Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 13.djvu/285

* MECONIC ACID. 257 HEDAL. MECON'IC ACID (Gk. /iijkuhhos, vu'ki'inilcos, pcrtiiiiiing to the poppy, from li-f/Kuy, niikOn, pojipy ). C;HiO;4-3H,(J. An acid existing in opium, which, when good, yields from (i to 8 per cent, of it. iiotli the acid and its salts assume a characteristic Idood-red tint with ferric .salts; and this test, which is very sensitive, is employed hy the to.xicologist in searching for traces of opium. As, however, the alkaline sulphocyanides which exist normally in the saliva give a pre- cisely similar tint with the ferric salts, it is necessary to be able to distinguish the meconato of iron from the sulphocyanide of iron. A solu- tion of chloride of gold or of corrosive sublimate removes all doulit by discliarging tlu^ color of the suliihiicyanidc, but not ail'ccting the color of the meconate of iron. The constitution of mcconie acid is represented by the fornuUa CjHOjIOH) (COOHjj, showing it to be chemically a niono- hydroxy-diba.sie acid. The alkaloids morphine, codeine, narcotine, thebaine, papaverine, and others exist in opium in combination partly with nieconic, partly with sulphuric acid. MECO'NIUM (Lat., from Gk. ij.T)Kiiviov, me- hiinton. po])py-juice, from /i'^Kuv, mekOii, poppy). The earliest matter discharged from the bowels of a new-born infant. It is of a brownish-green or almost black color, acid, devoid of odor, and rapidly ]nitrefying on exposure to air. It is usually regarded as a product of the fcctal liver, but it contains neither biliary acids nor bile-pig- ment. It consists of an abundance of cylinder epithelium of a green tint, of mucus corpuscles, and iif fat, with which there is a good deal of cliolc^tcrine. MEDAL (OF. medaillc, Fr. medaille, from l.at. nicldlhiin, from Gk. ^^raXXoi', metal). A piece of metal, more or less of the form of a coin, stamped on one side or both with image and insiription, with the object of commemorating an event or of honoring a person, and not intended for circulation as money. This use of the word excludes all ancient and modern coins, even those which, like the .merican C'ohimbian half-dollar, are commemorative pieces struck only for a spe- cial occasion, but designed for circulation as money. The coins of the Greeks and Romans have so many medallic. i.e. commemorative, characteristics, that the belief that they were really medals rather than coins was a natural one. There is hardly any event of popular interest, whether public or private, in ancient times, especially under the Roman Empire, that is not recorded on the coins. The term medal- liiiii is for convenience still used of certain classes of ancient coins that surpass the rest in size and teclinii|ue; but the strictly monelary character of even these is now suffi- ciently proved. Though objects of real art, often designed for royal gifts or for ornament, they were still multiples of the regular coins, and as such could be entered into circulation. Such were the magnificent 'medallion.s' of Syra- cuse, real gems of the die-engraver's art signed with the artist's name, and the 'medallions' in gold, silver, and copper of the Roman Km|)erors, coined under their special control, and hence lacking the usual S. C. (>intu.i consulto, "by order of the Senate') of the senatorial bronze money. Sometimes these Roman medallions are found set in a circlet of fine metal. This was not the w(n'k of the coiner, however, but of the jeweler who adapted the coin to artistic use. If we are to .seek anything approximating the medal in ancient times, it may perhaps l)e found in certain pagan talismans and in the little Christian medals of devotion. Jlodern medals begin in the ))criod of the Renaissance. The earliest bear the pin-traits and inscriptions (in Latin) of rulers and poten- tates. The subjects are at first drawn ex- clusively from classical art; hence their value as documents of contemporary history, though not of art, is materiallj- lessened. The most famous Italian medalist of the fifteenth century was Vittorio Pisani of Verona, whose splendid works are signed "Opvs Pisani Pictoris." It became the custom for rulers to inaugurate their reign and celebrate its chief events by striking medals. The scries of the popes begins with Paul IT. (1464-71), and continues without a break to the present time. Medals of the earlier popes are the work of a later period. A medallic mint is connected with the Vatican, where the best artists are emploj-cd. Some of the medals of Julius II.. Leo X.. and Clement VIL have an esjiecial interest, as having been designed by Raphael and Giulio Romano, and engraved by Benvenuto Cellini, A sixteenth-century medal of Sicily is probably the first instance in modern times of the use of a medal as a vehicle of political satire; it is directed by Frederic II. against his adversary, Ferdinand of Spain. Satirical medals were afterwards common in the Low Countries. Some of the Dutch medals are noted for the elaborate views, maps, and plans engraved on them. Of many reigns a complete medallic history can be written, as, for example, of that of Napoleon Bonaparte. American Presi- dents, beginning with Washington, are commemo- rated in a series of portrait medals. But it is no longer merely kings and rulers and great mili- tary and naval events that are commemorated in medals. Events of general interest in science, art, or literature, movements for the ameliora- tion of conditions, learned societies, are all found recorded in these artistic little documents of history. Besides the purely commemorative medals, there is another class — that of 'decorations' — ■ which, beginning at the end of the eighteenth century, has attained an enormous development. These are conferred by the sovereign or the State as marks of distinction for eminent services, particularly in the army and navy. Such medals of honor are seldom of much intrinsic value, their w{}rth depending mainly on the asso- ciations connected willi them. They have rili- bons attached, with clasps or small bars, each of which often hears the name of a battle. Such medals are intended to be worn on the breast. They are of very varied form, the cross being the most common. BlBLloc,R.PiiY. Snowden. Description of Vff- iicinnl and MinceVnnemis Medulfi (Philadelphia, 18G1); Sandham, Coins. Medals, and Tokens of the Dominion of Canada (London, ISfiO) ; Lou- bat, Medallic llistori/ of Ihc United States (New York, 1878) : Hawkins, Medallic lUiistrafion of History of Great Britain and Ireland (London. 1885) : MacShcrry, "The National Medals of the United States," in Mari/land flistorical Fund Pnhlications, No. 25 (Baltimore. 1887) ; Ileiss, TjCs medailletirs de la Renaissance, vol. viii. (Paris, 1800) ; Leduc, Tlistoirc des deco-