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You are a "nervous" Melancholic, with an
abundance of black bile. Melancholics are characterized by the element of Earth, the season of Autumn,
middle-aged adulthood, the colors black and blue,
Saturn, and the characteristics of "Cold"
and "Dry." Animals used to symbolize the Melancholic include
the pig, cat, and owl. To enhance your Melancholic tendencies, listen to
music in the Mixolydian Mode; to diminish those tendencies, listen to music
in the Hypomixolydian mode.
Famous Melancholics include St. John of the Cross, St. John the Divine,
St. Francis, and St. Catherine of Siena.
If you were living in the Age of Faith, perfect career choices for you would be contemplative religious, theologian, artist, or
writer.
From "The Four Temperaments," by Rev. Conrad Hock:
The Melancholic:
- Is self-conscious, easily
embarrassed, timid, and bashful.
- Avoids talking before a group;
when obliged to he finds it difficult.
- Prefers to work and play alone.
Good in details; careful.
- Is deliberative; slow in making
decisions; perhaps overcautious even in minor matters.
- Is lacking in self-confidence
and initiative; compliant and yielding.
- Tends to detachment from
environment; reserved and distant except to intimate friends.
- Tends to depression; frequently
moody or gloomy; very sensitive; easily hurt.
- Does not form acquaintances
readily; prefers narrow range of friends; tends to exclude others.
- Worries over possible
misfortune; crosses bridges before coming to them.
- Is secretive; seclusive; shut
in; not inclined to speak unless spoken to.
- Is slow in movement;
deliberative or perhaps indecisive; moods frequent and constant.
- Is often represents himself at a
disadvantage; modest and unassuming.
The melancholic person is but feebly
excited by whatever acts upon him. The reaction is weak, but this feeble
impression remains for a long time and by subsequent similar impressions
grows stronger and at last excites the mind so vehemently that it is
difficult to eradicate it.
Such impression may be compared to a post, which by repeated strokes is
driven deeper and deeper into the ground, so that at last it is hardly
possible to pull it out again. This propensity of the melancholic needs
special attention. It serves as a key to solve the many riddles in his
behavior.
II FUNDAMENTAL DISPOSITION OF THE MELANCHOLIC
1. Inclination to reflection. The thinking of the melancholic easily turns
into reflection. The thoughts of the melancholic are far reaching. He dwells
with pleasure upon the past and is preoccupied by occurrences of the long
ago; he is penetrating; is not satisfied with the superficial, searches for
the cause and correlation of things; seeks the laws which affect human life,
the principles according to which man should act. His thoughts are of a wide
range; he looks ahead into the future; ascends to the eternal. The
melancholic is of an extremely soft-hearted disposition. His very thoughts
arouse his own sympathy and are accompanied by a mysterious longing. Often
they stir him up profoundly, particularly religious reflections or plans
which he cherishes; yet he hardly permits his fierce excitement to be noticed
outwardly. The untrained melancholic is easily given to brooding and to
day-dreaming.
2. Love of retirement. The melancholic does not feel at home among a crowd
for any length of time; he loves silence and solitude. Being inclined to
introspection he secludes himself from the crowds, forgets his environment,
and makes poor use of his senses — eyes, ears, etc. In company he is often
distracted, because he is absorbed by his own thoughts. By reason of his lack
of observation and his dreaming the melancholic person has many a mishap in
his daily life and at his work.
3. Serious conception of life. The melancholic looks at life always from the
serious side. At the core of his heart there is always a certain sadness, 'a
weeping of the heart,' not because the melancholic is sick or morbid, as many
claim, but because he is permeated with a strong longing for an ultimate good
(God) and eternity, and feels continually hampered by earthly and temporal
affairs and impeded in his cravings. The melancholic is a stranger here below
and feels homesick for God and eternity.
4. Inclination to passivity. The melancholic is a passive temperament. The
person possessing such a temperament, therefore, has not the vivacious,
quick, progressive, active propensity, of the choleric or sanguine, but is
slow, pensive, reflective. It is difficult to move him to quick action, since
he has a marked inclination to passivity and inactivity. This pensive
propensity of the melancholic accounts for his fear of suffering and
difficulties as well as for his dread of interior exertion and
self-denial.
