temperatio

Latin · noun

Edited by: Kierán Meinhardt
Last edited: 2025-01-20

Meanings

1. temperament

2. phase

Literal translation

temperament

1. temperament

1.a temperament

Cum enim ignitis sideribus aliorum siderum fuerit frigus oppositum, et frigoris glacies igniti ardoris fuerit flagrantia temperata, mixtura etiam temperationis efficitur.

‘For when the coldness of other stars is opposite fiery stars, and the burning of the fire is lessened by the ice of the coldness, this leads to a mixture of temperaments.’

— Firmicus Maternus, Mathesis 8.32.1

Genre: astrological compendium Provenance: Sicily Date: ca. 334 CE

Firmicus Maternus. 1897. Ivlii Firmici Materni Matheseos Libri VIII, ed. W. Kroll, F. Skutsch. Stuttgart: B. G. Teubner. 2.359

2. phase

2.a phase lunar phenomenon

... si haec non vis et natura gignentium efficeret, sed temperatio lunae caelique moderatio.

‘... if the characteristics of children were determined, not by the natural power of heredity, but by the phases of the moon and by the condition of the sky.’

— Cicero, De Divinatione 2.45

Genre: philosophy Provenance: Rome Date: 44 BC

Cicero. On Old Age. On Friendship. On Divination. Translated by W. A. Falconer. Loeb Classical Library 154. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1923. 478-479

Cite this entry

APA (7th)

Meinhardt, K. (2025). temperatio (Lemma #1541). The ZODIAC Glossary: A Cross-Cultural Glossary of Ancient Astral Science. https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/1541/

Chicago (Author-Date)

Meinhardt, K. (2025). temperatio (Lemma #1541). The ZODIAC Glossary: A Cross-Cultural Glossary of Ancient Astral Science. https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/1541/

MLA (9th)

Meinhardt, K. (2025). temperatio (Lemma #1541). The ZODIAC Glossary: A Cross-Cultural Glossary of Ancient Astral Science. https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/1541/

Harvard

Meinhardt, K. (2025) temperatio (Lemma #1541), The ZODIAC Glossary: A Cross-Cultural Glossary of Ancient Astral Science. Available at: https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/1541/ (Accessed: July 4, 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{zodiac1541,
	note = {[Online; accessed 2026-07-04]},
	author = {Meinhardt, Kierán},
	year = {2025},
	title = {temperatio ({Lemma} #1541)},
	url = {https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/1541/},
	howpublished = {https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/1541/},
}