In the following passage, some words have been deleted. Fill in the blanks with the help of the alternatives given. Select the most appropriate option for each blank.

Many hundreds of years ago, a Brahmin lived in a town in Northern India. He spent many years (1)______ the ancient books and talking to the learned priests (2)______ came to visit the city. After much effort, he (3) ______ the knowledge of a certain spell. He was (4)______ proud of this and guarded his secret (5)______.