A Letter Sent to Jeon Iji (全履之)與全履之手書
某啓。前日晨起。偶閱吾箱篋中所貯詩藁。見詩卷中所載平昔與遊中輩行故人之姓字。一半已爲鬼錄。餘各飄散千里。耗音不相聞者亦多。念之不覺失聲驚呼。中間遇咸子眞，吳德全輩數四君。爲忘年友。亦皆長逝。此則先輩也。理必應爾。雖少壯亦不可恃。人命脆弱。一何如此。噫。唯足下與僕。幸各無恙。日相與遊。未嘗睽折有間也。雖然。人生聚散無常。今日會合。不知明日又各去何處也。未爾間。但努力圖窮樂事耳。外此何與於我哉。前者飮李君家甚快樂。至扶掖而還。醉中不知導何等語。足下尙知之否。但記半酣時索素琴彈之耳。安和寺環碧亭淸軒兩度飮中狂態何如也。吾家近日釀酒。頗香釅可飮。忍不與君輩共酌耶。況今紅杏微拆。春氣融怡。使人情惱亂多感。佳節如此。不飮何爲。望與李君朴還古輩來飮。不然。吾家酒不數日輒乾也。迨後見訪。但遭水厄耳。惶恐頓首。
So-and-so states. A few days ago I rose at dawn and happened to turn over the drafts of poems kept in my box. Looking at the surnames and names, written on the scrolls, of the friends of my own years with whom I once roamed, I found that half were already entered in the register of the world below, and that of the rest many were scattered each a thousand li away, so that we cannot even hear news of one another.
As I pondered, before I knew it I lost my voice and cried out in dismay. Among those I met in that time there were three or four such as Ham Jajin (咸子眞) and O Deokjeon (吳德全), with whom I became a friend across the years, and they too have all left the world. These were my elders, and by reason it must needs be so. Yet being young and vigorous is likewise no ground for trust. How is it that the life of man is so brittle and frail?
Ah, only Your Honor and I have had the good fortune to be each of us without mishap, keeping company day by day and never once falling out and growing distant. And yet in the life of man, gathering and scattering are things of a moment. Though we have met today, we do not know where each of us may go tomorrow. Before that comes, we can only contrive to exhaust what is joyful with all our strength. What have the other things to do with me?
The drinking the other day at the house of Master Yi (李君) was so joyful that I came home only with men holding me up. I do not know what I said in my cups — does Your Honor still remember? I remember only that, when I was half drunk, I called for a zither with nothing but its strings and played it. And at Anhwa Monastery (安和寺), in the Hwanbyeok Pavilion (環碧亭) and the Clear Study (淸軒), what were our mad doings in the midst of those two bouts of drinking?
At my house we have brewed wine of late, and it is fragrant and strong enough to be worth drinking. How could I bear not to share the cup with you? All the more as the red apricot blossoms are just now half open and the breath of spring is soft and bright, troubling a man's heart and making his feelings many. The season is as fine as this — what is there to do but drink?
I beg you to come and drink with Master Yi and Bak Hwango (朴還古) and the rest. Otherwise my house's wine will be at the bottom within a few days. Should you come looking for it too late, you will only suffer the indignity of drinking plain water. I am afraid. I bow my head to the ground.