UNDERSTANDING TEMPERAMENTS SECTION OF J.H.CLARKE’S CLINICAL REPERTORY
Introduction:
Understanding of Temperaments, Constitution, Diathesis and Disposition have always been a vital part of Homoeopathic Practice. Case taking makes us understand the individual’s constitution, temperament, diathesis and disposition .There are many homoeopaths who included Temperaments and constitution section in their Repertory, one among them is Clarke’s Clinical Repertory, which has Temperaments section, with careful use of this section in Homoeopathic practice the process of individualization can be done with ease.
Title of the Temperament section in Clarke’s Clinical Repertory- REPERTORY OF TEMPERAMENTS, DISPOSITIONS , CONSTITUTIONS AND STATES
Construction of Temperament Section of J.H.Clarke’s Clinical Repertory:
• The third part of the repertory is dedicated to Temperaments under the title “Repertory of Temperaments, Dispositions, Constitutions and States
• In this section, the remedies given are those which have been found to act beneficially in certain types of persons, temperaments, gender and age. There are also included complaints and conditions of particular types of persons and constitutions. In the Clarke’s Dictionary of Material Medica, these are described in the section Characteristics under the description “Suited to”
• This section has alphabetically arranged Rubrics, starting from ‘Abdomen, coldness of, icy, Children with’ and ends in ‘Zealous persons’
• The special feature of this section is, all remedies present here are of same grade
• Rubrics are given in bold letters
• Cross references for some rubrics are given in brackets as ‘(see also……)’, Example-
Tense fibre – Nux (see also fibre)
• Some drugs are mentioned in brackets against few rubrics indicates that these drugs are not found in Clarke’s Materia Medica
• The letter ‘x’ is used to indicate acid group remedies, Example- Ph.x- Phosphoric Acid
Understanding Temperaments through Rubrics:
Temperament is a person’s nature and a pattern of behaviour. All types of Temperaments have their own pattern of behaviour, such behavioural traits are present in this repertory as rubrics, here an attempt has been made to assign all some of the rubrics into their respective Temperaments
1. Sanguine Temperament Rubrics
• Excitable
• Excitement
• Full blooded persons
• Jovial
• Laughter, easily moved to
• Over excitement
• Entertaining persons
• Sanguine
• Irresolute temperament
• Lively
2. Choleric Temperament Rubrics
• Angry, excited persons inclined to get
• Ardent persons
• Bad temper
• Business and professional men, worn out
• Irascible persons
• Keen intellect
• Quick perception
• Rapidity in execution
• Tedious, Labours, patient, nervous and excitable
• Zealous persons
3. Melancholic Temperament Rubrics
• Fear, terror and timidity
• Fearful persons
• Hopeless and Despondent
• Grief, persons affected by
• Mistrustful
• Nature, sensitive
• Sad disposition
• Sadness, tendency to
• Timid persons
• Tears, easily moved
4. Phlegmatic Temperament Rubrics
• Chronic ailments of sedentary persons
• Intellect, dullness of
• Labor, disinclination
• Laziness, tendency to
• Lazy persons
• Mind and body torpidity of
• Slow perception
• Sedentary habits, persons of
• Submissive
• Torpid, slow constitution
Other Rubrics on Temperaments
• Bilious temperament
• Nervous
• Sanguine or Nervo – Sanguine Temperament
• Temperament (main rubric)
DISPOSITIONS :
Although there is no distinct division in this section for disposition, there are rubrics dedicated to it.
Disposition is a person’s inherent qualities of mind and character or it is the predominant or prevailing tendency of one’s mental, physical and emotional outlook.
Here are some rubrics of this section belonging to disposition
• Disposition- which is a main rubric,has Sub-rubrics, starting from Affectionate to Yielding (alphabetically arranged )
• Gay Disposition
• Gentle Disposition
• Malicious, Spiteful Disposition
• Tenacious, Irascible Disposition
• Religious Monomania, Disposed to
• Chilliness, Disposition to
• Cold abdomen, Disposition to take
• Hair, dark, disposition
• Hair, dark, women especially, with disposed to stoop
CONSTITUTIONS :
Constitution is person’s physical and mental make-up which is revealed through his/her physical built, characteristic desires, aversions and reactions as well as emotional and intellectual attributes.
In this section the rubrics are not divided as per Grauvogl classification of constitution, hence an attempt has been made to identify rubrics through Grauvogl’s constitutions
Hydrogenoid Constitution Rubrics
• Over drain of the system
• Dropsical affections
• Catarrhal troubles
• Lymphatic children
• Leucophlegmatic
Oxygenoid constitution Rubrics
• Pale children
• Plethoric
• Anemia
• Apoplectic
• Destructive tendency
• Blueness of skin
Carbo-nitrogenoid Constitution Rubrics
• Carbo-nitrogenoid constitutions
• Nutrition, defective
• Old looking children
• Undernourished states
• Chagrin
• Wrinkled skin
There is a direct rubric ‘Constitution’ in this section and also many other rubrics defining the physical attributes like hair, skin, tall, black haired people, bloated persons, black eyed people, fat children, flabby, fair children, etc…….
STATES:
States here define the condition or mode of living, with regards to circumstances and stages of life.
Rubrics Related to States are
• Childbed
• Climaxis
• Ladies, old maiden
• Pregnant women
• Puberty, Girls at
• Boys, Little Affections of
• Bachelors, old
• Old people, etc……
There are many rubrics in this section devoted to ailments of various stages of life
CONCLUSION :
Understanding of the TEMPERAMENTS section of Clarke’s Clinical Repertory will improve the skills of Homoeopathic case taking and case solving. An attempt has been made here to simplify the understanding of components of case solving through assigning the rubrics into various temperaments, constitutions and dispositions.
BY
DR. Supriya
MD part 2, GHMC Bengaluru.
