《格致余论》云∶阳常有余，阴常不足；气常有余，血常不足。盖有余之阳气者，非直
指心经之元阳也，诸火之谓也。夫火有二∶心为君火，五行正一之火也；三焦为相火，诸动邪妄
之火也。凡一有动，相火随之而燔，烧烁真阴，竭枯精髓。经云∶壮水之主，以制阳光，此之
谓也。又曰∶形不足者，温之以气；精不足者，补之以味。温也者，温养其气而调和之，以静
胜夫动也。经曰∶劳者温之。是以味也者，药味也。经曰∶阴之所生，
本在五味。可见补阴一方，人人之所必用，自壮至老，而不可缺焉者也。丹溪曰∶因火而成
疾者，十有八九；不因火而成疾者，百无一二。故夫火乃无根之物，人之一身五脏六腑无所不
有。惟阴盛可以制伏之。赵继宗谓∶阴本不足，故不必补；补不足者，而至于有余，则反有太
过之害。吁！赵亦未之思耳。助不给，补不足，理之自然；实其实，虚其虚，医之深弊。危而
不持，颠而不扶，则将焉用彼相矣？经曰∶诸寒之而热者取之阴。所以责其阴之不足，则虚火
乘之而起，精血津液皆为之枯涸，而梦遗淋浊、虚劳内热之证作矣。治法责其无水，当以补阴
之剂，与夫养血调中，滋阴降火之属。又云∶补肾者，不必齐以寒。强肾之阴，热之犹可。此固
未尝胶于知柏之补阴，而当识其有为知柏之君者，斯可矣。不然，多见苦寒伤胃，执一无权，
身且不保，而欲望其有子也，乌可得乎？是则滋阴之剂，故虽无恙，而亦可以常服矣，所谓缓
则治其本也。兼夫澄心息虑，以温养之，多服健干斑龙等剂。而于子也，殆必欲之则至，其如
视诸掌乎。夫何人多不察，妄信轻根据，顿服辛热香燥助阳之药，适与以火济火，援石拯溺，抱
薪救焚斯何异矣？高明君子，幸其鉴之。
《格致余论》中说：阳气常常有余，阴气常常不足；气常常有余，血常常不足。这里所说的“有余的阳气”，并非单指心经的元阳，而是泛指各种“火”。火分为两种：心属于君火，是五行中正一的火；三焦属于相火，是各种因妄动而产生的邪火。只要有一点妄动，相火就会随之燃烧，灼烧真阴，耗竭精髓。医经说：“壮水之主，以制阳光”，说的就是这个道理。又说：“形体不足的，用气来温养；精气不足的，用味来补益。”所谓温养，就是温养其气并调和它，以静来克制动。医经说：“劳损之证，宜用温法。”这里的“味”，指的是药味。医经说：“阴气的生成，根本在于五味。”由此可见，补阴的方法，是人人都必须使用的，从壮年到老年，都不可缺少的。朱丹溪说：因为火而致病的人，十有八九；不因火而致病的人，百中无一二。所以火是无根之物，人的五脏六腑中无处不有。只有阴气旺盛才能制服它。赵继宗说：阴本来就不足，所以不需要补；如果去补不足，反而会导致有余，这就产生了过度的危害。唉！赵继宗也没有深思过这个问题。帮助不够的，补充不足的，这是理所当然的道理；使实的更实，使虚的更虚，这是医学中的深刻弊端。情况危急却不扶持，跌倒却不搀扶，那还要辅助者做什么呢？医经说：“各种用寒凉药治疗却仍然发热的，应当从阴分求治。”这是因为责之于阴气不足，导致虚火乘虚而起，精血津液都因此枯涸，于是梦遗、淋浊、虚劳内热等病症就发作了。治疗方法应当追究无水之源，当使用补阴的方剂，以及养血调中、滋阴降火的药物。又有人说：补肾，不必一概使用寒凉药。强行滋补肾阴，适当使用温热药也是可以的。这固然没有拘泥于知母、黄柏这类补阴药，但应当认识到它们可以作为知母、黄柏的主药，这样就可以了。否则，多见苦寒药物损伤胃气，固执一端不知变通，连身体都保不住，还指望能生育吗？这怎么可能呢？因此，滋阴的方剂，即使在没有生病的时候，也可以常服，这就是所谓的“缓则治其本”。再加上澄澈心神、平息思虑，用温和的方法滋养，多服用健干、斑龙等方剂。至于生育方面，大概想要孩子就会到来，就像看手掌一样清楚。为什么人们大多不加考察，轻率地相信旧说，突然服用辛热香燥助阳的药物，这岂不是用火救火、搬石头救溺水、抱着柴草去救火烧，有什么不同呢？高明的人士，希望他们能明鉴。
The *Gezhi Yulun* states: Yang is often in excess, while Yin is often deficient; Qi is often in excess, while Blood is often deficient. The "excess Yang" mentioned here does not refer solely to the Primordial Yang of the Heart Meridian (Xin Jing), but refers generally to various types of "Fire". Fire is divided into two categories: the Heart belongs to Ministerial Fire (Jun Huo), which is the orthodox fire of the Five Elements; the Sanjiao (Triple Burner) belongs to Ministerial Fire (Xiang Huo), which is the pathogenic fire generated by erratic movements. Whenever there is a movement, Ministerial Fire follows and burns fiercely, scorching True Yin and exhausting Essence and Marrow. The Classics state: "Strengthen the master of Water to control the sunlight," which refers to this principle. It also states: "For deficiencies in form, warm with Qi; for deficiencies in essence, tonify with flavor." By "warm," it means to warm-nourish the Qi and harmonize it, using stillness to overcome movement. The Classics say: "For exhaustion, use warmth." Here, "flavor" refers to medicinal flavors. The Classics state: "The generation of Yin originates from the Five Flavors." Thus, it can be seen that