The Annals of Lü Buwei BOOK 25, Chap. 2, DIFFERENT TYPES. (p. 627)

25/2.1 — To know that one does not know is the loftiest form of intelligence. The trouble with those who commit errors is that, though they do not know, they nonetheless think themselves knowledgeable. Now, there are many things that, though they appear to be members of a particular class, are not; there are many people who, though they appear to be intelligent, are not. Thus, there is no end to states perishing and people being slaughtered.
Now, eaten separately, the plant asarum and the lei creeper are lethal; but if eaten together, they will increase longevity. Eaten separately, scorpions or aconite are lethal; but eaten together, they will not kill. In the one instance, they sometimes kill and sometimes extend life; in the other, they sometimes kill and sometimes do not. When the class to which a thing belongs is decidedly uncertain, what can be induced about it? Lacquer and water are both liquids; but if you mix the two liquids together, they solidify, and if you steam the lacquer, it will dry out. Copper and tin are both soft, but combine the two soft substances, and they become hard; and if you heat the combination, it liquefies. In the one instance, you dry out the material by making it damp; in the other, you liquefy the material by heating it. When the class to which a thing belongs is decidedly uncertain, what can be induced about it? A small square belongs to the same class as a large square, just as a small horse belongs to the same class as a large horse. But small understanding is not of the same class as great understanding.

25/2.2 — In Lu there was a Prince Chuo who told people, “I can raise the dead.” Someone asked him how he could do this. He responded, “I am definitely able to cure paralysis. Now, if I double the dosage of the medicine I use to cure paralysis, it should be possible to raise the dead.” There definitely are things that can treat the small but not the large, and there are things that can treat the part but not the whole.

25/2.3 — A judge of fine swords said, “The white metal is what makes a sword hard, and yellow metal is what makes it sharp. If you mix them, you will have both hardness and sharpness—and that is a superior sword.” Someone confuted him, saying, “The white metal is what makes a sword dull, and yellow what makes it soft. If you combine them, you will have neither hardness nor sharpness. Moreover, the blade of a soft sword will twist, while that of a hard one will snap. If a sword both twists and snaps, how can it be considered a sharp weapon?”
The true nature of the sword did not change; yet the one took it to be good, the other bad. They accomplished this with their explanations. Therefore, if one listens to explanations with intelligence, then bizarre explanations will cease. If one does not listen to explanations with intelligence, then one will not be able to separate Yao from Jie [1]. This is what causes problems for loyal ministers and what causes the worthy to be dismissed.

25/2.5 — Gaoyang Ying planned to build a house, but the carpenter said, “The time is not yet right. The lumber is still green, so if I add a layer of clay over it, it will surely warp. If you use green wood in building a house, although it will seem fine for now, later it will fall down.”

“if we rely on what you yourself have said, the house will not fall down. As the wood dries, it will get stronger, and as the clay dries, it will get lighter. If you put what is getting lighter on something that is getting stronger, it will not fall down.”

The carpenter was at a loss for words and so did as he was told. When the house was first finished it was fine, but afterwards it did, in fact, fall down. Gaoyang Ying loved to make trivial investigations but did not understand larger principles.

25/2.6 — The thoroughbreds, Ji, Ao, and Lüer raced westward with their backs to the sun, but by evening the sun was in front of them. There definitely are things the eyes cannot see, the intellect cannot grasp, and techniques cannot deal with. We may not understand the explanation of what makes a thing as it is, yet we know it is that way. The sages founded their institutions on the basis of what they knew to be so and did not exercise their minds over the explanation.

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[1] “one will not be able to separate Yao from Jie”