恐为肾之志，何即伤肾乎？盖“肾者主蛰，封藏之本”，喜静而不喜动，恐则气下，偏能动之，如张子和云∶恐气所
致，为骨酸痿厥，为暴下清水，为阴痿，为惧而脱颐，凡此诸症，非皆伤肾之明验欤？若善思者处此，即非常临之，自
有定识，岂得以恐惧摇其意见哉？况思虑之志出乎脾，以思胜恐，亦即以土制水，论情论理，亦适符也。
脾志思而肝志怒，木能克土，此其理也，而曰伤曰胜，义亦显明。岐伯曰∶“思则心有所存、神有所归，正气留而不
行，故气结矣。”盖脾处中州而属土，喜健运而恶郁结，思则气结，故曰伤也。况思虽为脾志，而实本乎心，心者，脾之
母也。今以多思而心营暗耗，母气既虚，则所以助脾者亦寡矣。若夫怒可胜思，不言而喻，尝见人熟思审处之时，忽有
拂逆之加，一朝之忿，无不为已，前此之思之弗得弗措者，至此而无暇计及矣。此无他，亦惟人之常情，有缓与急而已
矣。
肝为木脏，欲散而苦急。《经》曰∶“肝气虚则恐，实则怒。”又曰∶“怒则气上。”夫以将军之官，至刚之脏，复以嗔
怒而助其气，是急也，非散也，故曰伤也。若夫悲者，有所哀痛而然也。《经》曰“悲则气消。”则当气逆之时，适以此
消气者值之，谓之曰胜，谁曰不然。
或曰∶四志所胜，皆与五行克制之理合，兹怒为肝志，何独非肺志之忧胜之，而云“悲胜怒”乎？盖喜怒忧思悲恐
惊，其情有七，而五脏止有五志，故遗去悲与惊二者，以悲与忧相类，皆属不遂其心也，惊与恐相类，皆有所怯也，惟
悲之情较急于忧，故其胜怒为更切耳。由是观之，即谓之忧胜怒，亦何不可。
恐惧是肾的情志，为什么反而损伤肾脏呢？大概因为“肾主蛰伏，是封藏的根本”，喜欢安静而不喜欢躁动，恐惧会使气机下陷，偏偏会扰动它。正如张子和所说：由恐惧之气导致的病症，有骨骼酸软、痿厥，有突然泻下清水，有阳痿，有因惊恐导致下巴脱臼，这些症状，不都是损伤肾脏的明显证据吗？如果有善于思考的人处于这种情况，即使没有非常的事情突然降临，自然会有坚定的认识，难道会让恐惧动摇他的见解吗？况且思虑的情志出于脾，用思虑来克服恐惧，也就是以土克制水，从情理上讲，也恰好符合。
脾的情志是思，肝的情志是怒，木能克土，这是其中的道理，而说“伤”和“胜”，含义也是显明的。岐伯说：“思虑则心神专注，神气内守，正气停留而不运行，所以气机郁结。”大概脾位于中焦属土，喜欢健运而厌恶郁结，思虑会导致气机郁结，所以说会损伤。况且思虑虽然属于脾的情志，但实际上根源于心，心是脾的母亲。现在因为多思而暗中耗伤心血，母气既然虚弱，那么帮助脾的力量也就少了。至于愤怒可以克服思虑，是不言而喻的，曾经看到人们在深思熟虑的时候，忽然受到违背意愿的事情干扰，一时的忿怒，全都抛在脑后，之前那些想得不得、不罢休的念头，到了这个时候就没有空闲去计较了。这没有别的原因，只是人的常情，有缓急之分罢了。
肝是木脏，喜欢疏泄而怕拘急。《内经》说：“肝气虚则恐惧，肝气实则愤怒。”又说：“愤怒会使气机上逆。”凭借将军之官，刚强的脏器，再加上嗔怒来助长其气，这是拘急，不是疏泄，所以说会损伤。至于悲哀，是因为有所哀痛才产生的。《内经》说“悲哀会使气机消散。”那么在气机上逆的时候，恰好遇到这种能消散气机的悲哀，称之为“胜”，谁说不是这样呢？
有人问：四种情志相胜，都与五行相克的道理相合，这里愤怒是肝的情志，为什么唯独不用肺的情志忧伤来克服它，而说“悲哀克服愤怒”呢？大概喜、怒、忧、思、悲、恐、惊七种情志，而五脏只有五志，所以省略了悲与惊两种，因为悲与忧相似，都属于心愿不遂；惊与恐相似，都带有怯懦之意。只有悲哀的情感比忧伤更急切，所以它克服愤怒更为显著。由此看来，即使用忧伤克服愤怒，又有什么不可以的呢？
Fear is the emotion associated with the Kidney, so why does it injure the Kidney? It is because "the Kidney governs hibernation and is the root of sealing and storing"; it prefers stillness over movement. Fear causes Qi to sink, which precisely disturbs this state. As Zhang Zihe stated: Pathologies caused by fear-Qi include soreness and weakness of the bones, flaccidity and coldness of the limbs (Wei Jue), sudden diarrhea of clear fluid, impotence, and jaw dislocation due to fright. Are not all these symptoms clear evidence of Kidney injury? If a person skilled in contemplation faces such a situation, even without extraordinary events occurring suddenly, they would naturally maintain a firm perspective; how could fear shake their judgment? Moreover, the emotion of contemplation originates from the Spleen. Using contemplation to overcome fear is essentially using Earth to control Water. In terms of both sentiment and logic, this fits perfectly.
