Oh God, trust me, Wil, we must be warie to work,
so with advise of Care, that as we are friends one to
another, so we may prove in all actions to shew our
cheefest jewell, our faithfull heart to God and her
Majestie: to whom might we once be so happie as
to presente a peece of worke worthy the receit: oh
how glad shuld then our hearts be, which with faithful
dutie would adventure death for her most excellent
favour: which till by desert we find, and alwaies
let us love and honour our singular good lord, that
hath vouchsafed us his undeserved favour: and let
us heartily pray for the preservation of her most
excellent majestie, with long and prosperous raigne
over us: as for the advancement of his honours
estate, who by his vertues deserves, and by deserts
hath found favour of her highness, love of her peeres,
honour of us, and a number our betters. And so let
us away into my closset of Conceit, where from company
we will thinke upon such matters as here wee
will not talke on. _Will._ Content. We will go
togither, studie thou, and I will make my pen, readie
at thine, or his honors commandement. And thus
till we have dispatcht our worke in hand, let us take
our leave humbly of our good lord, and courteously
of all our friends: Wishing them to employ their
studies to the pleasure of God, content of the best
sort, profit of themselves, and good example to others:
and so _Bacciando le mani del Signore_, let us bid them
all adiu. From our heart, this 8. of June, 1599.
INGENIJ VOLUNTAS.
IV.--ROBERT GREENE
(_One passage (that of the 'Shake-scene') in Greene's
Groat's Worth of Wit has been hacked almost to death
by the citations and discussions of Shakespearian commentators.
But the rest has been but little referred
to in comparison; and though it has been reprinted, it
is not, to my knowledge, anywhere accessible as a whole,
and is very generally unknown. It has, however, high
interest, both external and internal, with the additional
claim to preference over Greene's earlier euphuist
romances and 'conny-catching' pamphlets that it is
much shorter than the best of the former, and that
nothing stands in the same relation to it as Dekker's
<f>Hornbook</f> does to the latter. It wants little more
introduction save the reminder that its autobiographic
quality is evidently considerable in fact, if not so
great as in intention, and that it was not printed till
after the author's death._)
GREENS,
Groats-worth of Wit,
bought with a Million of
_Repentaunce_.
Describing the follie of youth, the falshoode of makeshift
flatterers, the miserie of the negligent, and mischiefes
of deceiuing Courtezans.
_Written before his death, and published at his
dying request._
_Fælicem fuisse infaustum._
_Virescit vulnere veritas._
LONDON,
Printed by Thomas Creede, for Richard Oliue
dwelling in long Lane, and are there
to be solde. 1596.
THE PRINTER TO THE GENTLE READERS
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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