III PECULIARITIES OF THE MELANCHOLIC
1. He is reserved. He finds it difficult to form new acquaintances and speaks
little among strangers. He reveals his inmost thoughts reluctantly and only
to those whom he trusts. He does not easily find the right word to express
and describe his sentiments. He yearns often to express himself, because it
affords him real relief, to confide the sad, depressing thoughts which burden
his heart to a person who sympathizes with him. On the other hand, it
requires great exertion on his part to manifest himself, and, when he does
so, he goes about it so awkwardly that he does not feel satisfied and finds
no rest. Such experiences tend to make the melancholic more reserved. A
teacher of melancholic pupils, therefore, must he aware of these
peculiarities and must take them into consideration; otherwise he will do a
great deal of harm to his charges.
Confession is a great burden to the melancholic, while it is comparatively
easy to the sanguine. The melancholic wants to manifest himself, but cannot;
the choleric can express himself easily, but does not want to.
2. The melancholic is irresolute. On account of too many considerations and
too much fear of difficulties and of the possibility that his plans or works
may fail, the melancholic can hardly reach a decision. He is inclined to
defer his decision. What he could do today he postpones for tomorrow, the day
after tomorrow, or even for the next week. Then he forgets about it and thus
it happens that what he could have done in an hour takes weeks and months. He
is never finished. For many a. melancholic person it may take a long time to
decide about his vocation to the religious life. The melancholic is a man of
missed opportunities. While he sees that others have crossed the creek long
ago, he still deliberates whether he too should and can jump over it. Because
the melancholic discovers many ways by his reflection and has difficulties in
deciding which one to take, he easily gives way to others, and does not
stubbornly insist on his own opinion.
3. The melancholic is despondent and without courage. He is pusillanimous and
timid if he is called upon to begin a new work, to execute a disagreeable
task, to venture on a new undertaking. He has a strong will coupled with
talent and power, but no courage. It has become proverbial therefore:
"Throw the melancholic into the water and he will learn to swim."
If difficulties in his undertakings are encountered by the melancholic, even
if they are only very insignificant, he feels discouraged and is tempted to
give up the ship, instead of conquering the obstacle and repairing the ill
success by increased effort.
4. The melancholic is slow and awkward.
a) He is slow in his thinking. He feels it necessary, first of all, to
consider and reconsider everything until he can form a calm and safe
judgment.
b) He is slow in his speech. If he is called upon to answer quickly or to
speak without preparation, or if he fears that too much depends on his
answer, he becomes restless and does not find the right word and consequently
often makes a false and unsatisfactory reply. This slow thinking may be the
reason why the melancholic often stutters, leaves his sentences incomplete,
uses wrong phrases, or searches for the right expression. He is also slow,
not lazy, at his work. He works carefully and reliably, but only if he has
ample time and is not pressed. He himself naturally does not believe that he
is a slow worker.
5. The pride of the melancholic has its very peculiar side. He does not seek
honor or recognition; on the contrary, he is loathe to appear in public and
to be praised. But he is very much afraid of disgrace and humiliation. He
often displays great reserve and thereby gives the impression of modesty and
humility; in reality he retires only because he is afraid of being put to
shame. He allows others to be preferred to him, even if they are less
qualified and capable than himself for the particular work, position, or
office, but at the same time he feels slighted because he is being ignored
and his talents are not appreciated.
The melancholic person, if he really wishes to become perfect, must pay very
close attention to these feelings of resentment and excessive sensitiveness
in the face of even small humiliations.
From what has been said so far, it is evident that it is difficult to deal
with melancholic persons. Because of their peculiarities they are frequently
misjudged and treated wrongly. The melancholic feels keenly and therefore
retires and secludes himself. Also, the melancholic has few friends, because
few understand him and because he takes few into his confidence.
IV BRIGHT SIDE OF THE MELANCHOLIC TEMPERAMENT
1. The melancholic practices with ease and joy interior prayer. His serious
view of life, his love of solitude, and his inclination to reflection are a
great help to him in acquiring the interior life of prayer. He has, as it
were, a natural inclination to piety. Meditating on the perishable things of
this world he thinks of the eternal; sojourning on earth he is attracted to
Heaven. Many saints were of a melancholic temperament. This temperament
causes difficulties at prayer, since the melancholic person easily loses
courage in trials and sufferings and consequently lacks confidence in God, in
his prayers, and can be very much distracted by pusillanimous and sad thoughts.
2. In communication with God the melancholic finds a deep and indescribable
peace.
He, better than anyone else, understands the words of St. Augustine:
"Thee, O Lord, have created us for yourself, and our heart finds no
rest, until it rests in Thee." His heart, so capable of strong
affections and lofty sentiments, finds perfect peace in communion with God.
This peace of heart he also feels in his sufferings, if he only preserves his
confidence in God and his love for the Crucified.
