temper 
cane-juice, to neutralize the excess of acid. 
Good temper, freedom from passion or irritability ; good 
Mtu?e -Out Of temper, in bad temper; irritated. - 
To keep one's temper, to avoid becoming angry or irri- 
tated ; control one's temper. 
But easier 'tis to learn how Bets to lay 
Than how to keen your Temper while you play. 
Gangrene, tr. of Ovid's Art of Love, in. 
To lose one's temper, to become angry, 
tempera (tem'pe-ra), . [It.: see temper.] In 
painting, same as distemper 2 . 
Tempera, or Distemper, is a method of painting In which 
solid pigments are employed, mixed with a water medium 
in which some kind of gum or gelatinous substance is 
6222 
the "wolf" among nil the tones of the instrument, so that 
the only intervals exactly true are octaves. Modulation, 
therefore, is made equally free in all directions ; but, on 
the other hand, all chords are more or less out of tune. 
The benefits of the system in the way of providing a sim- 
ple keyboard for music in many tonalities are largely 
counterbalanced by the constant deterioration of the sense 
of pure intonation on the part of those who use instru- 
ments tuned in this compromise temperament. This un- 
mistakable disadvantage, reinforced by the fact that key- 
board-instruments are much used in conjunction with the 
voice and with instruments of free intonation, like the 
temperately 
It (the island) must needs be of subtle, tender, and ileli- 
eate temperance. Shak., Tempest, ii. 1. 4-'. 
Temperance hotel, a hotel in which no Intoxicating 
liquors are supplied to the guests or kept for sale. Tem- 
perance movement, a social or political movement hav- 
ing for its object the restriction or abolition of the use of 
alcoholic liquors as beverages. - Temperance society, 
an association formed for the purpose of suppressing 
drunkenness. The basis on which these associations have 
been formed has been that of an engagement on the part 
of each member to abstain from the excessive or habitual 
use of intoxicating liquors. But, since the most strictly 
violin, in which a just temperament is to be expected, has , imite(t U8e of intoxicants as beverages is condemned by 
led to many new experiments with keyboards of more m 
than twelve digitals to the octave, but without any result 
suitable lor general adoption. Temperaments are some- 
times known by various technical names, usually desig- 
iaid patches of stucco. Encyc. Brit., XXIII. 157. 
temperable (tem'per-a-bl), . [< temper + 
-able..] Capable of being tempered. 
Do not the constructive fingers of Watt, Fulton, Whitte- 
more Arkwright predict the fusible, hard, and temper- 
able texture of metals? Emerson, History. 
temperament (tem'per-a-ment), n. [< F. tem- 
perament = Sp. Pg.lt. temper am euto, <L. tem- 
peramentum, due proportion, proper measure, 
< temperare, modify, proportion: see temper.'] 
1. State with respect to the relative propor- 
iy social reformers, this name has been very generally 
applied to, or assumed by, associations which are more 
correctly designated total-abstinence societies. = Syn. 1. (a) 
Abstinence, Sobriety, etc. See abstemiousness. 
temnerancvt (tem'per-an-si), H. [As 
HH CU'lHIllffltl', .M'/KVf (i;, KL^. \sii\jmi. i\j " uji*wt* wu*u>v.*. w****w*. B*wf i \ r 
ament a temperament which in its typical forms presents ance (see -cy}.\ lemperance. 
a swarthy complexion, dark hair and eyes, well developed temperantt " [ME. "temperant, temporai(nt,< 
musculature, strength of vital organs, and strong passions (\y f fm ...,,.,, 
with tenacity of purpose. Lymphatic temperament, 
a temperament which in its typical forms presents a pallid 
skin flabby muscles, and sluggishness of vital, voluntary, 
and mental action. Nervous temperament, a temper- 
ament which in its typical forms presents delicate fea- 
tures, frequent quick pulse, irritability of vital functions, 
and alertness of mind and body. Sanguine tempera- 
ment, a temperament which in its typical forms presents 
a brilliant complexion, activity of the circulation and r 
To set the temperament. See set*, v. t. 
of various qualities. 
