Philosophy Notes
Mary’s
School of Sanctity
Lesson
#38 —
Note:
When referring to a person with a choleric temperament in this
article we simply will call him “a choleric”.
In
our last lesson we briefly described the general weaknesses of a
choleric who wasn’t guarding himself and trying to love God. Thus,
he has bad will. We touched upon the fact that if a person with a
choleric temperament doesn’t guard himself and strive to love God,
he can easily slip into the weaknesses of his temperament. Here we
list again for reference the weaknesses we listed previously:
Weaknesses
of the Choleric Temperament:
-
Hardness
-
Nurtured
hatred and desire for revenge
-
Obstinacy
-
Insensibility
-
Anger
-
Pride
(includes over-confidence; criticizing others; excessive
competitiveness)
-
Ambition
-
Violence,
cruelty, and arrogance upon meeting with resistance
-
Lack
of delicacy of feeling, insensitive to the feelings of others
-
Coldness
-
Indifference
-
Impetuosity
Each
temperament has its own unique struggles and challenges in trying to
live a virtuous life. As Catholics it is important for us to
understand ourselves and others better in order to appreciate the
reality that we are indeed in the Church Militant with a formidable
enemy, Satan, who has been practicing his evil on the human race ever
since Adam’s Fall. We must get to know our own inclinations and
those of our neighbor so we can learn to love our neighbor more
perfectly. This analysis of the spiritual combat of the choleric
temperament is meant to foster such knowledge which will benefit
those with the choleric temperament as well as those who do not have
this temperament. We want to increase in charity and be able to help
our loved ones and our neighbor in general. Therefore, it is crucial
to gain as much comprehension as possible of the pitfalls each
temperament has.
With
this in mind let us see how these weaknesses of the choleric are
closely linked together and how Satan spurs the choleric on by trying
to make of the choleric a bundle of uncontrollable passions and
emotions.
Every
Temperament has its own Form of Pride. Let’s Examine the
Particular Struggle the Choleric has with Pride.
We
must face the reality that Satan hates Christ and wants all humans to
be trapped in pride as a preparation for damnation. “Never suffer
pride to reign in thy mind, or in thy words: for from it all
perdition took its beginning.” Tobias,
4:14. It is a fact that every temperament has a particular form of
pride and such pride comes in varying degrees.
Since
pride is the root of all evil, it is important to start our further
investigation of the weaknesses of the choleric by probing deeper
into his typical form of pride. As we mentioned earlier in these
lessons concerning the temperaments, not all persons of a particular
temperament are exactly alike.
Although
no two people are exactly alike, there are some tendencies to pride
that show up especially in the choleric temperament. Satan certainly
takes advantage of these inclinations in order to make a choleric
into a slave of pride. Satan knows that when a choleric is caught up
in his pride, all the other weaknesses seem to follow along as if
they were attached to this pride. The choleric’s pride shows up in
his overconfidence and ambition for fame or power. He appears to be
extremely set upon getting everyone’s attention and keeping it.
Because
all pride is blinding, the choleric can be the type of person who is
self-centered and he doesn’t even realize it.
He
doesn’t see that he has any failings. [If he does see any, he
makes light of them.] He gets upset if anyone should point out any
defect in him. On the other hand, he is apt to find faults in
everyone else. He is constantly criticizing others, whether in his
thoughts or words.
He
tends to bully others and thereby force them to do his bidding.
Because he is successful in pressuring others and getting his way, he
tends to oppress anyone who dares to go against him.
His
bullying tends to be in sharp words, insults, threats and even trying
to pressure others into feeling guilty for opposing him. He can be
very vindictive to those he views as his enemy. He can go so far as
to take revenge on others and destroy their property and their good
name.
He
can bully all those around him and get them to join him in putting
pressure on the one who is trying to oppose him (otherwise known as
ganging up on his “oppressor” and putting him in the “doghouse”),
thereby ostracizing his opponent.
A
choleric with unchecked pride can easily be despotic. In human
history there are countless examples of tyrants, and men set on
taking control of as much of the world as they could. Many famous
dictators were of the choleric temperament.
Because
the choleric is so focused on wanting to be esteemed by others, he
tends to be excessively competitive. He is often considered to be a
perfectionist and this attribute ties in with his wanting to be
viewed as if he is the best in everything. Cholerics are apt to be
in sports and other contests. Competition in itself is not bad. But
a choleric trapped in pride is so intent on winning that he makes a
very sore loser. He doesn’t take defeat well at all.
