MEDAL. 
if Maximus and Pupienus were two emperors, or two 
names for the fame. Had he happened to meet with any 
of thofe coins which bear M. Cl. Pupienus Maximus 
Aug. he would have feen at once that Maximus was only 
another name for Pupienus.” 
Medals are ufeful in other fciences be Ikies hi (lory. In 
geography, we find the fituation ol towns determined by 
their vicinity to fome noted river, mountain, See. Thus, 
MArNHTflN SIIIYAOY (hows that Magnefia was fituated 
under Mount Sipvhis. In like manner, it is fhowu from 
a medal, that Ephefus flood on the river Caylfer; and 
there is extant a medal, bearing an infeription, which 
fignifies Alexandria on the Seamander ; a name given to Troy 
by Alexander the Great. The reverfe has upon it the 
famous Apollo Smintheus of Homer. In natural hiftory 
alfo, medals are ufeful chiefly from the coins ftruck on the 
celebration of the fecular games, in which the figures of 
various animals are preferved ; and thus it may very often 
be determined whether any animal was known to the an¬ 
cients or not. On many of the Greek medals are feveral 
uncommon plants and animals. Thus, on moll of the 
medals of Cyrene is the figure of the celebrated fylphium\ 
and on thofe of Tyre, the (hell-fifh from which the famous 
Tyrian purple was procured. By means of medals, alfo, 
the exaft delineation of many noble edifices are preferved, 
though not even a velfige of their ruins be now exifting ; 
fo that the ufes of them to the architect are very confide- 
rable. To the connoifleur they are abfolutely neceflary ; 
becaufe by them alone he is enabled to aferibe ancient 
bulls and (iatues to their proper perfons, with a multitude 
of other points of knowledge which cannot be othenvife 
determined. The elucidations of obfeure paflages in an¬ 
cient authors by means of medals are fo numerous and 
well known, that it is needlefs to infift upon them. 
Mr. Addifon has treated the connexion betwixt medals 
and poetry at confiderable length ; but Mr. Pinkerton 
finds fault with him for preferring the Latin to the Greek 
poets. He obferves alfo, that the knowledge of Greek 
medals is mod neceflary for a fculptor, and perhaps-an 
architefl; but an acquaintance with Latin ones is prefer¬ 
able for a poet, or perhaps a painter. The reafon of this 
difference is, that the former generally have on the obverfe 
the head of fome king, god, or goddefs, of exquiirte relief 
and workmanfliip; but the reverie ftldom affords much 
fancy of fymbol in the early Greek coins ; and, in the im¬ 
perial Greek coins, is chiefly irnprefled with the temples 
of their deities. To a perfon of poetical imagination, 
however, the Roman coins afford the greatelt entertain¬ 
ment, from the fine perlonifications and fymbols to be 
found on their reveries ; of which our author gives the 
following iniiances : 
Happiness has fometimes the caduceus, or wand of 
Mercury, which Cicero (i Offic.) tells us was thought to 
procure every wifh. She has, in a gold coin of Severus, 
heads of poppy, to exprefs that our prime blifs lies in 
oblivion of misfortune. The happinefs of the ffate is 
pictured by a (hip failing before a profperous breeze : an 
image than which the luperlative genius of Gray could 
find none more exquifite; and he has accordingly ufed 
it in his molt capital production The Bard, with due 
fuccefs. 
Hope is reprefented as a fprightly girl, walking quickly, 
and looking ifraight forw-ard. With her left hand (he 
holds up her garments, that they may not impede the ra¬ 
pidity of her pace ; while in her right hand (he holds 
forth the bud of a flower; an emblem infinitely more fine 
than the trite one of an anchor, which is the fymbol of 
patience, and not of Hope. This perfonification, with 
lome others, mud have been very familiar to the ancients ; 
for often, in this and in a few more iniiances, no name, 
as Spes Aug. or the like, is inierted in the legend. 
