (Illustrator)

The system of the four temperaments, or humors -- melancholic, choleric, sanguine, and phlegmatic -- has been used to analyze personality and health for over two thousand years, since the philosophical insights of Aristotle and the healing arts of Hippocrates. It has been the basis of Western medicine and character portraits ever since. Now The Four Temperaments offers an introduction and overview of this ancient knowledge, providing readers a clear picture of all the humors have to offer. Randy Rolfe shows how to identify one's own temperament and how to dramatically improve health, relationships, career, and happiness with a basic understanding of the four temperaments. Since the author has been studying, applying, and teaching the wisdom of the temperaments for over thirty years, she is able to link these four ancient personality and health types with the findings of modern medical researchers. She guides readers to finding the proper balance between temperaments and using their strengths to overcome their vulnerabilities. Illustrations are included.

Genres: Psychology, Nonfiction

240 pages, Paperback

First published September 4, 2002

Reviews

[C.A. Gray · Rating 4 out of 5]

I used to be obsessed with the Meyer-Briggs personality test back in high school. Little did I know that it was derived from the very ancient Four Humors!

This is a bit esoteric, but I picked it up at the recommendation of a speaker at a conference, who mentioned that if you want to help people lose weight, you should identify their dominant "humor," and make sure they eat according to the foods best for that type. I was skeptical, since it's not like there's any actual scientific backing behind this. But there's probably something to be said for thousands of years of pattern recognition, which is what this really seems to draw upon.

Each of the four humors (choleric, sanguine, melancholic, and phlegmatic) is connected metaphorically to one of the ancient elements (earth, air, wind, and water) as well as to one of the bodily fluids, as the ancients understood them (bile, blood, black bile, and phlegm). But the descriptions of each are extremely detailed, ranging from body type and shape, to personality, to preferred foods, and more. Each description certainly did make me think of particular people, and I found myself identifying the likely humoral classification of strangers for a bit there too! The point, for me, was the associated recommendations both of best food types for each, food timing, sleep timing, and other health recommendations. Again, it's all based on patterns so far as I can tell... but since this goes back to Paracelsus, there might be at least a little something to it.

[Tracy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the most comprehensive book I've found on the temperaments so far, and the one that I would recommend for people who want to deep dive into the subject. This book will show you what your temperament is and what that means.

My main critique of the book is Chapter 6 - careers. Even when this was published in 2002, categorising careers into male or female roles was a tad out of touch. I realise a lot has changed between 2002 and 2023 but depicting a phlegmatic male as a soldier and a phlegmatic female as a nurse for example, is quite stereotypical. If a new edition of this book were to be published I would hope this would be updated to align with modern views of gender roles in the workplace.

[Arshad Ali · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really great overview of the four temperaments. Love the intro to the history of their development. Fascinating section on health advice. Best book I have read on the subject in terms of a comprehensive overview of how the temperaments framework is useful in understanding multiple facets of life (health, emotion/psychology, nutrition, physical traits, virtues/vices, etc). I only wish there were more books that went into depth on each of these areas!

[Timo Hiet · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Four Temperaments A Rediscovery of the Ancient Way of Understanding Health and Character is clearly written by sanguine person. It is not so deep book rather more a quick overlook of different temperaments. In a funny way the temperament sanguine is present in this book thoroughly. It is a positive book that gives you a comfortable feeling and understanding of different temperaments.

It is quite light reading all together. I finished this in just a two day.

I recommend this book to anyone who is interested of temperaments. The only drawbacks are the illustrations of different temperaments which are not top of the spot. I'm not really sure about the health advice's either.

[Douglas Lord · Rating 4 out of 5]

Based on the ancient Greek concept of the four temperaments (sanguine, melancholic, phlegmatic, and choleric), Rolfe's passionate examination of the role and function of the four temperaments in life translates into half handbook, half treatise. Rolfe (The 7 Secrets of Successful Parents) describes the traits and characteristics typical of each humor and accounts for the blending of multiple humors. Reasonable and encouraging in tone, the book emphasizes that "the humors can only add to and not detract from your deepest understanding as your life unfolds." Rolfe uses a holistic and ambitious approach that sometimes meets with uneven results. Discussing all the humors at once is often confusing, and the nutritional suggestions feel incomplete. While neither author tries to pigeonhole people, both present "a set of lenses for looking at the world" and its inhabitants. Recommended for readers seeking a serious treatment.

Find reviews of books for men at Books for Dudes, Books for Dudes, the online reader's advisory column for men from Library Journal. Copyright Library Journal.

[Gypsy Novela · Rating 5 out of 5]

a concise guide for the temperaments that we all experience individually. definitely great for the pagan to read with direct translation to the elemental reference.