Introduction to Literary Chinese - Lesson 37, Text 2
Adapted from the 1927 book by J. Brandt
探問友人疾病函
某某仁兄大人閣下運啟者。吾兄
貴體違和[a]。
殊深惦念[b]。伏思尊軀素健。今偶失檢點。乃爲
二豎所侵[c]。惟期
安心靜養[d]。定占勿藥之喜。達人自玉。皇閣下勿稍介意。未悉請何醫士診治。弟稍暇卽當趨府看望。特此致候。順頌痊安。
弟某某鞠躬月日
Notes
[a] 貴體違和
[b] 殊深惦念
[c] 二豎所侵
"to be attacked by disease"
The allusion is to an incident related in the Tso-Chuan (左傳), where a sick man dreamt that two boys, the embodiment of his disease, hid in his vitals in such places as to be beyond the reach either of acupunc-ture or drugs.