Admirer

Maybe I shouldn't blame that naive student too much.

As the old Chinese saying, Since there are people up there like it, for sure the subordinates would overdo the thing. (上有好者，下必有甚焉。)

But, the problem remains: How do we tell a genuine admirer from another who tries to kiss your ass?

I don't know. In fact I am not sure if there exist a qualitative difference. For example, a small pinch of sugar would light up your palate, but a large dose of saccharin inevitably brings you bitterness. Nonetheless, it is not because of a difference in the chemical structure of the two - too much sucrose could give the same unpleasant taste (although you could argue one really needs an industrial dose for such an effect).

And, if there is a qualitative difference, human nature would always favour the malevolent version. The more candies you have, the less sensitive your taste buds become. With time, one would do away with all sugar because he could only sense the sweetness of saccharin.

Maybe that's how many great people die.