between the parts, the cornice of the main front being rather small and tame, while that of the hexagonal lantern which it supports is unduly ponderous. There is nothing surprising in this. It must be remembered that the facilities for studying the detail of classical architecture in England were in 1663 very limited. Few books were then available. Evelyn did good service by publishing in 1664 a translation of Roland Freart, Sieur de Cambray's ‘Parallel,’ and we may feel pretty sure that Wren would have had access to the French edition. The ‘Parallel,’ derived from Alberti and other Italian masters, is a good treatise as far as it goes, but is brief, and the examples given in the plates are not comprehensive. Wren evidently felt his need of better opportunities of study, and took the earliest opportunity available to him to supply it by his journey to Paris in 1665, when ordinary business in London and other parts of England was interrupted by the plague. This journey of Wren to Paris, where he seems to have resided for about six months, is the only one of which any information exists.
The architectural detail of the Sheldonian Theatre, which, however, is chiefly remarkable for its noble interior, is much in advance of the Pembroke chapel; but its completion did not take place till 1669, and he had by that time had plenty of time for education in correct classical expression, and the lesson was effectively learnt. The elegant façade of the chapel of Emmanuel College, Cambridge, commenced in 1668, shows full command of architectural technicality.
Thus it will be seen that he was ready, both by sufficient study and practical experience, when the great opportunity of his life presented itself. Up to the time of the fire of London his work had not been so engrossing but that he was able to attend to philosophical pursuits to a considerable extent, and certainly without neglecting any business he had undertaken. A definition of genius has been given as being a capacity for hard work, and no better instance of this could be given than the life of Wren and his powers of work throughout his life, and especially on this occasion. Before the embers of the Great Fire had cooled, Wren, as virtual surveyor-general, felt that it was his duty to prepare a scheme for the rebuilding of the city. The fire had raged from 2 Sept. till 8 Sept. 1666. On the 12th of the same month he laid before the king a sketch-plan of his design for the restoration of the city. Several other schemes were presented afterwards, but Wren's was first both in time and in the general approval which it received (Evelyn, Diary, iii. 345). A copy of the plan after it had been more fully matured is preserved at All Souls' College, Oxford, and is published also by Elmes (appendix, opp. p. 63); a description is given in ‘Parentalia’ (p. 267). It is the plan of what would have been a magnificent city, but the public spirit which would have been required to carry it out would have demanded very great sacrifices of present interest for the sake of future benefit; and we cannot be greatly surprised, however much we may regret it, that a more hand-to-mouth expedient was adopted. Wren's great scheme remains a record of his genius. But Wren had the happy disposition of being able to address himself with energy to the second best when the best was unattainable; and he found employment enough in rebuilding a cathedral, more than fifty parish churches, thirty-six of the companies' halls, and the custom-house, besides several private houses and provincial works, and he was content to undertake all this for extremely small remuneration. For the cathedral and the parish churches the stipend he asked for was only 300l., preferring (as the writer of the ‘Parentalia’ says) in every passage of his life public service to any private advantage (p. 327).
Immediately afterwards Wren was appointed ‘surveyor-general and principal architect for rebuilding the whole city; the cathedral church of St. Paul; all the parochial churches … with other public structures’ (Parentalia, p. 263). This was a specially created office, but on 6 March 1668–9 Wren was formally appointed sole deputy to Denham as surveyor-general of the royal works (Cal. State Papers, Dom. 1668–9, pp. 224, 227), and after Denham's death he was, on 24 Nov. following, appointed to succeed him (ib. p. 615).
As respects the cathedral, Wren knew from previous surveys that even before the fire the fabric had been extremely insecure. It had suffered much during the Commonwealth both from neglect and from positive injury. At the invitation of the dean and chapter in 1662, Wren had made a careful examination of it, and had pointed out in a report sent in only a few months before the fire (Parentalia, p. 274) what was necessary to be done, as well as what he advised for its improvement, particularly the removal of the central tower and the formation in lieu of it of a cupola covering a wide area as a proper place for a ‘vast auditory,’ in which the Paul's Cross sermons should in future be preached, and of which the example of Ely, his uncle's cathedral, may have given him the first suggestion. Several of the
