MEDAL. This word has generally been supposed to he derived from Metal lu m, from which we have the English term .metal; but it may admit of some doubt whether 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 occurrence, or to perpetuate the memory of a person who had rendered the state in which he lived an essential ser vice.
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 indeli ble mementos prevailed throughout the countries which prompted the making of them, we should have possessed a series of valuable information now for ever inter rupted, to the constant regret of the his torian, who is compelled to wander in a maze of conjecture, caused by allusions in the works of ancient writers, that were well known to the public at the time when they were made, but all clue to which is entirely lost. The satisfaction demon strated by the learned or every nation on the accidental discovery of an unknown medal, sufficiently evinces their import ance; if the relief is tolerably perfect, or the inscription nearly or quite legible, every individual becomes an enthusiast in research, and it has frequently happened that an important blank in chronology, history, or geography, has been unexpect edly and satisfactorily filled by this means. One very material circumstance contributes to render ancient medals va luable, which is their undoubted authen ticity; in short, they are the historical acts of kings and states, the durable gazettes of antiquity ; they inf,rm the world, that at such a period a monarch ascended a throne, a victory was achieved, the foun dations 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 univer sal, surely a much greater number of me dals must have reached us, making due allowance for decay, violence, melting, and losses during foreign and civil wars. Mr. Pinkerton inclines to think the world en tertained but little regard for the medals made by the numerous small states using the Greek characters and language, sup posing that their numbers rendered them of little value ; this idea is extremely pro bable,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 great to preserve a larger number than 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 therefbre be contented with the rew facts which have been gleaned by writers on this subject. From those it appears, that we are prin cipally indebted to the Romans for the preservation of the most valuable Greek medals ; indeed, that ambitious people did themselves more honour by their suc cessffil study of the arts of Greece, than by the conquests they achieved in every part of the globe then known ; with 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 aflOrded by the vari ous governments of Rome, created a spirit of emulation amongst the higher orders of the public, and collections were form ed, to which every subsequent cabinet has been more or less indebted. Whether the medals possessed by the curious at that period were arranged, so as to preserve the chronology of facts, cannot now be ascertained ; but we are very certain that numbers of great value and importance must have been irreco verably 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 world. The philosopher and the historian will ever dwell with regret on that long men tal night which enveloped those happy regions, where science and the arts had flourished, and whence their influence had diverged to surrounding nations ; but they must exult in the recollection of the gra dual return of clay, which at length reach ed its meridian, and exhibited a grand picture of learning and the liberal arts. Upon their revival the study of medals became an object of primary importance, and Pettarch appears at the head of those who justly appreciated their value ; sen sible of the spirit of emulation they were calculated to inspire, he sent the Charles IV. several, made in honour of great and good men, with an invitation to iibitate their conduct.