He was perversely slow to——

He is too stupid to make a blunder

As impassive as a statue

He is inflexible to all entreaty

He has been inexorable to all invitations

The victim of his own prejudices

The dupe of his own stupidity

Empty of the kernel of good sense

He made a plump refusal

It is like trying to use a large screw-driver to turn a small screw