Abundance is imagined as a fedate matron, with a 
cornucopias in her hands, of which (lie fcatters the fruits, 
and does not hold up her cornucopias and keep the con¬ 
tents to herfelf, as many modern poets and painters make 
7D9 
her do. The emperor Titus, having caufe to import a 
great fupply of corn during a fcarcity at Rome, that fop- 
ply, or the Annona, is finely reprefented as a fedate lady,, 
with a filled cornucopia: in her left hand, which (lie holds 
upright, to indicate that (he does not, however, mean to 
fcatter it, as Abundance lias a tide to do, but to give it 
to Equity to deal out. This la ft particular is (hown by 
her holding a little image of Equity, known by the feales, 
and hafta pura, or pointlefs (pear, in her right hand, over 
a bafket filled with wheat. Behind the Annona is the 
prow of a (hip decked with flowers, to imply that the 
corn was brought by fea (from Africa), and that the 
(hips had had a profperous voyage. The bed poet in the 
world would not have given us a finer train of imagery ; 
the bed painter would have been puzzled to exprefs fo 
much matter in fo fmall a compafs. 
Security Hands leaning upon a pillar, indicative of 
her being free from all deligns and purfuits; and the pof- 
ttire itfelf correfponds to her name. Horace, in delcribing- 
the wife man, mentions his being teres atque rotundas ; 
round and poliflied, againft all the rules of chance: an 
idea feemingly derived from the column upon which this 
ideal lady reclines. , 
The different countries of the then known world are 
alfo delineated with great poetical imagery. It affords 
patriotic fatisfaCtion in particular to a Briton, to fee his 
native ifland often reprefented upon the earlielt imperial 
coins fitting on a globe, with a fymbol of military power, 
the labarum, in her hand, and the ocean rolling under her 
feet. An emblem almoft' prophetic of the vafl: power 
which her dominion over the fea will always give her, 
provided (lie exerts her dement of empire with due vi¬ 
gour and perfeverance. See Plate II. fig. 17-22. 
Coins alfo prefent us with Achaia, Africa, Alamannia, 
Alexandria, Arabia, Armenia, Alia, Bithynia, Cappa¬ 
docia, Dacia, Dardania, Egypt, Gallia, Hifpania, Italia, 
Judfea, Macedon, Mauritania, Pannonia, Parrhia, Phrygia, 
Sarmatia, Sicily, Scythia, Syria; and the rivers Danube, 
Nile, Rhine, Ty'oer, See. This perfonification of pro¬ 
vinces feems to have arifen from the figures of provinces 
carried in triumphs; as the perfonification of our old 
poets fprung from the ideal perfons actually reprefented 
in the myfterial plays. There is one colonial medal of 
rude execution of Augultus and Agrippa, w>hich has a 
high claim to merit in difplaying the ancient poetical 
imagery. It is inferibed imp. and divi. f, and on the 
reverfe, the conqueft of Egypt is reprefented by the me¬ 
taphor of a crocodile, an animal almoft peculiar to that 
country, and at that period efteemed altogether fo; which 
is chained to a palm-tree, at once a native of the country, 
and fymbolic of victory. 
As the reverfes are fo ufeful for knowledge of perfoni¬ 
fication, fymbols of countries and actions, and the like ; 
fo the portraits to be feen on old coins are no lets im¬ 
portant to a painter; the high merit of a great number of 
them, in every character, juftly entitling them to be re¬ 
garded as the belt ftudies in the world. Not to mention, 
that, to an biltoric painter, the fcience of ancient medals 
is abfolutely neceflary, that he may delineate his perfou- 
ages with the features they really bore while in evidence. 
This can only be attained in this way, or from (fatues 
and buffs; any one of which will colt as much as hun¬ 
dreds of medals; and indeed a collection of fuch is only 
attainable by princes. 
The lame things which render the ftudy of medals im¬ 
portant to a painter, do (till more <0 to a fculptor; and, 
in this particular, the (tudy of the Greek coiris is remark¬ 
ably ufeful. The (kill of the Greeks in the art of ficulp- 
ture has always been admired throughout the world; and 
on their coins the heads of feveral deities are reprefented 
in the mod exquifite alto relievo. Qur author, therefore, 
thinks it drange, that the Grecian coins lhould have hi¬ 
therto been (o little attended to by men of learning and 
fade. They may have been looked upon, he luppoles, r ( s 
belonging only to the province'of the antiquary; but he 
aflhrea..^ 
