77S 



MERCURY. 



lo ; assisted Pers-u<, when lie went to kill Medusa, 

 and lent him the helmet of Pluto, which rendered 

 linn invisible, and his winged sandals ; to Nephele, 

 Uie mother of Phryxus and Helle, he gave the ram 

 with the golden fleece, upon which she carried off 

 her children, when they were about to be sacrificed 

 to the gods, at the instigation of their step-mother 

 liio. In the wars of the giants, he wore the helmet 

 of Pluto, which rendered him invisible, and slew 

 Ilijipolytus. When Typhon compelled the gods to 

 fly before him, and conceal themselves in Egypt, he 

 metamorphosed himself into an ibis. He is also 

 mentioned by Homer as the patron of eloquence, and 

 still more particularly by Hesiod. Of his inventions 

 Homer makes no mention. Later writers ascribe to 

 him the invention of dice, music, geometry, the inter- 

 pretation of dreams, measures and weights, the arts 

 of the palestra, letters, &c. He was also regarded 

 as the patron of public treaties, as the guardian of 

 roads,and as the protector of travellers. (See Hermes) 

 Fable relates many of his amours. His children 

 were numerous : among them were Pan and Herma- 

 phroditus. Mercury was worshipped in all the cities of 

 Greece, but Arcadia was the chief place of his wor- 

 ship. His festivals were called Hermeea, and were 

 solemnized in various ways. He had several temples in 

 Rome, and his festival took place on the 15th of May 

 (which month received its name from his mother Maia). 

 At this festival, the merchants particularly offered him 

 sacrifices, that he might prosper them in their trade, 

 and render them successful in their enterprises. Art 

 has variously represented Mercury; first, in the rude 

 Hermes, (q. v.) In the monuments of the more 

 ancient style, he appears with his beard just begin- 

 ning to grow; at a later period, the prevailing 

 representations of him were as an adroit herald and 

 athlete, and he acquired the appearance of extreme 

 youth. In this character, also, room was allowed to 

 fancy. He was represented as a boy, in the prime of 

 youth, and also in the full power of early manhood. 

 Among the curled locks of the boy appear two pro- 

 jecting wings. His dress consisted of a short leather 

 tunic. In his left hand lie bears a purse, and, hold- 

 ing his right forefinger against his chin, smiles archly 

 at some device in his mind. As a youth, we find 

 him represented in a variety of attitudes, sometimes 

 with the purse in his hand, sometimes with the cadu- 

 ceus, and sometimes with his winged cap, standing, 

 sitting, or walking. The artists of later times placed 

 him among the youthful and beardless gods. The 

 most prominent traits of his character are vigour and 

 dexterity. His short hair lies curled over his head 

 and forehead; his ears and mouth are small ; his po- 

 sitions, whether standing or sitting, always simple 

 and easy ; his head inclined forwards, and his look 

 thoughtful. In his beautiful and vigorous frame, we 

 see the inventor of gymnastics; in his attitude, air, and 

 aspect, we see the prudence, cunning, and good nature 

 of one who can easily gain every body, and accom- 

 plish every thing. In the representation of Mercury, 

 the relations of corporeal beauty and mental dexterity 

 are wonderfully preserved. He is either entirely 

 naked, or clad only in the chlamys, which is not 

 often put on with any regularity, but is merely thrown 

 over his shoulders or wound round his arms. His 

 head is sometimes bare ; sometimes he has a pair of 

 wings fastened on his temples, and sometimes the 

 cap is placed on his head, to which are occasionally 

 added wings (petasus). The hat, which particularly 

 denotes a wanderer, has, in works of statuary, a flat 

 top and narrow brim : upon vases, however, his hat 

 is represented with wide, hanging flaps, and a pointed 

 top. If the wings are not attached to a band about 

 liis head or hat, they are fastened either to his ankles 

 or the soles of his feet, or to the caduceu* alone. 



