Four Evangelists

"To hazard a guess, we would propose that Matthew is choleric, Luke the relationship-oriented sanguine, Mark the straight story, simple and unadorned (phlegmatic), and John (the truth will set you free; the only Gospel where Christ carries the cross alone, the most poetic and mystical of all four gospels) –idealistic, melancholic."

Understanding Temperament - The Primary Building Block of Life

Christian tradition has long connected the authors of the four canonical Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John) with the four "living creatures" that surround God's throne, as described inRev 4:7, in the following pairs:

Early Christian Author	Human/Angel	Lion	Ox	Eagle
St. Irenaeus of Lyons	Matthew	John	Luke	Mark
St. Augustine of Hippo	Mark	Matthew	Luke	John
Pseudo-Athanasius	Matthew	Luke	Mark	John
St. Jerome	Matthew	Mark	Luke	John