TEMPER, in a moral sense, the disposition of mind, whether natural or acquired. The word is seldom used by good writers without an epithet, as a good or bad temper; though one of the most beautiful poems in the language is entitled The Triumphs of Temper.
It is well observed by an elegant assayer, that more constant uneasiness arises from ill temper than from ill fortune; as a bad temper embitters every sweet, and converts a paradise into a place of torment. For subduing the heart to softness, and preserving a due balance of the passions, a proper culture of the understanding and of the taste is the best method. He who employs