Artists made the cock his symbol, on account of its 

 vigilance, or love of fighting (in allusion to gymnas- 

 tics); the tortoise, on account of his invention of the 

 lyre ; the purse, because lie was the god of traffic ; 

 a ram and a goblet, because he was tlie director of 

 religious ceremonies and sacrifices; the trunk of a 

 palm-tree, upon which his statues lean, because he 

 was the inventor of arithmetic and writing (upon 

 palm-leaves); the harpe, or sickle-shaped knife, be- 

 cause he was the slayer of Argus; and the hound 

 (only upon Alexandrine coins), to indicate sagacity 

 and vigilance. 



MERCURY; a planet. See the article Planets. 



MERCURY, or QUICKSILVER; the hydrargyrum 

 of the Latins, from llu^, water, and a.^v^iov, silver, in 

 allusion to its fluidity and silvery appearance. The 

 name quicksilver is derived from the alchemists, who 

 regarded this metal as silver in a fluid state, quickened 

 by some inherent principle, which they hoped either to 

 fix or expel. It was known to the ancients, especially 

 to the Greeks and Romans, who employed it in gilding 

 and in the extraction of the precious metals. It is 

 distinguished from all other metals by its extreme 

 fusibility, which is such that it does not take the solid 

 state until cooled to the 39th degree below (Fahren- 

 heit), and, of course, is always fluid in the temperate 

 climates of the earth. Its colour is white, and rather 

 bluer than that of silver. In the solid state, it is 

 imperfectly malleable ; specific gravity, 13-6. It is 

 volatile, and rises in small portions at the common 

 temperature of the atmosphere. At the tempera- 

 ture of 656, it boils rapidly, and rises copiously in 

 fumes. When exposed to such a heat as may cause 

 it to rise quickly in the vaporous form, it gradually 

 becomes converted into a red oxide, provided oxygen 

 be present. This was formerly known by the name 

 of precipitate per se. A greater heat than GOO", how- 

 ever, revives this metallic oxide at the same time that 

 this oxygen is again liberated. Mercury, if quite 

 pure, is not tarnished in the cold by exposure to air 

 and moisture ; but if it contain other metals, the 

 amalgam of those metals oxidizes readily, and col- 

 lects as a film upon its surface. It is said to be 

 oxidized by long agitation in a bottle half full of air, 

 and the oxide so formed was called, by Boerhaave, 

 Ethiops per se; but it is very probable that the 

 oxidation of mercury, observed under these circum- 

 stances, was solely owing to the presence of other 

 metals. The oxides of mercury are two. The 

 protoxide, which is a black powder insoluble in water, 

 is best prepared by mixing calomel briskly in a mor- 

 tar with pure potassa in excess, so as to effect its 

 decomposition as rapidly as possible. The protoxide 

 is then to be washed with cold water, and dried 

 spontaneously in a dark place. It consists of one 

 equivalent, or 200 parts of metal, and one equivalent, 

 or eight parts of oxygen. The peroxide, which is 

 commonly known under the name of red precipitate, 

 is prepared, as already mentioned, from the combined 

 agency of heat and air, or by dissolving mercury in 

 nitric acid, and exposing the nitrate so formed to a 

 temperature just sufficient to drive off the whole of 

 the nitric acid. It contains double the quantity of 

 oxygen found in the protoxide. It is acrid and 

 poisonous, and carries these qualities into its saline 

 combinations; whereas the protoxide is relatively 

 bland, and is the basis of all the mild mercurial 

 medicines. Of the combustibles, mercury unites 

 only with phosphorus and sulphur. The phosphuret 

 is formed by heating either or the oxides along with 

 phosphorus in a retort filled with hydrogen gas, or 

 under water, with 'frequent agitation : the oxide is 

 reduced, and a phosphuret is the result. It is of a 

 black colour, is easily cut with a knife, and, in the 

 air, exhales vapours of phosphorus. There are two 





