[115] "Greene's Groats-worth of wit," 1592, "Works," vol. xii. pp. 131 et seq. "Roberto ... whose life in most parts agreeing with mine, found one selfe punishment as I have done" (Ibid. p. 137).
[116] "Strange Newes," 1592. A rough engraving, showing Greene at his writing table, is to be seen on the title-page of "Greene in conceipt," a novel by T. Dickenson, 1598; his "peake" exists, but is not quite so long as Nash's description would have led us to expect.
[117] "Repentance," "Works," vol. xii. p. 164.
[118] See especially vol. x. of the "Works." Greene's example gave a great impetus to these strange kinds of works, but he was not the first to compose such; several came before him, especially T. Audeley, with his "Fraternitye of vacabondes," 1560-1, and Thomas Harman, "A caveat or warening for common cursetors vulgarely called vagabones," 1566 or 1567; both reprinted by Viles and Furnivall, Early English Text Society, 1869.
[119] See the note added by the editor to his "Repentance," "Works," vol. xii. p. 184.
[120] Epilogue to the "Groats-worth of wit," directed "to those gentlemen, his quondam acquaintance, that spend their wits in making plaies," "Works," vol. xii. p. 144. The verse quoted by Greene occurs in the third part of Henry VI., with the difference of "womans" for "players." About this, see Furnivall, Introduction to the "Leopold Shakspere," p. xvi. As to the identification of Greene's three friends, see Grosart's memorial introduction and Storojenko's "Life," in "Works," vol. i.
[121] The exaggeration in the attack was so obvious that it raised some protest, and Henry Chettle, who had edited Greene's "Groats-worth" after his death, felt obliged to print a rectification in his next book, as was the custom then, when newspapers did not exist. This acknowledgment, that would to-day have been published in the Athenæum or the Academy, was inserted in his "Kind Heart's Dream," issued in the same year, 1592, and is to the effect that so far as Shakespeare (for Chettle can allude here to no other) is concerned: "divers of worship have reported his uprightnes of dealing, which argues his honesty, and his facetious grace in writing that approoves his art."
[122] "The Silent Woman," act iv. sc. 2; and "Every man out of his humour," act ii. sc. 1.
[123] "Repentance," "Works," vol. xii. p. 185.
[124] The "Life and Complete Works" of Greene have been published by Dr. Grosart, London, 1881, 15 vols. 4to. His principal non-dramatic writings may be classified as follows: