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MEDHURST. till! ivvisioii of the New Testament. In this work lie was engaged until ISoD, when he de- voted his lime to the Old Teslanient. In 1857 he returned to England in impaired health, and died three days after his arrival, lie was well versed in the Chinese, Japanese, Javanese, and other languages, besides Dutch and French, in all of which he wrote. His special works are: China, Jts Slate and Prospects, icith Especial licfcrciice to the Diffusion of the dospel (1838) ; Visscrtalion on the Theolot/y of the Chinese (1847); .1 Chinese Dictionary (1842-43); An English and Japanese Vocatiulary (1830); Dic- tionary of the Hokkien Dialect (1832) ; Chinese Dialoyiies (1844); English and Chinese Dic- tionary (1847-48).

ME'DIA (Lat., from Gk. M7)5(a, frcjm M^Sos, .1/rr/os, from OPers. .l/«(/«, Mcdei. In ancient times, the name of the northwestern |)art of Iran, bounded by the Caspian Sea on the north, by Persia on the south, by I'artliia on the east, and by Assyria on the west. The northern por- tion of the country is very mountainous; the south is a rich and "fertile tract. Media at pres- ent f(n-ms the Persian provinces of Azerbaijan, CJhilan. .Mazanderan, and Irak-Ajemi, and the northern portion of Luristan.

The Medians were in language, religion, and manners very nearly allied to the Persians. After they had shaken off the yoke of the As- syrians, their tribes united about B.C. 708 under Deioces, whom later Persian tradition seeks to identify with Kai Kohod. Deioces nnule Ecba- tana (q.v. ) his capital. He was succeeded by his son Phraortes ( n.c. 047-025). whose name has been brought into jjossible connection with the early history of Zoroastrianisra. The King who followed was his son Cyaxares, who reigned B.C. G25-.585. (See Cyax.bes' I.) This monarch. in alliance with Xabopolassar. King of Babylon, overthrew the .Assyrian Emjiire about B.C. (i04. spread the terror of his arms as far as Kgy|)t and the farthest boumls of Asia Minor, and van- quished the brigand hordes of Scythia. who had exten<led their ravages to Syria. He was succeed- ed by his son Astyages, in whom the later tradi- tion a])parently wrongly seeks to recognize the tyrant Azh-dalak. or Azhidahaka. of Babylon, who was overthrown by Cyrus (q.v.). Persia now became the mistress instead of tlie vassal of Media; and from this time the two nations are spoken of as one people, .fter the death of Alexandir the Great (B.C. .323) the new por- tion of Media became a separate kingdom. Media Minor, and existed till the time of Augustus, (he other portion, under the name of Media Major, forming a part of the Syrian monarchy, ih'dia was on several occasions separated from Persia. In B.C. 152 Mithridates I. took Great .Media from the Syrians and an- nexed it to the Parthian Empire, and about B.C. 30 it had a king of its own. named .rtavasdes. against whom Mark Antony made war. Under the Sassanian dynasty the whole of Media was Ignited to Persia. It became, during the four- teenth anil lifteentli centuries, the stronghold of (he Turcoman tribes Kara-Koinln, or 'Black Sheep,' and .k-Koinlu. or 'Wliite .Sheep.' In early times the Medes were a warlike race, possessed of an enthusiastic love of independnv^e, and distinguished for their skill with (he bow. They were also celebrated for their horseman- ship, and it was from them that the Persians adopted this and other favorite exercises and ac- quirements. Media i)layed an important part in the early religious history of the East, when we consider that the ilagi sprang from Media and Zoroaster probably arose there, although part of his activity is located in Bastria. Consult: Justi, "Das Medische Reich," in Geiger and Kuhn, (Iriindriss dcr iranischfn Philologie(iitult- gart, 18!)7 ) : Ragozin, Media, Babylon, and Persia (New York, 1888).

MEDIA. A borough and the county-seat of Delaware County. Pa., 14 miles west of Phila- delphia: on the Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad (.Map: Pennsylvania. F 4). It is finely situated in a fertile and picturesque region and is a popular residential suburb of Philadelphia. The Delaware County Institute of Science, founded in 1833, has a valuable scien- tific library of 5000 volumes, and there is a free library with about 3000 volumes. The waterworks are owned by the nuinicipality, also the street-lighting plant. Population, in 1890, 2730: in 1900. 3075. ME'DIANT (It. mediante, from Lat. mediarc, to divide in the middle, from meditt^, middle). The third degree of the musical scale. The chord of the mediant is the triad built upon the third degree. In mediopval music, the tone lying mid- way between the final and dominant. See MoiiK.
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MEDIATE (Lat. nirdiatus. p.p. of mcdiare, to divide in the middle). I'nder the feudal sys- tem, and especially in (k-rmany. a term ap])lied to tho.se lordships or possessions whieli were held by feudal tenure under one of the greater vassals, and so only mediately under the Em- peror as the supreme feudal lord. JIany of the smaller States or lordships were gradually re- duced to this condition, as the neighboring greater States increased in power, and amid the changes caused bv the wars of the French Revolution, in 1803 anil ISOO, many small States were thus mediatized, the greater States thus finding some compensation for their losses in other cpiarters.

MEDICAL ASSOCIATION, The Amkru'.w. An :issoc-iation iiicurpinated in 1897. and h:ving in 1903 a membersbip of over twelve thousand. Its annual sessions are held in the different large cities of the Vnitcd States, but the present oflice of the secretary and editor is at ChicaRO, 111. The object of the association is to form into one compact organization the medical pro- fession of the country for the purpose of foster- ing the growth of medical knowledge. The asso- ciation publishes the record of its proceedings with original papers and monographs upon medi- cal topics.

MEDICAL CODE. . body of laws adopted liv a !iiedii;il association regul;iting the condiiet of the profession. Such codes forbid the public advertising of sjiecific medicines and gratuitous cures, and condenui patent and secret nostrums. The codes of both chief .schools of practice re- quire the iirofessional attendance of one jdiysi- cian >ipon the family of another to be m.ide without charge, except under circumstances in- volving unusual trouble and expense: they ex- plain the proper relations which should <'xist between patient and physician, and they care- full define the relative positions of the attend- ing and the consulting physician, forbidding the latter to infringe upon the peculiar rights of