The Spleen's emotion is contemplation, and the Liver's emotion is anger. Wood controls Earth; this is the principle. The meanings of "injury" and "victory" are also explicit. Qibo said: "Contemplation causes the mind to dwell on something and the Spirit to return inward; healthy Qi remains stagnant and does not flow, thus causing Qi stagnation." The Spleen resides in the Central Region and belongs to Earth; it favors vigorous transformation and abhors stagnation. Contemplation leads to Qi knotting, hence it is said to cause injury. Furthermore, although contemplation is the emotion of the Spleen, it fundamentally stems from the Heart. The Heart is the mother of the Spleen. Now, excessive contemplation secretly consumes the Heart's Nutritive Qi. Since the Mother Qi is deficient, the assistance provided to the Spleen is also diminished. As for anger overcoming contemplation, this goes without saying. One often observes that when people are deeply engrossed in thought, a sudden contrary event occurs. A momentary fit of anger causes them to abandon everything; the previous thoughts that were pursued relentlessly are now disregarded as there is no time to consider them. There is no other reason than human nature, which involves differences between slowness and urgency.
The Liver is a Wood organ; it desires dispersion but suffers from constraint. The Classics state: "When Liver Qi is deficient, there is fear; when it is excess, there is anger." It also states: "Anger causes Qi to ascend." Relying on its role as the General Officer and its rigid nature, adding anger further aids this Qi, resulting in constraint rather than dispersion. Hence, it is said to cause injury. As for grief, it arises from sorrow and pain. The Classics state: "Grief causes Qi to dissipate." Therefore, at a time when Qi is rebelling upwards, encountering this dissipation-inducing grief is termed "victory." Who would deny this?
One might ask: The victory of the four emotions aligns with the theory of Five Element counter-control. Here, anger is the emotion of the Liver. Why is it not overcome by the Lung's emotion of worry/sorrow, but rather by "grief overcoming anger"? Generally, there are seven emotions: joy, anger, worry, contemplation, grief, fear, and fright. However, the Five Zang organs have only five emotions. Thus, grief and fright are omitted because grief is similar to worry, both belonging to unfulfilled desires; fright is similar to fear, both involving timidity. Grief is more urgent in nature than worry, so its ability to overcome anger is more pronounced. From this perspective, one could equally say that worry overcomes anger.