the method of tonifying Yin is one that everyone must use, indispensable from youth to old age. Zhu Danxi said: "Eight or nine out of ten diseases are caused by Fire; only one or two out of a hundred are not." Therefore, Fire is a rootless entity, present everywhere in the five Zang and six Fu organs. Only an abundance of Yin can subdue it. Zhao Jizong stated: "Yin is inherently deficient, so there is no need to tonify it; if one tonifies what is deficient, it may lead to excess, causing harm from over-tonification." Alas! Zhao did not reflect deeply on this matter. Assisting what is insufficient and tonifying what is lacking is natural logic; making the excess more excess and the deficiency more deficient is a profound flaw in medicine. If one does not support when danger arises, nor help when someone falls, then what is the use of an assistant? The Classics state: "For conditions treated with cold remedies that remain febrile, seek treatment in Yin." This is because the deficiency of Yin leads to Deficient Fire rising due to its weakness, causing Essence, Blood, and Body Fluids to become dry and withered, resulting in symptoms such as nocturnal emission, stranguria, turbid urine, and internal heat from consumptive disorders. The treatment method should address the lack of Water, using formulas to tonify Yin, as well as those to nourish Blood, regulate the Middle Jiao, and nourish Yin while descending Fire. It is also said: "When tonifying the Kidney, one need not uniformly use cold medicines. To strengthen Kidney Yin, the use of warm medicines is acceptable." This certainly does not imply rigid adherence to tonifying Yin with Zhi Mu (Anemarrhenae Rhizoma) and Huang Bo (Phellodendri Cortex), but rather recognizing that they can serve as principal agents in such contexts, which would suffice. Otherwise, it is common to see bitter-cold medicines damaging Stomach Qi, adhering rigidly without flexibility, endangering life itself, let alone hoping for offspring. How could that be possible? Therefore, Yin-nourishing formulas can be taken regularly even when healthy, which is known as "treating the root in chronic cases." Additionally, by clarifying the mind and resting thoughts, and using mild methods to nourish, one should frequently take formulas such as Jian Gan and Ban Long. Regarding procreation, if one desires children, they will likely arrive, clearly visible as if looking at one's palm. Why do most people fail to examine this carefully, blindly trusting conventional views, and suddenly administer acrid-warm, aromatic-dry, Yang-assisting medicines? Is this not equivalent to adding fuel to the fire, throwing stones into a flood to save drowning victims, or carrying firewood to extinguish a blaze? What difference is there? Wise gentlemen, please heed this warning.