The
reader may think we are painting the worst-case scenario; yet, our
intention is to inform the choleric that he really needs to be on
high alert for his pride so he does not become an overbearing and
domineering person. In other words, if a choleric does not have
self-knowledge, he will not be aware of his own tendencies and hence
will not fight diligently against them.
In
consequence of his lack of concern about his spiritual progress, his
pride remains unchecked, and the other weaknesses of his temperament
easily latch onto his pride. He gets impatient when things do not go
his way and this naturally leads to anger.
His pride readily harbors grudges and nurses hatred
in his heart which can readily turn into forms of violence,
cruelty,
and revenge.
When he doubles-down in his pride, he is like a stubborn bull and
forms an obstinate
hardness in his
heart. His heart is cold,
insensible,
and indifferent
to the needs and/or feelings of his neighbor.
He
is likely, then, to not stop and consider what he is doing and the
many consequences of his actions. Remember, we said that this type
of choleric, who has bad will, is not on the right path. He has
become habituated to being impetuous
in his one-track
mind which is so
focused on only himself.
So,
What should a Choleric do to keep the Enemy (Pride), at Bay?
In
this section we wish to make suggestions for the choleric in a
general way. In upcoming lessons, we will get into more details of
how a choleric can curb his pride and subsequent anger as well as his
other weaknesses. Likewise, we will address how choleric men can
best help themselves and in turn, how choleric women can guard
themselves against their dangerous inclinations, too.
Self-knowledge
is a gift from God and we must pray to acquire this gift.
1)
Pray for
self-knowledge.
Pray hard for humility and to be receptive to the insights and
observations of others, especially when they point out your
failings/defects.
2)
Mistrust
yourself. Seek
advice from others often! Do not presume that you are right in your
thinking or opinions. Remind yourself that you have so much to
learn.
3)
Try to put
yourself in other people’s shoes.
This is so helpful in order to draw yourself away from inordinate
self-love and self-centeredness.
4)
Work hard on
meekness. Endeavor
to study Our Lord Jesus Christ and the way He acted in the Gospels.
Meditating on the life of Christ is so very crucial for a choleric.
Search to see how gentle and selfless Christ was during His whole
earthly life. Ask yourself constantly, “How would He handle this
situation?
5)
Work hard on
becoming selfless. This
is not impossible and you must keep Our Meek and Humble Lord and
Shepherd of souls in your mind. Remember, He is the model for us
Catholics to follow, including cholerics, who tend to be rather
high-strung, fast-moving leaders. Cholerics must learn to be
followers of Our Lord who is their Shepherd and Leader.
6)
Work especially
on becoming a deeper thinker. Look
at life as a means to know God better, and this includes diligently
thinking things through to be sure you are doing God’s Will and not
your own.
What
can Non-Choleric People do to help a Choleric with Bad Will to Master
Himself and to Fight Pride?
Again,
our attempt in this section of our current lesson is to list some
general suggestions of how to help the choleric. We will get into
more specifics in future lessons when we are setting out more details
of how the choleric can help himself (with God’s assistance, of
course!).
1)
Pray for him.
A choleric of bad will can be heavy-handed and difficult to bear;
however, as we pray for the necessary patience in dealing with him,
we must not forget to pray for the choleric himself.
2).
Offer up the
cross of bearing with the bad-willed choleric.
In addition to prayer for the conversion of this type of choleric,
it is God’s Will that we offer up the suffering caused by the
choleric for the choleric’s salvation. In this way, we can not
only bear the cross better, but also we can gain merit from this
God-sent cross.
3)
Do not give in to
him. Choleric
pressure can be intense but it is so
important not
to let him get his way when he is trying to bully people.
4)
Be meek to him.
Again, as difficult as this may seem to be, it is highly important
for him to see Christ in you so he can learn to be more Christ-like.
5)
Help him when
circumstances allow.
[That is when the bad-willed choleric becomes more receptive.] This
is an additional way to show him Christ-like charity by helping the
bad-willed choleric to become reasonable. Help him to see his false
reasoning.
6)
Remind yourself
that you have to save your own soul.
As Our Lord tells us to be careful to remove the beam in our own
eyes before attempting to remove the mote in our neighbor’s eye, we
must remain calm and have peace of soul while we work diligently on
our salvation. We must remember that helping other souls is
primarily God’s work, and we are simply His instruments when He
allows us to benefit others. Watch and pray for the circumstances to
be favorable to help the choleric, for example, when he becomes more
receptive.
A
Preview …
In
our next lesson we will discuss more ways a choleric can be on the
alert for his pride and how to master his pride. In addition to
this, we will begin to discuss the associated weaknesses, such as,
anger and how a choleric can better understand how this passion works
in him. In this way he can use this passion properly and avoid
further harm to his soul.