法治是现代社会的一个重要政治理想,乃至政治正当性的基准。可以把它理解为“法的原则”与“治的原则”的互动关系。以亚里士多德和托马斯·阿奎那为代表的古典思想家对西方法治理论贡献卓著。亚里士多德把法治作为一项统治原则置于其对政体的讨论之中,阿奎那则在此基础上延伸了对法的本质的探究,从而把法治视为政制和法律体系运行良好的标志,是更为根本的法秩序固有特征的外在表现。从古典法治观向现代法治观的演进伴随着法的因素的增长,这也使得现代法治理论家倾向于以法的原则界定法治。 The rule of law is an important political ideal of modern society and even a benchmark of political legitimacy. It can be understood as “the principle of law” and “rule of principle” interaction. The classical thinkers represented by Aristotle and Thomas Aquinas have made outstanding contributions to the western theory of the rule of law. Aristotle placed the rule of law as a governing principle in his discussion of the regime, on the basis of which Aquinas extended the exploration of the nature of the law and saw the rule of law as running a system of government and law A good sign is the outward manifestation of a more fundamental inherent characteristic of the legal order. The evolution from the classical rule of law to the modern concept of the rule of law is accompanied by the growth of the law factor, which also makes the modern rule of law theorists tend to define the rule of law by the principle of law.