A flattering painter, who made it his care

To draw men as they ought to be, not as they are.

Oliver Goldsmith (1728-1774): Retaliation. Line 63.

Hope tells a flattering tale,

Delusive, vain, and hollow.

Ah! let not hope prevail,

Lest disappointment follow.

Miss —— Wrother: The Universal Songster. Vol. ii. p. 86.

Bring me to the test,

And I the matter will re-word; which madness

Would gambol from. Mother, for love of grace,

Lay not that flattering unction to your soul.

William Shakespeare (1564-1616): Hamlet. Act iii. Sc. 4.