XXIII. Karmic Law as Outcome of Active Life. Causes of Sickness and Heredity

We all know the temperaments. A choleric with his strong will and the desire to do a great many things which is apparent even in childhood, wants to dominate, to set the tone. He is courageous, bold, keen to act. Napoleon, Caesar and Hannibal were cholerics. A melancholic child will isolate himself, on the other hand; he is distrustful, would really like to keep all his things under lock and key, and when his friends leave the house he'll check that they have not taken anything with them. He concentrates on himself. This is a contemplative individual, not a man of action. A phlegmatic child shows no particular interest. He will go into anything, in a way, but nothing makes much of an impression on him. He is a dreamer, inactive, seeking to gratify his senses. Someone with a sanguine temperament will take an interest in something, but this will not last and soon be gone. However, we cannot classify people according to the different temperaments.