Governing a great state is like cooking small fish.

Let the kingdom be governed according to the Tao, and the spirits of the departed will not manifest their spiritual energy. It is not that those spirits have not that spiritual energy, but it will not be employed to hurt people. It is not that it could not hurt people, but neither does the ruling sage hurt them.

When these two do not injuriously affect each other, their good influences converge in the virtue (of the Tao).