In honor of Jules Barthélemy Saint Hilaire 1889

Curator: Here we have Jules-Clément Chaplain’s bronze medal, "In Honor of Jules Barthélemy Saint Hilaire," crafted in 1889. It's currently residing at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Editor: Bronze, huh? It looks serious, doesn’t it? Like a declaration or weighty announcement chiseled in hard stone, even though it's metallic. Makes me wonder what great deed earned someone a hunk of bronze! Curator: Well, Saint-Hilaire was quite a figure – a philosopher, statesman, and translator of Aristotle. The inscription on one side celebrates the 50th anniversary of his election to the Académie des Sciences Morales et Politiques, recognizing his service to philosophy through his Aristotle translations. Editor: Ah, Aristotle! That adds a whole layer. So this medal isn't just about honoring the man, but also about invoking the spirit of classical thought. The profile image…stern, very Roman senator-like. It’s as if the medal aims to make him immortal, linking him to that timeless intellectual legacy. Curator: Precisely. The choice of bronze as the medium speaks volumes, doesn’t it? It's enduring, meant to last centuries, linking Saint-Hilaire to the ages of philosophers before him and hinting to generations of thinkers yet to come. Medals are more than just symbols of achievement; they are material claims to everlasting memory. Editor: I can't help but consider how many medals might be languishing in attics, their significance forgotten. This one, though, because we can still touch it, see it, somehow dodged oblivion. Its survival makes me wonder what the modern equivalent of this recognition might be, and whether those things will last this long, conceptually and literally. Curator: An interesting thought, given how quickly digital fame can rise and fall! Ultimately, this medal reflects not only the respect for a philosopher, but the faith society placed in scholarship and intellectual achievement in the late 19th century. Editor: It definitely prompts us to contemplate the different methods by which history remembers the heroes and thinkers it holds in the highest regard. Something to reflect upon, etched in bronze, echoing through time.