It’s not Mencius, it’s Laozi’s Tao Te Ching. The original sentence is: Governing a big country is like cooking small delicacies. The original text is: Governing a big country is like cooking small dishes. If the Tao comes to the world, its ghosts will not be gods; if it is not its ghosts, it will not be gods, its gods will not hurt people; if it is not its gods, it will not hurt people, and its saints will not hurt people. Husbands and wives do not hurt each other, so their virtues return to each other. [Translation]
Governing a big country is like frying a small fish. When the world is governed by "Tao", ghosts and gods have no role. Not only do ghosts have no role, but the role of ghosts cannot harm people. Not only can ghosts not harm people through their effects, but saints with the right principles will not harm people either. In this way, ghosts, gods and righteous saints will not harm people, so the people can enjoy the blessings of virtue.