La Teoria degli Umori

Optike Glasse Of Humours (TEACHING SHAKESPEARE at the Folger Library) © 2002 Folger Shakespea re Library Classical medicine taught that the human body was governed by four fluids or humors, each tied to one of the prime elements. earth, air, fire, and waterThe four elements were earth, air, fire, and water; the four humors were black bile, blood, yellow bile, and phlegm. Illness was presumed to be the result of an imbalance in the humors. Thus, since illness is the result of imbalance, the key treatments often involved trying to rid the body of the excess of certain humors. Diet and herbal treatments were often prescribed, but often the diagnosis called for a more extreme way of relieving the body of excess humors. The most notable is perhaps the practice of phlebotomy or blood-letting.

Qualities HOTCOLD DRY Qualities: hot and dry Element: fire humor: yellow bile temper: choleric organ: liver season: summer Qualities: cold and dry Element: earth humor: black bile temper: melancholic organ: spleen season: autumn MOIST Qualities: hot and moist Element: Air humor: blood temper: sanguine organ: heart season: spring Qualities: cold and moist Element: water humor: phlegm temper: phlegmatic organ: brain season: winter BLOODYELLOW BILEPHLEGMBLACK BILE AirFireWaterEarth hot and moisthot and drycold and moistcold and dry "SANGUINE""CHOLERIC""PHLEGMATIC""MELANCHOLIC" Amorous happy generous violent vengeful Dull pale cowardly gluttonous Lazy sentimental