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the audience : /Eschylus added a second person to keep up adialogue, and gave to his actors appropriate clothing for thecharacters they were to assume: Sophocles brought forward athird ; and thus the dramatis personae of the Greek stage wascompleted ; for no more than three persons were allowed inthe same scene.

Prologues, explaining the subject of the drama, were in-troduced by Euripides .

The Greek plays were chiefly tragedies founded on themisfortunes of mankind, the vengeance of the Gods , and thesubmission due to them. The Homans delighted principallyin comedies; and in displaying the incidents which mightnaturally occur in society they consequently added very con-siderably to the number of the actors, and neglected thechorus of the Greeks.

The division of the drama into acts was introduced by theRomans ; and live acts to a play are recommended by Horace:“ If you would have your play deserve success,

Give it five acts complete, nor more or less.”

The origin of dramatic entertainments in England may betraced to the theatrical exhibitions culled mysteries or miracles,which were common in the twelfth century, being the repre-sentation of the miracles wrought by the holy confessors,and the sufferings of the martyrs : the first play of this de-scription specified by name was called St. Catherine, and isstated by Matthew Paris to have been written by Geoffry, aNorman, abbot of St. Alban’s , in 1110 : for the exhibition ofthese plays temporary scaffolds were erected in the churchesor church-yards, and, according to Strut, consisted of threeseveral platforms, raised one above another : in the upper-most sat God , surrounded by his angels ; in the second ap-peared the holy saints ; and in the last and lowest, meremortals : on one side was a dark corner, meant to representthe infernal regions, from which the devils occasionally issuedto amuse or terrify the spectators.