[88] A curious instance of how words change their meaning, (_a_) A building--domus; (_b_) the most important building; (_c_) the most important and striking feature of the building. As everybody now speaks of the "Dome" of St. Paul's, I have adopted the word instead of "Cupola."
[89] "Tholobate" means what its derivation implies, "the base of a cupola." Why should this part be called the attic? How can an attic, properly speaking, have a gigantic hemisphere above it?
The measurements show a marked diminution from the exterior--viz., 460 feet in length, a little under a hundred feet in breadth without reckoning the recesses underneath the windows, and 240 feet across the transepts.
In the Surveyor's favourite the Dome was almost everything; the four short arms being so constructed as to afford picturesque and varied vistas. Probably the acoustic properties would have been superior, and for the ordinary purposes of congregational worship there would have been less unused space. Hence it need take no one by surprise that some, although they recognise the superiority of the present exterior, give the preference to the originally designed interior. The short arms were expanded into choir, transepts, and nave; the elaborate vestibule has gone, but the west chapels have appeared. Finally, the curved lines at the angles of the arms, designed to aid the interior vistas, have given way to the orthodox right angles. It is impossible to say how far Wren would have altered his opinions had he ever seen the present building filled from door to door, as it now occasionally is.[90]
Disappointed at the rejection of his pet scheme, Wren turned his attention to the Basilica of Constantine, with its three aisles of three arches apiece. "_This Temple of Peace being an Example of a Three Aisle Fabric is certainly the best and most authentic pattern of a cathedral Church, which must have three Aisles according to Custom, and be vaulted._"[91] Piers were used in this building, the columns being merely ornamental; but the interior of St. Paul's is in many respects essentially different from its Roman model. In the Temple of Peace three arches cover the enormous length of over 250 feet, and seriously diminish the apparent size; in St. Paul's their span is less than half of this. Indeed, in this respect Wren adopted a _via media_ between the Roman and the Anglo-Norman and Pointed. Old St. Paul's, for instance, contained twice as many arches in the same length as its successor, and Rochester still more. This use of larger arches renders the perspective less effective, as any one can see by comparing the views of Old and New St. Paul's. A second alteration from the Temple of Peace to be mentioned is the massiveness of the piers. Wren's regard for stability caused him to make his vast square supports of a solidity exceeding those of Mainz and Speier. From the Romans the Surveyor adopted the round arch, with its borrowed Grecian architecture partly cut away; and this, next to the dome, is the most striking feature of the interior.