And, if he lie not, must at least betray; Who to the Dean and silver bell can swear, And sees at Canons what was never there; Who reads, but with a lust to misapply, Make satire a lampoon, and fiction, lie: A lash like mine no honest man shall dread, But all such babbling blockheads in his stead.

In the latter case, or where a vein of sarcasm or irony is resorted to, the ridicule is not barbed by some allusion (false or true) to private history; the object of it has brought the infliction on himself by some literary folly or political delinquency which is referred to as the understood and justifiable provocation, instead of being held up to scorn as a knave for not being a tool, or as a blockhead for thinking for himself.

No, no, thou deservest her; she would have made an old fond Blockhead of me, and one way or other you wou'd have had herods bobs, you wou'd

Blockheads with reason wicked wits abhor, But fool with fool is barb'rous civil war.

A blockhead Like yourself, say: cease. ESCARPIN.

Then he got a better place; but, for a time, had to bear much abuse from his master, who declared that, although he had come across many blockheads from Cumberland, George was the stupidest one of all!

There were several Satyrs and Panegyricks handed about in Acrostick, by which Means some of the most arrant undisputed Blockheads about the Town began to entertain ambitious Thoughts, and to set up for polite Authors.

"Come to me my dear Lycias," (saith Musaeus in Aristaenetus) "come quickly sweetheart, all other men are satyrs, mere clowns, blockheads to thee, nobody to thee."