Scottish wars, though in _Edward III._ the romantic element arises as a result of the English king's protection of his subject, the Countess of Salisbury, against the Scots, whereas in _James IV._ the wars result from the unfortunate love of the Scottish king for his subject, Ida, and his consequent attempt to kill his English wife, Dorothea. Like James, Edward is willing to kill his queen in order to gain his love. The Countess of Salisbury's lines, "As easy may my intellectual soul Be lent away, and yet my body live, As lend my body, palace to my soul, Away from her, and yet retain my soul," have something of Ida's incorruptible purity of principle when she asks Ateukin "can his warrant keep my soul from hell?" Ida's scorn of the man who would "be a king of men and worldly pelf Yet hath no power to rule and guide himself," is like King Edward's-- "Shall the large limit of fair Britanny By me be overthrown, and shall I not Master this little mansion of myself? Give me an armour of eternal steel! I go to conquer kings; and shall I not then Subdue myself?"[15] In no pre-Shakespearean drama outside of Greene's own work is the simple beauty of chaste womanhood presented with the passion and sympathy that are to be found in _Edward III._ Certainly Ida of _James IV._, the Countess of Salisbury of _Edward III._, and Imogen of Shakespeare's _Cymbeline_ are a trio of womanly beauty and purity. In respect of poetry, the Countess of Salisbury scenes of _Edward III._, in spite of their somewhat cloying sweetness, transcend any sustained passages in Greene's works. Yet the poetry of _James IV._ is of the same order. If Greene could but have prolonged his vagrant notes of beauty he would have equalled the best in this play. In respect of dramaturgy and human psychology _James IV._ is far in advance of _Edward III._ The simple and undeveloped story of love is in the hands of the more skilled plotter of plays complicated to a fit representation of the social implications of an act, and the passion of Edward is in James developed to the awful inward struggle of a sinning soul. In the absence of facts as to the authorship of _Edward III._, and as to the date of its composition, it is impossible to draw any conclusions as to influence or inter-relationship. It is clear, however, that Greene's play is written in the spirit of _Edward III._, in that it is an adaptation of the romantic motive that Greene knew so well how to compass to the purposes of the popular chronicle play.