朱子四德說續論

對於四德而言,朱子的討論包含了三種分析的論述,即"從理看","從氣看","從物看"。但總起來説,應當承認,朱子的思想不斷發展出一種論述的傾向,即不再把元亨利貞僅僅理解爲理,而注重將其看作兼賅體用的流行之統體的不同階段,如將其看作元氣流行的不同階段。由於天人對應,於是對仁義禮智的理解也依照元亨利貞的模式發生變化,即仁義禮智不僅僅是性理,也被看作生氣流行的不同發作形態。這導致朱子的四德論在其後期更多地趨向"從氣看"、"從物看"、從"流行之統體"看,使得朱子的哲學世界觀不僅有理氣分析的一面,也有流行統體的一面,而後者更可顯現出朱子思想的總體方向。

Also on the Four Virtues of Zhu Xi's Moral Philosophy

For the four virtues,Zhu Xi’s discussion includes three dimensions:"seeing from li (理,the rational principles)","seeing from qi (氣,the vital forces)" and "seeing from wu (物,the matters)".But altogether Zhu Xi’s moral philosophy constantly developed a tendency that he no longer recognized yuan heng li zhen (元亨利貞) as li,but as the various stages of ti (體) and yong (用).Thus in his latter life,Zhu saw the four virtues more from the point of qi,wu and ti,which more clearly show the general tendency of his thoughts.