It is argued that the temperature concept has a richer theoretical basis than is generally appreciated. The importance of an absolute comparative concept of temperature is emphasized. A set of necessary and sufficient conditions for the existence and metricization of the temperature quantity is examined. It is shown that these conditions are all consequences of the laws of thermodynamics together with a number of ancillary thermodynamic assumptions. The absolute comparative concept of temperature as well as the absolute scale are introduced without employing the concept of a thermometer. The general notion of a thermometer is introduced as an addendum to thermodynamics.