The common law has wasted and wrought out those 
distempers, and reduced the kingdom to its just state and 
temperament. Sir M. Hale. 
perament. 
Men are not to the same degree temperamented, for there 
are multitudes of men who live to object* quite out of them, 
as to politics, to trade, to letters or an art, unhindered by 
any influence of constitution. Emergon, Woman. 
2. That individual peculiarity of physical or- temperamental (tem'per-a-men'tal), a. [< 
ganization by which the manner of acting, temperament + -at.] Of or 'pertaining to tern- 
feeline. and thinking of every person is per- ,,,,,* 
feeling, and thinking of every person is per- 
manently affected: as, a phlegmatic tempera- 
ment; a sanguine temperament; the artistic tem- 
perament. Certain temperamental types have long been 
recognized (see the phrases below); they may serve the 
purposes of description, but do not represent any very 
well marked natural groups. 
perament. 
few overcome their temperamental inclinations. 
Sir T. Emmie, Christ. Mor., iii. 22. 
Undoubtedly there is a temperamental courage, a war- 
like blood, which loves a tight, does not feel itself except 
in a quarrel, as one sees in wasps, or ants, or cocks, or cats. 
Emerson, Courage. 
3. A middle course or an arrangement reached temt)eramen t a ll v (tem'per-a-men'tal-i), adv. of "the appe't'ites or 'desires' ; abstemious; sober; conti 
by mutual concession, as by a tempering of ex- g t ^ ra ., eramell t; as regards temperament. The 
treme claims on either side; adjustment of con- Ceninr \. X X 89 
flicting influences, as passions, interests, or doc- tempera ' nce (tern'per-ans), n. [Early mod. E. 
trines, or the means by which such adjustment * temt)eraunce < ME. temperance, < OF. tern- If he be insatiable in plunder and revenge, shall we pass 
:~ n tf n 4- n .l . nj-vn.rtTviic,a -../. T- j if HW hpr>atiae in meat and drink he is te mperate ? 
ley and Milton. 
OF. temperant, F. i< mperant = Sp. It. temperante 
= Pg. temperante,< L. tcmperan(t-)s, ppr. of tem- 
perare, moderate, temper: see temper, temper- 
ate.] Moderate; temperate. 
Northwarde in places hote, in places colde 
Southward, and temporannt in Est and West. 
Palladiuf, Husbondric (E. E. T. S.), p. 5. 
[< ME. temperate = 
perado, < L. temperatus, pp. of temperare: see 
temper. Cf. tempre.] 1. Moderate; showing 
moderation; not excessive, lavish, or inordi- 
nate. 
And what you fancy to bestow on him, 
Be not too lavish, use a temperate bounty. 
B. Jonson, Staple of News, ii. 
Let not the government of the plantation depend upon 
too many counsellors and undertakers in the country that 
planteth but upon a temperate number. 
Bacon, Plantations (ed. 1887). 
Rain-scented eglantine 
Gave temperate sweets to that well-wooing Sun. 
Keatx, Endymion, i. 
In these [early French Pointed capitals] alone is perfect 
structural adaptation joined with the highest and most 
temperate grace. C. H. Moore, Gothic A rchitecture, p. 208. 
More especially () Moderate as regards the Indulgence 
of the appetites or desires; abstemious; sober- 
nent : as, temperate in eating ; temperate habits. 
He that is temperate fleeth pleasures voluptuous. 
Sir T. Elyot, The Governour, iii. 1!>. 
is effected; compromise. 
I forejudge not any probable expedient, any tempera- 
ment that can be found in things of this nature, so dis- 
putable on either side. Milton, Free Commonwealth. 
Auricular confession . . . was left to each man's discre- 
reformers would have done well to adopt in some other 
points. llattam, Const. Hist. , I. 88. 