3. The melancholic is often a great benefactor to his fellow men. He guides
others to God, is a good counselor in difficulties, and a prudent,
trustworthy, and well-meaning superior. He has great sympathy with his fellow
men and a keen desire to help them. If the confidence in God supports the
melancholic and encourages him to action, he is willing to make great
sacrifices for his neighbor and is strong and unshakable in the battle for
ideals. Schubert, in his Psychology, says of the melancholic nature: "It
has been the prevailing mental disposition of the most sublime poets,
artists, of the most profound thinkers, the greatest inventors, legislators,
and especially of those spiritual giants who at their time made known to
their nations the entrance to a higher and blissful world of the Divine, to
which they themselves were carried by an insatiable longing."
V DARK SIDE OF THE MELANCHOLIC TEMPERAMENT
1. The melancholic by committing sin falls into the most terrible distress of
mind, because in the depth of his heart he is, more than those of other
temperaments, filled with a longing desire for God, with a keen perception of
the malice and consequences of sin. The consciousness of being separated from
God by mortal sin has a crushing effect upon him. If he falls into grievous
sin, it is hard for him to rise again, because confession, in which he is
bound to humiliate himself deeply, is so hard for him. He is also in great
danger of falling back into sin; because by his continual brooding over the
sins committed he causes new temptations to arise. When tempted he indulges
in sentimental moods, thus increasing the danger and the strength of
temptations. To remain in a state of sin or even occasionally to relapse into
sin may cause him a profound and lasting sadness, and rob him gradually of
confidence in God and in himself. He says to himself: "I have not the
strength to rise again and God does not help me either by His grace, for He
does not love me but wants to damn me." This fatal condition can easily
assume the proportion of despair.
2. A melancholic person who has no confidence in God and love for the Cross
falls into great despondency, inactivity, and even into despair.
If he has confidence in God and love for the Crucified, he is led to God and
sanctified more quickly by suffering mishaps, calumniation, unfair treatment,
etc. But if these two virtues are lacking, his condition is very dangerous
and pitiable. If sufferings, although little in themselves, befall him, the
melancholic person, who has no confidence in God and love for Christ, becomes
downcast and depressed, ill-humored and sensitive. He does not speak, or he
speaks very little, is peevish and disconsolate and keeps apart from his
fellow men. Soon he loses courage to continue his work, and interest even in
his professional occupation.
He feels that he has nothing but sorrow and grief. Finally this disposition
may culminate in actual despondency and despair.
3. The melancholic who gives way to sad moods, falls into many faults against
charity and becomes a real burden to his fellow men.
a) He easily loses confidence in his fellow men, (especially Superiors,
Confessors), because of slight defects which he discovers in them, or on
account of corrections in small matters.
b) He is vehemently exasperated and provoked by disorder or injustice. The
cause of his exasperation is often justifiable, but rarely to the degree
felt.
c) He can hardly forgive offences. The first offense he ignores quite easily.
But renewed offenses penetrate deeply into the soul and can hardly be
forgotten. Strong aversion easily takes root in his heart against persons
from whom he has suffered, or in whom he finds this or that fault. This
aversion becomes so strong that he can hardly see these persons without new
excitement, that he does not want to speak to them and is exasperated by the
very thought of them. Usually this aversion is abandoned only after the
melancholic is separated from persons who incurred his displeasure and at
times only after months or even years.
d) He is very suspicious. He rarely trusts people and is always afraid that
others have a grudge against him. Thus he often and without cause entertains
uncharitable and unjust suspicion about his neighbor, conjectures evil
intentions, and fears dangers which do not exist at all.
e) He sees everything from the dark side. He is peevish, always draws
attention to the serious side of affairs, complains regularly about the
perversion of people, bad times, downfall of morals, etc. His motto is:
things grow worse all along. Offenses, mishaps, obstacles he always considers
much worse than they really are. The consequence is often excessive sadness,
unfounded vexation about others, brooding for weeks and weeks on account of
real or imaginary insults. Melancholic persons who give way to this
disposition to look at everything through a dark glass, gradually become
pessimists, that is, persons who always expect a bad result; hypochondriacs,
that is, persons who complain continually of insignificant ailments and
constantly fear grave sickness; misanthropes, that is, persons who suffer
from fear and hatred of men.
f) He finds peculiar difficulties in correcting people. As said above he is
vehemently excited at the slightest disorder or injustice and feels obliged
to correct such disorders, but at the same time he has very little skill or
courage in making corrections. He deliberates long on how to express the
correction; but when he is about to make it, the words fail him, or he goes
about it so carefully, so tenderly and reluctantly that it can hardly be
called a correction.
