Per row—The Last Will and Testament in Literature. 733 
times attributed to Shakespere, there is something more than 
a mere suggestion of the testament : 1 
I weep for thee, and yet no cause I have; 
For why thou left’st me nothing in thy will; 
And yet thou left’st me more than I did crave; 
For why I crave nothing of thee still: 
O yes, dear friend, I pardon crave of thee, 
Thy discontent thou didst bequeath to me. 
Eobert Greene’s Groatsworth of Wit, written in 1692, al¬ 
though not called a testament, is identical in subject matter 
with many compositions that passed under that title. 2 It is an 
allegorical account of the author’s own life. Seeing the ap¬ 
proach of death, he bewails his own wickedness, warns others 
not to follow his example, and proceeds to give sundry rules 
for the conduct of life. He closes by beseeching his friends 
that they bury his body and publish this his last farewell writ¬ 
ten with his own wrretched hand. The same author’s Repent¬ 
ance of even date is a document of like character. 3 In this, 
however, the autobiographical element is overshadowed by the 
confession of sin. He tells how 7 bad has been his life, repents 
of his wicked deeds and lewd writings, 4 * * introduces his auto¬ 
biography to w r arn others, and concludes with a considerable 
body of moral instruction. 
In the year 1598 we find John Lyly also imitating the testa¬ 
ment. In a letter to Queen Elizabeth the poverty-stricken 
dramatist complains of his ill-treatment: 
“Thirteen yeares, yo r : Highness Servant; Butt yett nothinge, 
Twenty fTrindes, that though they say, they wilbee sure, I 
ffinde them sure to slowe, A thowsand hopes, butt all, noe~ 
thinge: A hundred promises, butt yett noethinge, Thus Cast- 
inge vpp: an Inventorye of my ffrindes, hopes, promises, and 
Tym.es. the; Suma, Total: Amounteth to Just nothinge. My 
Last Will, is shorter, then myne Invention; Butt, three Leg- 
1 Division X, line 7. 
2 A. B. Grossart, The Life and Complete Works of Robert Greene , 
London, 1881-3, XII, 95. 
3 Ibid. XII, 151. 
^ It will be remembered in this connection that Jean de Meung, 
Gower, Chaucer and Herrick also “repented” of their writings. Was 
this a literary convention? 
