THE DRAMA 



493 



until the thirteenth century that Latin disappeared altogether ; but the three 

 kinds of play adopted from that time, the Latin mystery, the mystery fur,-,- 

 (or a combination of Latin and French), and the mystery altogether in 

 French, were represented simultaneously until the migration of the drama 

 from the ceremonies and processions of the Church to the public streets and 

 squares of the city until, in fact, it exchanged its religious for a secular 

 character. 



It is no easy matter, amidst the chaos of theatrical productions in the 



B A C c \\\f 



Fig. 379. Bacchis and the Fisherman. Representative Characters of the Ancient Theatre, from 

 the Comedies of Terence. Manuscript of the Tenth Century. In the National Library, Paris. 



Middle Ages, to distinguish precisely between them, and to lay down the 

 special principles of each dramatic school. It may, however, be said that the 

 mystery is the representation of a fact taken from the Bible, as the Miracle is 

 the representation of a fact borrowed from the legends of the saints, male or 

 female, especially from the story of their martyrdom. It is worthy of remark, 

 at the same time, that the title of Mystery, originally very limited in its 

 application, was afterwards applied to compositions very different from those 

 to which this name was at first given. It was even applied to dramatic works, 



