There were four humours derived from various bodily secretions which, it was felt, determined the different types of personality:

You might be:

1. Sanguine (based on blood), which meant you were amorous, happy, and generous.

2. Choleric (from yellow bile), which made you violent and vengeful.

3. Phlegmatic (from phlegm), so you were dull, pale, and cowardly.

4. Melancholic (from black bile), which made you gluttonous, lazy, and sentimental.

And of course the wide range of human types was accounted for by the fact that you could have varying amounts of each of the humours which would then have varying effects on a person’s behavior.

Naturally, enlightened practitioners of modern medicine no longer set much (or any) store by such a primitive system of analysis.

Still, it occurred to us that the basic approach has some value, especially in this time of rapid social, philosophical, commercial, political, and religious change brought by the wonders of the computer, and especially the Internet. Many of us, it seems, wander through the digital woods not quite knowing where we are, which way’s up, and where we belong.

With that need in mind, we have created a brief personality assessment test to aid our readers in finding their place in the digital sun. The test requires answers to only ten questions and a little work with an analytical diagram. When you’re finished, we think you’ll find you have attained new insight into the new Cyber-world and your position in it.