Sanguine Temperament. A person of sanguine temperament reacts quickly and strongly to almost any stimulation or impression, but the reaction is usually of short duration. The stimulation or impression is quickly forgotten, and the remembrance of past experiences does not easily arouse a new response.

Among the good qualities of the sanguine temperament, we may list the following: affability and cheerfulness; sympathy and generosity toward others; sensitivity and compassion for the sufferings of others; docility, sincerity, and spontaneity. There may at times be a vehement reaction to injuries received, but all is soon forgotten and no rancor remains. Others are attracted by the individual's goodness of heart and contagious enthusiasm.

Sanguine persons usually have a serene view of life and are optimists. They are gifted with a great deal of common sense and a practical approach to life; they tend to idealize rather than criticize. Since they possess an affectionate nature, they make friends easily and sometimes love their friends with great ardor or even passion. Their intellects are alert, and they learn quickly, although often without much depth. Their memory dwells on pleasant and optimistic things, and their imagination is active and creative. Consequently, they readily excel in art, oratory, and the related fields, though they do not often attain the stature of the learned or the scholars. Sanguine persons could be superior types of individuals if they possessed as much depth as they do facility, and if they were as tenacious in their work as they are productive of new ideas and projects.

But each temperament will also be characterized by certain defects or predispositions to evil. The principal defects of the sanguine temperament are superficiality, inconstancy, and sensuality. The first defect is due primarily to their immediate perception of ideas and situations, their retentive memory, and the creative activity of their imagination. While they appear to grasp in an instant even the most difficult problem or subject, they sometimes see it only superficially and incompletely. As a result, they run the risk of hasty judgments, of acting with insufficient reason, and of formulating inaccurate or false conclusions. They are more interested in breadth of knowledge than depth.

The inconstancy of sanguine persons is the result of the short duration of their impressions and reactions. They may pass quickly from joy to sorrow. They quickly repent of their sins but may return to them on the first occasion that presents itself. Being readily moved by the impression of the moment, they easily succuмb to temptation. As a rule they abandon any effort that is of long duration. They have. great difficulty in observing custody of the external senses and the imagination and are easily distracted in prayer. Their occasional periods of great fervor are often followed by discouragement or indifference.

From the foregoing it follows that sensuality finds easy access to the sanguine temperament. Such persons are often victims of gluttony and lust. They may react strongly and with great sorrow after they have fallen, but they lack the energy and perseverance to fight against the inclinations of the flesh when the passions are again aroused. The entire organism is quickly alerted when the occasion is offered for sensual pleasure, and the strong tendency of the individual to sensuality causes the imagination to produce such phantasms very easily.

Sanguine persons should utilize their good qualities, such as energy, affection, vivacity, and sensitivity, but they should take care that these qualities are directed to objects that are good and wholesome. For them more than others the advice of St. Augustine has special significance: "Choose wisely and then love with all your heart."

To overcome superficiality they will acquire the habit of reflection and of thinking a matter through before they 'act. Against their inconstancy they will strengthen their will to carry through resolutions that have been made and be faithful in the practice of prayer and the performance of good works, even in periods of ~ aridity or in times of hardship and difficulty. Lastly, sensuality can be combatted by constant vigilance and immediate flight from the occasions of sin, custody of the external senses and the imagination, the practice of recollection, and practices of mortification.