A horse without any temper nobody wants. A man without temper is no good.
Temper is a word worth study. It comes from a root that means to control and not let get away and run wild. It means to mix up in the right way so that there will not be too much of anything.
And so temper means to give a good form to, by having just enough of what makes that form.
And perhaps because heat is used to mould things and helps in mixing, temper sometimes means heat; and when that heat gets inside us it warms us. And that inside heat is good. A cold heart or mind will not do anything.
Temper is not bad.
We get a lot of good words from temper; like temperament—what your character is like; and temperature—the amount of heat in the air; and temperance—the amount of self-control you have.
Unfortunately, the heat gets often too hot. And then we are people of bad temper. And if you get too much of that, it leads to very serious trouble.
I went once to the gallows with a splendid-looking boy who did not mix things right, and got so much temper that he became a murderer!
Bad temper means lost control. To keep your temper is like riding a high mettled horse.—You have to keep firm hold of the bit.
When the present King George was Duke of York, he came to Western Canada, where I was a young minister. The people of Winnipeg gave him a great reception. The streets were lined, and flags and bunting made gay the city.