4f- Condition as to heat or cold ; temperature. 
Bodies are denominated hot and cold in proportion to 
the present temperament of that part of our body to which 
they are applied. Locke, Elem. of Nat. Phil., xi. 
Madeira is a fertile island, and theditferent heights and 
situations among its mountains afford such temperaments 
of air that all the fruits of northern and southern coun- 
tries are produced there. 
B. Franklin, Autobiography, p. 313. 
5. In music, the principle or system of tuning 
in accordance with which the tones of an in- 
strument of fixed intonation are tuned, or those 
of the voice or of an instrument of free into- 
nation are modulated in a given case. The rela- 
tive pitch of the tones of an ideal scale may be fixed with 
mathematical precision. An instrument tuned so as to 
produce such a scale, or a voice or instrument using the 
intervals of such a scale, is said to be tuned or modulated 
in pure or just temperament. So long as these tones only 
are used, no further adjustment is necessary. But if mod- 
ulation be attempted, so that some other tone than the 
original one becomes the key-note, one or more intercalary 
tones are required, and the relative pitch of some of the 
original tones has to be altered. To fit an instrument for 
varied modulations, therefore, either a large number of 
separate tones must be provided for, or the pitch of some 
of them must be slightly modified, so that a single tone may 
serve equally well for either of two or more tones whose 
pitches are theoretically different. This subject is neces- 
sarily of great practical importance in the construction 
of keyboard-instruments, like the pianoforte and the or- 
gan. Until comparatively recently such instruments were 
tuned in mean-tone or mesotonic temperament, so called 
because based on the use of a standard whole step or 
mean tone, which is an interval half-way between a greater 
and a less major second (see second*, step, and tone*). This 
standard was applied to the tuning of twelve digitals to 
the octave namely, C, CJ, D, Efe, E, F, FJf, G, GJ, A, B|j, 
and B ; and provided for harmonious effects only in the 
keys (tonalities) of C, D, F, G, A, and Bfr major, and of D, 
G, and A minor. Other tonalities presented an intolerable 
deviation from pure temperament, which was called the 
"wolf." As the demand for greater freedom of modula- 
tion increased, various plans were tried for using more 
than twelve digitals to the octave, or for distributing the 
" wolf " more equally. The result of the latter effort is 
the system of equal or even temperament, first advocated 
by J. S. Bach early in the eighteenth century, though not 
universally adopted until the middle of the nineteenth cen- 
tury, in which the standard interval is the mean semitone 
that is, the twelfth part of an octave. This distributes 
temprance, F. temperance = Pr. tem- 
= Sp. tcmplanza, temperancia = Pg. tem- 
i = It. tempranza, < L. temperantia, mod- 
eration, sobriety, < temperan(t-)s, ppr. of tern- 
it by because 1 
Moderation; the observance of moderation; 
temperateness. 
True sentiment is emotion ripened by a slow ferment of 
the mind and qualified to an agreeable temperance by that 
taste which is the conscience of polite society. 
Lowell, Among my Books, 1st ser., p. 366. 
Particularly (a) Habitual moderation in regard to the 
indulgence of the natural appetites and passions; restrain- 
ed or moderate indulgence ; abstinence from all violence 
or excess, from inordinate or unseasonable indulgence, 
or from the use or pursuit of anything injurious to moral 
or physical well-being ; sobriety ; frugality : as, temper- 
ance in eating and drinking ; temperance in the indul- 
gence of joy or grief; in a narrower sense, moderation in 
the use of alcoholic liquors, as beverages ; or, in a still 
narrower sense as used by its advocates, entire abstinence 
from such liquors : in this sense also used attributively : 
as, a temperance society ; a temperance hotel ; a temperance 
lecture. 
If thou well observe 
The rule of Not too much ; by temperance taught, 
In what thou eat'st and drink'st ; seeking from thence 
Due nourishment, not gluttonous delight ; . . . 
