MEDAL. 
6f tninute parts. Hence it is employed in 
the engines for dividing mathematical in- 
struments, &c. See Oscillation, Pen- 
dulum, Suspension, &c. 
MEDAL. This word lias generally been 
Supposed to be derived from Metallum, 
from which we have the English term me- 
tal; but it may admit of some doubt whe- 
ther the derivation is correct, as the word 
appears to have too comprehensive a sense 
to particularize a piece of gold, silver, brass, 
or copper, impressed with figures to convey 
to posterity some great historical occur- 
rence, or to perpetuate the memory of a 
person who had rendered the slate in which 
he lived an essential service. 
We are indebted to the very ancient in- 
habitants of the world for this method of 
immortalizing their most important acts 
and most exalted characters, a method, the 
discovery or invention of which, would do 
honour to an age enlightened by arts and 
literature, then unknown. Had the same 
inclination to preserve those indelible me- 
mentos prevailed throughout the countries 
which prompted the making of them, w'e 
should have possessed a Series of valuable 
information now for ever interrupted, to 
the constant regret of the historian, who is 
compelled to wander in a maze of conjec- 
ture, caused by allusions in the works of 
ancient writers, that were well known to 
the public at tiie time when they were 
made, but al! clue to which is entirely lost.- 
The satisfaction demonstrated by the learn- 
ed of every nation on the accidental disco- 
very of an unknown medal, sufficiently 
evinces their importance ; if the relief is 
tolerably perfect, or the inscription nearly 
or quite legible, every individual becomes 
an enthusiast in research, and it has fre- 
quently happened that an important blank 
in chronology, history, or geography, has 
been unexpectedly and satisfactorily filled 
by this means. One very material circum- 
stance contributes to render ancient medals 
valuable, which is their undoubted authen- 
ticity ; in short, they are the historical acts 
of kings and states, the durable gazettes of 
antiquity ; they inform the world that at 
such a period a monarch ascended a throne, 
a victory was achieved, the foundations of 
a city were laid, or a temple erected, and 
they sometimes introduce to our notice 
persons, towns, and buildings, which have 
not been mentioned by any of the ancient 
writers extant. 
Viewing medals in this light, it is a mat- 
ter of some surprise that collections have 
not been formed in every age and country, 
that they have not may be inferred from 
the extreme rarity of some particular de- 
scriptions ; had collections been universal, 
surely a much greater number of medals 
must have reached us, making due allow- 
ance for decay, violence, melting, and losses 
during foreign and civil wars. Mr. Pinker- 
ton inclines to think the world entertained 
but little regard for the medals made by 
the numerous small states using the Greek 
characters and language, supposing that 
their numbers rendered them of little 
value ; this idea is extremely probable if 
extended to the mass of mankind ; but as 
there ever has been individuals of superior 
taste and acquirements scattered in every 
soil, we might have imagined the aggregate 
of those persons sufficiently grCat to pre- 
serve a larger number tbaii is now to be 
found. 
Many ingenious speculations might be 
formed as to the , origin of medals ; it is 
not, however, safe or pleasant to wander in 
the shades of antiquity without guides, or a 
ray of light, we must therefore be con- 
tented with the few facts which have been 
gleaned by writers on tliis subject. From 
those it appears, that we are principally in- 
debted to the Romans for the preservation 
of the most valuable Greek medals ; indeed, 
that ambitious people did themselves more 
honour by their successful study of the arts 
of Greece, than by the conquests they 
achieved in every part of the globe then 
known ; wdth minds elevated beyond the 
paltry consideration of envy, they not only' 
collected the medals of that country, but 
directed their artists to imitate the beauty 
of their reliefs, and the gracefulness of their 
outlines. The encouragement thus afforded 
by the various governments of Rome, cre- 
ated a spirit of emulation amongst the 
higher orders of the public, and collections 
were formed, to whicli every subsequent 
cabinet has been more or less indebt- 
ed. Whether the medals po.ssessed by 
the curious at that' period were metho- 
dically arranged, so as to preserve the chro- 
nology of facts, cannot now be ascertained ; 
but we are very certain that numbers of 
great value and importance must have been 
irrecoverably lost since the time alluded to, 
and that the series, in many cases, has been 
interrupted by the havock committed at 
each conquest of the mistress of the w'orld. 
The philosopher and the historian will ever 
dwell with regret on that long mental 
night which enveloped those happy regions 
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