In ancient Greece, the politically crafty philosopher Aristippus had learned to get along in court by flattering the tyrant Denys. Aristippus looked down his nose at some of his less prosperous fellow philosophers and wise men who would not stoop that low. One day he saw his colleague Diogenes washing some vegetables and he said to him disdainfully: “If only you would learn to flatter King Denys you would not have to be eating lentils.” Diogenes looked up slowly and in the same tone replied, “And you, if you had only learned to live on lentils would not have to flatter King Denys.”
In other words;
“Flattery is like chewing gum, enjoy it briefly but don’t swallow it”
God Bles