So mayst thou live ; till, like ripe fruit, thou drop 
Into thy mother's lap. Milton, P. L., xi. 531. 
When the Chaldean Monarchy fell, the Persians, who 
were the sword in God's right hand, were eminent for no- 
thing more than their great temperance and frugality. 
StillingJIeet, Sermons, I. x. 
Many a day did he fast, many a year did he refrain from 
wine ; but when he did eat, it was voraciously ; when he 
did drink wine, it was copiously. He could practise ab- 
stinence, but not temperance. 
Bosmll, Johnson, March, 1781. 
(6) Moderation of passion ; self-restraint ; self-control ; 
calmness. 
And calmd his wrath with goodly temperance. 
Spenser, F. Q., I. viii. 34. 
In the very torrent, tempest, and, as I may say, the 
whirlwind of passion, you must acquire and beget a tem- 
perance, that may give it smoothness. 
Shak., Hamlet, iii. 2. 8. 
2f. The act of tempering or mixing; tempera- 
ment. 
The . . . mutuall coniunctlon and lust temperaunce of 
. . . two studyes. Sir T. Elyot, The Governour, iii. 24. 
3f. Moderate degree of temperature; 
state. 
(6) Not violent or extravagant in the use of language ; 
calm ; measured ; dispassionate : as, a temperate discourse. 
The sentence of the board of generals which condemned 
Andre remains, and no document could be more temperate 
or better reasoned. Lecky, Eng. in 18th Cent., xiv. 
2. Not swayed by passion; calm; self-con- 
tained; self -restrained ; not extreme in opin- 
ions. 
Whanne the Sowdon had hard hym euery dele, 
Withynne a while he was right temperate. 
Generydes(E. E. T. S.), 1. 1661. 
The temperate man deliteth in nothynge contrarye to 
reason. Sir T. Elyot, The Governour, iii. 20. 
Who can be wise, amazed, temperate and furious, 
Loyal and neutral in a moment? 
Shak., Macbeth, ii. 3. 114. 
Peace, lady ! pause, or be more temperate. 
Shak., K. John, ii. 1. 195. 
3. Proceeding from temperance ; moderate. 
He [Richard Baxter] belonged to the mildest and most 
temperate section of the Puritan body. 
X aca ulay, Hist, Eng., iv. 
4. Moderate in respect of temperature ; not lia- 
ble to excessive heat or cold; mild; specifical- 
ly, noting certain zones of the earth's surface. 
When temperate heat offends not with extremes. 
Dekker and Ford, Sun's Darling, iv. 1. 
They said they came to an Island of a very temperate 
Air, where they look'd upon it as the greatest Indecency 
in the World to cover their Bodies. 
If. Bailey, tr. of Colloquies of Erasmus, I. 370. 
5. In music, same as tempered Temperate 
zones, the parts of the earth lying between the tropics 
and the polar circles, where the climate is cooler than 
between the tropics and warmer than within the polar 
circles. The north temperate zone is the space included 
between the tropic of Cancer and the arctic circle ; and the 
south temperate zone, that between the tropic of Capricorn 
and the antarctic circle. See zone. =Syn. 1-4. Moderate, 
Temperate. See moderate. 
temperatet (tem'per-at), v. t. [< L. temperatus. 
pp. of temperare, modify, temper : see temper, r. | 
To temper; moderate. 
In heaven and earth this power beauty hath 
It inflames temperance, and temp'rates wrath. 
ilarston and Barksted, Insatiate Countess, i. 
equal Sometimes temperated by the comfortable winds, to 
which it lies open. Sandys, Travailes, p. 178. 
And in your bed lye not to hote nor to colde, but in a temperately (tem'per-at-li), cidr. In a tomper- 
temparaunce. Babees Book (E. E. T. S.), p. 246. ate manner O r degree.' (a) Moderately ; not exces- 
4f. Temperature. sively. 
