38
Appendix A
Humour
Original Meaning
The word harks back to ancient Greek theory and early Middle-Ages English when health, disease and emotion were associated with 'wet' qualities of the body.
An oversupply of any one of the 'Four Humours' should not dominate a person's state of being. The 'Four Humours' and the results of 'oversupplies' were said to be:
(1) Blood - over-passionate
(2) Yellow bile (choler) - quick tempered and irascible
(3) Phlegm - dull and droopy
(4) Black bile - gloomy and dejected, melancholy
When a person had an excess of any of the above he or she was said to be ‘in a humour'.
The last of the Four Humours, ‘black bile,' could be dispelled, so it was believed, by laughter. This is how the English word, 'humour,' developed.
Interestingly the above theory, which was practised in the West until the early 19th century, is strikingly similar to the traditional Chinese medical theory that is still practised today. Nevertheless, the two theories are said to have developed quite independently.
With the Chinese, for example, the dualism of Yin and Yang are taken into account and disequilibrium of the 'Five Humours,' the 'Five Viscera' (heart, liver, stomach, lungs, kidneys), represents disease.
Maintaining the body in equilibrium includes, according to Chinese practice, eating a balanced diet. One should not eat an excess of
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38
Appendix A
Humour
Original Meaning
The word harks back to ancient Greek theory and early Middle- Ages English when health, disease and emotion were associated with 'wet' qualities of the body.
An oversupply of any one of the 'Four Humours' should not domi- nate a person's state of being. The 'Four Humours' and the results of 'oversupplies' were said to be:
(1) Blood
over-passionate
(2) Yellow bile (choler)
quick tempered and irascible
(3) Phlegm dull and droopy
(4) Black bile gloomy and dejected, melancholy
When a person had an excess of any of the above he or she was said to be ‘in a humour'.
The last of the Four Humours, ‘black bile,' could be dispelled, so it was believed, by laughter. This is how the English word, 'humour,' developed.
Interestingly the above theory, which was practised in the West until the early 19th century, is strikingly similar to the traditional Chi- nese medical theory that is still practised today. Nevertheless, the two theories are said to have developed quite independently.
With the Chinese, for example, the dualism of Yin and Yang are taken into account and disequilibrium of the 'Five Humours,' the 'Five Viscera' (heart, liver, stomach, lungs, kidneys), represents disease.
Maintaining the body in equilibrium includes, according to Chi- nese practice, eating a balanced diet. One should not eat an excess of
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