oth know they are the simplest of all."

This attack of Nashe's upon Shakespeare was recognised by all of the
scholastic clique, and certain of its phrases are re-echoed in later
attacks upon him by other scholars for several years afterwards; in
fact, Nashe's diatribe proved to be a cue for Shakespeare's future
detractors. In the expression "killcow," Nashe alludes to Shakespeare's
father's trade. A few years later--1594--Chapman refers to Shakespeare
as "judgements butcher," and later still, in 1598, Florio in his
dedication of the _Worlde of Wordes_, and, in 1600, Ben Jonson in _Every
Man out of his Humour_, also refer satirically to the supposed fact that
Shakespeare's father was a butcher. In 1593 Chapman, in attacking
Shakespeare in the early _Histriomastix_, re-echoes the term "idiot
art-master." The phrase "ingrafted overflow of a killcow conceit" refers
to Shakespeare's additions to, or revisions of, plays owned by his
company that were originally written by such scholars as Greene. "Deep
read school men or grammarians" is a reference to Shakespeare's grammar
school education. "No more learning than will serve to take up a
commodity" refers to Shakespeare's business management of Burbage's
affairs, and "a serving man's idleness" to his recently ended term of
service with Burbage in that capacity.

It shall be shown that in later years when Chapman, Roydon, Florio,
Marston, and Jonson attacked Shakespeare in published or acted plays
that he invariably answers them in kind. We have only inferential
evidence that he answered Greene's and Nashe's reflections at this time
by writing a ballad against them. Ralph Sidley, in verses prefixed to
Greene's _Never Too Late_, published in the following year (1590),
defends Greene from the attack of a ballad or jig maker, whom he calls a
clown.

"The more it works, the quicker is the wit;
The more it writes, the better to be 'steemed.
By labour ought men's wills and wits be deem'd,
Though dreaming dunces do inveigh against it.
But write thou on, though Momus sit and frown;
A Carter's jig is fittest for a clown.
_Bonum quo communius eo melius._"

At the end of Greene's _Never Too Late_ in the host's tale a ballad
maker and player is attacked under the name of Mullidor; he is described
as follows: "He is said to be a fellow that was of honest parents, but
very poor: and his person was as if he had been cast in AEsop's mould;
his