汉贾长沙有云古之至人。不居朝廷。必隐于医卜。司马公亦曰达则为良相。不达则为良医于
是丹溪先生。反笈华山。弃举子业。而即慨然自命曰。士苟精一艺以推及物之仁虽不仕于时
犹仕也。若人也苟全性命于乱世。不求闻达于诸侯。弁髦轩冕。调元草野蕴德潜修斯云隐矣
亦岂必遁迹幽岩忘怀胞与。陶弘景虽挂冠神武。而留方肘后。江明远固不受宋室之官。
每辄副明主之请是则皆隐而通不失其济物之仁者也。
昔明太祖治平天下。首着阴 录。设医局以惠济群生。宛与轩岐一揆。远轶汉唐。诚仁恩周
溥无穷矣。稽之往代。若徐文伯钱仲阳杨士瀛皆济人为心。不计功利。宋刘润芳治贫家疾。辄
怀金置席下。别时令家人自得之。病者一喜而疾以解。东坡亦常蓄善药济人。二公存心固诚
善。但博施犹病。日亦不足耳总不如存一个好念头凡胗疾无论贵若王侯卿相贱如倩佣丐儿皆
一视同仁亦无计恭慢恩怨悉心救疗遇有奇病未明我见不到处。便令再延识者商治勿专私意勿
讳我短勿没人长期愈人病遇急来请勿避风雨此便是受用不尽的德也有等粗工庸手。不习经书
脉理。不管病症重轻。轻易投剂。陷人垂死。反谤正道。负恶不悛。见有此人。盒饭逢人说
害马。免使无穷生灵将来误于此辈虽曰隐恶扬善。固称圣人若推扩圣人之心政要教无穷生灵
避此粗工庸手安能恝然忍隐乎此非不存浓道。但一片苦衷。只知有生灵之性命。不知有同类
之包荒也。且亦使若辈改心易行。转庸手而为良工。儆戒一番。望其同跻寿域。宁不大幸。
至有良工。吾又逢人赞扬。不啻口出。暴庸手之谬。举良工之善。总为生灵起见。何恤知我
罪我此尤是善用其德者也溯昔勋臣邓禹十三子。各执一艺。而业医者四。若公者励操素丝。
享士挟纩。荣膺上爵。奈何不遗子孙以温饱。而独令其役役于方技之列以竟所未竟之仁是公
又世滋其德矣。
汉代长沙太守贾谊曾说，古代道德修养达到极致的人，如果不身居朝廷高位，必定会隐居在医学和占卜之中。司马光也说过，得志时做贤良的宰相，不得志时则做优秀的医生。因此，朱丹溪先生背起行囊前往华山，放弃了科举应试的学业，却慷慨地自我期许说：读书人如果精通一门技艺，用以推广推己及人的仁爱之心，即使不在当时做官，也等同于做了官。像这样的人，如果在乱世中保全性命，不追求在诸侯间闻名显达，视高官厚禄如弃物，在民间调和元气、蕴藏德行潜心修行，这就可以称为“隐”了。难道一定要遁迹于幽深岩石，忘记对天下苍生的关怀吗？陶弘景虽然辞官归隐，但留下了《肘后备急方》；江明远固然不接受宋朝的官职，却常常应明主之请出山相助。这些都是既隐居又通达事理，不失救济万物仁心的人。
从前，明太祖平定天下后，首先颁布《大诰》（注：原文为阴录，疑为衍文或特定指代，此处依语境理解为重视医政），设立医局以恩惠救济众生。这与轩辕黄帝、岐伯的治国理念一致，远远超越了汉唐两代，确实是仁爱恩泽广泛而无穷尽啊。考察过往朝代，像徐文伯、钱乙（钱仲阳）、杨士瀛等人，都以济世救人为中心，不计较个人功名利禄。宋代的刘润芳治疗贫困人家的疾病，常常怀揣金银放在床席之下，离开时令家人自行取走，病人一高兴，病就好了。苏东坡也常储备好药来救济他人。这两位先生的存心固然真诚善良，但广施恩惠仍感精力不足，时间也不够。总不如保持一个美好的念头，凡是诊察疾病，无论对方是王侯卿相还是乞丐佣工，都一视同仁，也没有计较对方的恭敬或傲慢、恩怨情仇，而是悉心救治。遇到疑难杂症，如果我自己见解不到之处，就让人再次邀请有见识的医者共同商讨，不固执己见，不隐瞒自己的短处，不掩盖他人的长处。治愈疾病，遇到紧急求助不要躲避风雨，这就是受用不尽的“德”了。
有一些粗劣庸俗的医生，不研习经典书籍和脉理，不管病症轻重，轻易用药，使人陷入垂死境地，反而诽谤正道，作恶不知悔改。见到这种人，应当逢人便说他是害群之马，以免无数生灵将来被这类人误害。虽然说隐藏恶行宣扬善举，固然是圣人的做法，但如果推广圣人的心意，正是要教导无数生灵避开这些粗劣庸俗的医生，怎么能忍心沉默隐忍呢？这并不是不保存道义，只是出于一片苦心，只知道有众生的性命，不知道有包容同类过失的胸怀。而且这也使得这些人改变心性行为，从庸手转变为良医，通过警戒一番，希望他们同登长寿之境，难道不是大幸吗？至于那些良医，我又逢人赞扬，赞不绝口。揭露庸手的谬误，举荐良医的善行，完全是为了众生着想，何必顾虑别人了解我还是怪罪我呢？这更是善于运用“德”的表现。追溯过去，功臣邓禹的十三个儿子，各自掌握一门技艺，其中从事医学的有四人。像邓公这样操守纯洁如素丝，享受士大夫的温暖关怀，荣膺高位爵位，为什么不把温饱留给子孙，而独自让他们在医术行列中忙碌，以完成未尽的仁爱呢？邓公又是世代滋长其德行了。
Jia Yi, the Grand Administrator of Changsha in the Han Dynasty, said that ancient sages, if not holding high office in the court, would necessarily hide themselves in medicine and divination. Sima Guang also stated that when successful, one becomes a virtuous prime minister; when unsuccessful, one becomes an excellent physician. Therefore, Mr. Zhu Danxi packed his bags for Mount Hua, abandoned his studies for the civil service examinations, yet generously declared to himself: "If a scholar masters a skill to extend the benevolence of empathy to others, even if he does not serve as an official in his time, it is equivalent to serving." Such a person, preserving life in chaotic times, seeking no fame among feudal lords, treating high ranks and noble titles as discarded hair ornaments, harmonizing vital energy in the countryside, harboring virtue and cultivating secretly—this can be called "hiding" (Yin). Must one necessarily retreat to secluded rocks and forget about caring for all under heaven? Tao Hongjing hung up his cap at the Shenwu Gate but left behind the *Zhouhou Beiji Fang* (Emergency Prescriptions Kept Up the Sleeve); Jiang Mingyuan certainly refused official posts from the Song dynasty, yet frequently responded to the requests of enlightened rulers. These are all those who hide yet remain accessible, never losing their benevolence to aid all things.
