In its inception, the drama, among all nations, was a religious
observance. It came in with the chorus and the ode. The chorus, or, as
we now say, choir, was a company of persons who on stated occasions sang
sacred songs, accompanying their music with significant gesture, and an
harmonious pulsation of the feet, or the more deliberate march. The ode
or song they sang was of an elevated structure and impassioned tone, and
was commonly addressed to the Divinity. Instances of the ode are the
lyrics of Pindar and David. The chorus was also divided into parts, to
each of which was assigned a separate portion of the song, and which
answered one another in alternate measures. A good instance of the
chorus and its movement appears after the deliverance of the Jews from
the dangers of the Red Sea. "Then sang Moses and the children of Israel
this song unto the Lord: 'I will sing unto the Lord, for he hath
triumphed gloriously,'" etc. "And Miriam the prophetess took a timbrel
in her hand, and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with
dances; and Miriam answered them, 'Sing ye to the Lord, for he hath
triumphed gloriously.'" At a later period, in Jewish as in Greek
history, choral exercises became a profession, and the choir constituted
a detached portion of men and women.

"Those who have studied the history of Grecian antiquities," says
Archbishop Potter, "and collected the fragments which remain of the most
ancient authors, have all concurred in the opinion, that poetry was
first employed in celebrating the praises of the gods. The fragments of
the Orphic hymns, and those of Linus and Musaeus, show these poets
entertained sounder notions of the Supreme Being than many philosophers
of a later date. There are lyric fragments yet remaining that bear
striking resemblance to Scripture."

So, says Bishop Horne, "The poetry of the Jews is clearly traceable to