(_ββ_) In contrast to this, _secondly_, the dithyrambic impulse, in its more _personal_ aspect of an exalted divine service--overwhelmed, as it is, by the power of its object, shattered and stunned to its soul-foundations--cannot, by reason of the general diffusion of its emotional state, go so far as to present an objective image and form. It is more akin to the lyrical absorbtion. We have here simply ecstatic rapture of soul. The singer breaks out and forth from himself; he is so exalted directly into the Absolute, steeped in the being and might of whom he exultantly sings his praise of the Infinite, into the depth whereof he plunges, or that of the natural world, in whose splendour the profound wealth of the Godhead is declared. The Greeks, in the solemnities of their worship, have not limited themselves for long to such mere outcries and appeals. They have sought to intermingle with such ecstasies the narrative of, definite mythical situations and actions. Such expositions interposed between the effusion of lyric poetry, became gradually of most importance, and created the drama, such narratives being asserted as action in its lifelike form, and independently on its own account, a drama, which again in its turn received as a constituent feature the lyrics of its choruses. Even more searching in its utterance is this impulse of exultation, this adoration, jubel and outcry of soul to the One, wherein the individual discovers the end of conscious life and the true object of all might and truth, no less than glory and praise, as we meet it in many of the sublime psalms of the Old Testament. Take the words of the thirty-third psalm, for example: "Rejoice in the Lord, O ye righteous, for praise is comely for the upright. "Praise the Lord with harp: sing unto him with psaltery and an instrument of ten strings. "Sing unto him a new song; play skilfully with a loud noise. "For the word of the Lord is right; and all his works are done in truth. "He loveth righteousness and judgment: the earth is full of the goodness of the Lord. "By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth."[12] Or take the twenty-ninth psalm: "Give unto the Lord, O ye mighty, give unto the Lord glory and strength. "Give unto the Lord the honour due unto his name: worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness. "The voice of the Lord is upon the waters: the God of glory thundereth: the Lord is upon great waters. "The voice of the Lord is powerful, the voice of the Lord is full of majesty. "The voice of the Lord breaketh the cedars; yea, the Lord breaketh the cedars of Lebanon. "He maketh them to skip like a calf; Lebanon and Sirion like a young unicorn. "The voice of the Lord divideth the flames of fire. "The voice of the Lord shaketh the wilderness; the Lord shaketh the wilderness of Kadesh," etc.