Let blockheads read what blockheads wrote.

The line is a curt expression of literary fastidiousness: Chesterfield dismisses mediocre writing as fit only for mediocre readers. It implies a hierarchy of taste and intellect—good writing should be read by those capable of appreciating it, while “blockheads” (the dull or uncritical) will naturally gravitate toward work produced by their equals. In a broader sense, the remark reflects an 18th‑century culture of wit and social discrimination, where judgments about style and reading were also judgments about education and rank. The sting of the aphorism lies in its circularity: bad authors and bad readers sustain one another, leaving serious minds to seek better company in better books.