Directions: Read the passage carefully and choose the best answer out of the four given alternatives: Flattery means 'praising insincerely in order to please'. Every flatterer says words in which he…

Directions: Read the passage carefully and choose the best answer out of the four given alternatives:
Flattery means 'praising insincerely in order to please'. Every flatterer says words in which he himself does not believe. While flattering he is insincere to the man he is praising and to himself. In doing so he does not mind if he corrupts the minds of those whom he flatters.
Flattery is immoral because it stains the human conscience. It creates a world of falsehood and thus an outrage of man's sense of decency and gentlemanly behaviour. A man who feels happy when flattered lives in a fool's paradise. Flattery is the ready weapon of the opportunist. This weapon easily conquers the weak willed man. It works on the general weakness of human beings. We all love to be told what we are not rather than what we are. Flattery is equally bad for him who is flattered and for him who flatters.
Flattery deceives us by giving us false notions about ourselves. By falling a victim to it, we show lack of character. By accepting flattery we make ourselves small beings. It is an evil which ruins social and moral values by claiming what is not rightfully its own. It thrives on corruption and leads to human bankruptcy. It is thus the greatest of diseases which can plague humanity.

'Thrives' in the passage means