If the melancholic tries to master his timidity, he easily falls into the
opposite fault of shouting his correction excitedly, angrily, in unsuited or
scolding words, so that again his reproach loses its effect. This difficulty
is the besetting cross of melancholic superiors. They are unable to discuss
things with others, therefore, they swallow their grief and permit many
disorders to creep in, although their conscience recognizes the duty to
interfere. Melancholic educators, too, often commit the fault of keeping
silent too long about a fault of their charges and when at last they are
forced to speak, they do it in such an unfortunate and harsh manner, that the
pupils become discouraged and frightened by such admonitions, instead of
being encouraged and directed.
VI METHOD OF SELF-TRAINING FOR THE MELANCHOLIC PERSON
1. The melancholic must cultivate great confidence in God and love for
suffering, for his spiritual and temporal welfare depend on these two
virtues. Confidence in God and love of the Crucified are the two pillars on
which he will rest so firmly, that he will not succumb to the most severe
trials arising from his temperament. The misfortune of the melancholic
consists in refusing to carry his cross; his salvation will be found in the
voluntary and joyful bearing of that cross. Therefore, he should meditate
often on the Providence of God, and the goodness of the Heavenly Father, who
sends sufferings only for our spiritual welfare, and he must practice a
fervent devotion to the Passion of Christ and His Sorrowful Mother
Mary.
2. He should always, especially during attacks of melancholy, say to himself:
''It is not so bad as I imagine. I see things too darkly," or "I am
a pessimist."
3. He must from the very beginning resist every feeling of aversion,
diffidence, discouragement, or despondency, so that these evil impressions
can take no root in the soul.
4. He must keep himself continually occupied, so that he finds no time for
brooding. Persevering work will master all.
5. He is bound to cultivate the good side of his temperament and especially
his inclination to interior life and his sympathy for suffering fellow men.
He must struggle continually against his weaknesses.
6. St. Theresa devotes an entire chapter to the treatment of malicious
melancholics. She writes: "Upon close observation you will notice that
melancholic persons are especially inclined to have their own way, to say
everything that comes into their mind, to watch for the faults of others in
order to hide their own and to find peace in that which is according to their
own liking." St. Theresa, in this chapter touches upon two points to
which the melancholic person must pay special attention. He frequently is
much excited, full of disgust and bitterness, because he occupies himself too
much with the faults of others, and again because he would like to have
everything according to his own will and notion.
He can get into bad humor and discouragement on account of the most
insignificant things. If he feels very downcast he should ask himself whether
he concerned himself too much about the faults of others. Let other people
have their own way! Or whether perhaps things do not go according to his own
will. Let him learn the truth of the words of the Imitation (I, 22),
"Who is there that has all things according to his will? Neither I nor
you, nor any man on earth. There is no man in the world without some trouble
or affliction be he king or pope. Who then is the best off? Truly he that is
able to suffer something for the love of God."
VII IMPORTANT POINTS IN THE TRAINING OF THE MELANCHOLIC
In the treatment of the melancholic special attention must be given to the
following points:
1. It is necessary to have a sympathetic understanding of the melancholic. In
his entire deportment he presents many riddles to those who do not understand
the peculiarities of the melancholic temperament. It is necessary, therefore,
to study it and at the same time to find out how this temperament manifests
itself in each individual. Without this knowledge great mistakes cannot be
avoided.
2. It is necessary to gain the confidence of the melancholic person. This is
not at all easy and can be done only by giving him a good example in
everything and by manifesting an unselfish and sincere love for him. Like an
unfolding bud opens to the sun, so the heart of the melancholic person opens
to the sunshine of kindness and love.
3. One must always encourage him. Rude reproach, harsh treatment, hardness of
heart cast him down and paralyze his efforts. Friendly advice and patience
with his slow actions give him courage and vigor. He will show himself very
grateful for such kindness.
4. It is well to keep him always busy, but do not overburden him with
work.
5. Because melancholics take everything to heart and are very sensitive, they
are in great danger of weakening their nerves. It is necessary, therefore, to
watch nervous troubles of those entrusted to one's care. Melancholics who
suffer a nervous breakdown are in a very bad state and cannot recover very
easily.
6. In the training of a melancholic child, special care must be taken to be
always kind and friendly, to encourage and keep him busy. The child,
moreover, must be taught always to pronounce words properly, to use his five
senses, and to cultivate piety. Special care must be observed in the
punishment of the melancholic child, otherwise obstinacy and excessive
reserve may result. Necessary punishment must be given with precaution and
great kindness and the slightest appearance of injustice must be carefully
avoided.
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