333. 'He was sanguine of complexion.' The old school of medicine, following
Galen, supposed that there were four 'humours,' viz. hot, cold, moist, and
dry (see l. 420), and four complexions or temperaments of men, viz. the
sanguine, the choleric, the phlegmatic, and the melancholy. The man of
sanguine complexion abounded in hot and moist humours, as shown in the
following description, given in the Oriel MS. 79 (as quoted in my Preface
to P. Plowman, B-text, p. xix):-- [33]
'_Sanguineus._
Largus, amans, hilaris, ridens, rubeique coloris,
Cantans, carnosus, satis audax, atque benignus:
multum appetit, quia calidus; multum potest, quia humidus.'