In the past, after Emperor Taizu of Ming pacified the world, he first promulgated important edicts and established medical bureaus to benefit and relieve all living beings. This aligns with the principles of Xuanyuan (Yellow Emperor) and Qibo, far surpassing the Han and Tang dynasties, truly representing boundless and universal benevolent grace. Looking back at previous dynasties, figures such as Xu Wenbai, Qian Boyi (Qian Zhongyang), and Yang Shiying all had saving people as their heart's intent, disregarding personal merit and profit. Liu Runfang of the Song dynasty, when treating illnesses of poor families, would often carry gold and silver placed under the bedsheet, leaving them for family members to take away after he departed; the patients' joy led to their recovery. Su Dongpo also often stored good medicines to help others. The intentions of these two gentlemen were indeed sincere and kind, yet even broad application of charity feels insufficient in time and effort. It is altogether better to maintain a good thought: whenever diagnosing illness, whether the patient is a king, prince, or minister, or a lowly servant or beggar, treat them equally without regard for respect or rudeness, gratitude or enmity, and provide careful treatment. For rare diseases where my understanding falls short, instruct others to invite knowledgeable practitioners to discuss together; do not cling to private opinions, do not conceal my shortcomings, do not obscure others' long-term benefits. Curing diseases, do not avoid wind and rain when urgent requests come. This is the inexhaustible "Virtue" (De).
There are some crude and mediocre doctors who have not studied classics and pulse diagnosis, disregard the severity of conditions, prescribe lightly, causing patients to near death, and then slander the orthodox path, committing evil without repentance. Upon seeing such people, one should tell everyone they are horses that spoil the herd, to prevent countless lives from being misled by such groups in the future. Although it is said that hiding faults and praising virtues is the way of a sage, if we expand the sage's heart, we must teach countless lives to avoid these crude doctors. How can we bear to remain silent? This is not lacking in Dao, but stems from a bitter sincerity, knowing only the lives of sentient beings, not the tolerance for one's own kind. Moreover, this allows such individuals to change their hearts and conduct, transforming from mediocrities into skilled physicians. Through warning them, hoping they attain longevity together, is this not a great fortune? As for skilled physicians, I praise them to everyone, speaking endlessly. Exposing the errors of mediocrities and highlighting the goodness of skilled physicians is entirely for the sake of sentient beings. Why worry about being understood or blamed? This is especially using Virtue well. Tracing back, the thirteen sons of Meritorious Official Deng Yu each mastered a skill, four of whom practiced medicine. Like Lord Deng, who maintained purity like unbleached silk, enjoyed the warmth of scholars, and received high nobility, why did he not leave wealth and food to his descendants, but instead made them toil in the ranks of technical arts to complete unfinished benevolence? Thus, Lord Deng further propagated his virtue through generations.