医之为术苟非得于心而恃书以为用者未见能臻其妙如术能动钟乳按乳石论曰服钟乳当终
身忌
术五石诸散用钟乳为主复用术理极相反不知何谓予以问老医皆不能言其义按乳石论云石性虽
温而体本冷重必待其相蒸薄然后发如此则服石多者势自能相蒸若要以药触之其发必甚五石散
杂以众药用石殊少势不能蒸须藉外物激之令发尔如火少必因风气所鼓而后发火盛则鼓之反为
害此自然之理故孙思邈云五石散大猛毒宁食野葛不服五石遇此方即须焚之勿为含生之害又曰
人不服石庶事不佳石在身中万事休泰惟不可服五石散盖以五石散聚其所恶激而用之其发暴故
也古人处方大体如此非此书所能尽也况方书仍多伪杂如神农本草最为旧书其间差殊尤多医不
可以不知也(刘颖叔异苑)
张中书悫自壮岁时无日不服丹砂暮年归福州身体充 饮啖加于人十倍其家困于供亿独一
侄
与妇竭力祗事张命以官每中夜苦饥但击床屏须亟以馒头非五十枚不饱茹菜必十杆常食羊肉必
五
斤经年之后侄家为之枵空忽发际生疡浸淫及顶巍然若高阜结为三十六疮旬余爆裂有声疮翻而
外向如人口反唇而卒(庚志)
服金石药者潜假药力以济其欲然多讳而不肯言一旦疾作虽欲讳不可得也吴兴吴景渊刑部
服硫
黄人罕有知者其后二十年长予橐为华亭市易官发背而卒乃知流毒传气尚及其子可不戒哉(泊
宅编)
医学这门技艺，如果不能够在心领神会的基础上运用，而是依赖书本知识来施治，就很少能达到精妙境界。例如白术能够制约钟乳石的作用，《乳石论》中说：服用钟乳石应当终身禁忌使用白术。五石散等方剂以钟乳石为主药，却又加入白术，这在理法上极相矛盾，不知道是什么意思。我曾向老中医请教，他们都不能解释其中的含义。查阅《乳石论》记载：石药的性质虽然温和，但本体原本寒冷沉重，必须等待其相互蒸腾熏薄之后才能发作。像这样，服用石药多的人，气势自然能够相互蒸腾；如果要借助药物来触动它，它的发作必然剧烈。五石散混杂了众多药物，用石药特别少，势力不能自行蒸腾，必须借助外物来激发它使其发作。这就好比火小，必须依靠风气的鼓动然后才能燃烧；火势旺盛，再去鼓动它反而会造成危害。这是自然的道理。所以孙思邈说：“五石散大猛毒，宁食野葛，不服五石。”遇到这个方子就必须烧毁它，不要让它伤害有生命的人。又说：“人不服石药，诸事不佳；石在身中，万事休泰。”只是不可服用五石散，大概因为五石散聚集了人体所厌恶的东西，激发而使用它，发作猛烈暴戾的缘故。古人开处方大体如此，不是这本书所能详尽的。况且医书仍然有很多伪杂的内容，如《神农本草经》最为古老的书籍，其中差异尤其多，医生不可以不知道这些。
张中书悫从壮年时无一天不服丹砂，晚年回到福州，身体肥胖，饮食超过常人十倍。他的家庭因供应物资而陷入困境，只有一个侄子与侄媳妇竭尽全力侍奉他。张悫任命侄子做官，每当半夜痛苦饥饿时，只敲击床屏，必须立刻送上馒头，不吃满五十个不饱；吃蔬菜必须十根，常食羊肉必须五斤。经过几年之后，侄子家为此变得空虚耗尽。忽然间，他发际处生疮，浸淫蔓延至头顶，高耸如同山丘，结为三十六个疮口，十多天后爆裂有声，疮口翻向外侧，像人的嘴巴反唇一样，随后去世。
服用金石药的人，暗中假借药力来满足欲望，然而大多忌讳而不肯说。一旦疾病发作，虽然想忌讳也不可能了。吴兴人吴景渊刑部侍郎服用硫黄，很少有人知道这件事。后来过了二十年，他在华亭担任市易官时，患发背疽而死。这才知道流毒传气，尚且波及到他的儿子，怎么可以不警惕呢？
The art of medicine, if one does not grasp it intuitively but relies on books for application, is rarely able to reach its subtlety. For instance, Baizhu (Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma) can counteract the effects of Zhongru (Gypsum Fibrosum). The *Lushi Lun* (Treatise on Mineral Drugs) states: "When taking Zhongru, one must avoid Baizhu for life." In formulas such as Wushi San (Five-Mineral Powder), which uses Zhongru as the principal ingredient, adding Baizhu is extremely contradictory in principle, and I do not know what this implies. I asked elderly physicians about this, but none could explain the rationale. According to the *Lushi Lun*: "Mineral drugs are warm in nature but cold in substance; they are heavy and require mutual steaming and thinning before they take effect." Thus, those who take large amounts of minerals will naturally have their energies steam each other. If one attempts to trigger this effect with herbs, the reaction will be severe. Wushi San contains many miscellaneous herbs but very few minerals, so its power cannot steam itself; it requires external stimuli to induce activation. This is like a small fire that needs wind to ignite; if the fire is already strong, fanning it may cause harm. This is the natural order. Therefore, Sun Simiao said: "Wushi San is highly toxic; better to eat wild gourd (Yege) than to take Wushi San." Upon encountering this prescription, one should burn it to prevent harm to living beings. He also stated: "Those who do not take mineral drugs find everything unsatisfactory; those who have minerals in their bodies find everything harmonious." However, one must not take Wushi San, likely because it gathers things the body abhors and forces them to act violently. Ancient prescriptions generally followed such principles, which this book cannot fully detail. Moreover, medical texts often contain spurious content. Even the *Shennong Bencao Jing* (Divine Farmer's Materia Medica), an ancient classic, has many discrepancies. Physicians must be aware of this.
Zhang Que, a Secretary of the Center, took Cinnabar (Zhusha) daily from his youth. In his old age, after returning to Fuzhou, he became obese, and his food and drink intake were ten times that of ordinary people. His family struggled to provide for him. Only one nephew and his wife served him diligently. Zhang appointed his nephew to an official post. Whenever Zhang suffered hunger at midnight, he would tap the bed screen, demanding steamed buns (mantou); he would not stop until he had eaten fifty. He required ten stalks of vegetables and five jin (approx. 2.5 kg) of mutton per meal. After several years, his nephew's family was exhausted by these demands. Suddenly, a sore appeared at his hairline, spreading over the top of his head, rising high like a mound, forming thirty-six ulcers. More than ten days later, they burst with a sound, turning outward like inverted lips, and he died.
Those who take mineral drugs secretly use their medicinal power to satisfy desires, yet most hide this and refuse to speak of it. Once illness strikes, concealment becomes impossible. Wu Jingyuan, a Minister of Justice from Wuxing, took Sulfur (Huangshi). Few knew of this. Twenty years later, while serving as the Market Exchange Official in Huating, he died of a carbuncle on his back. It was then realized that the toxicity and transmitted qi affected even his son. How can one not be cautious?